Affordable adjustable scope?

[highfinblue]

Thanks for the thoughts so far. Ill detail more later.

As for "actual" budget - I don't have a number right now, but $5000 for a scope is a bit steep. I want to see the options. If I have to go to $1500 o so thats the way it goes. Hopefully less.

It was also said NF are tough, and they absolutely are. I fell and dropped the one on my 28 Nosler directly on a rock, it hit hard. I did have to adjust it back to zero, but that was years ago, and yesterday I was banging steel with it and never missed in a funky wind. They're great scopes for the money. By the way, I don't recommend dropping them on rocks to prove it. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and graceful is never mentioned with my name.

 

[mtbullet1]

arken

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

Tract Toric, https://tractoptics.com/riflescopes

 

[GrayCreed]

Look up Arken on YouTube

 

[Rflshootr]

My pick with your budget would be....

Nightforce SHV Rifle Scope 5-20x 56mm Illuminated MOAR Reticle Matte

About the only complaint Nightforce hears about their scopes is that they aren’t cheap. Nightforce riflescopes will never be "cheap"....

www.midwayusa.com

There are also other reticles available like the Forceplex (duplex) if you prefer that.

If you search a bit, you may find it cheaper.

 

[quandary]

Tract;

TORIC UHD 30mm 2.5-15X44 FFP Illuminated MOA/MOA Hunting Rifle Scope

TORIC UHD 30mm 2.5-15X44 FFP Illuminated MOA/MOA Now Featuring an Illuminated FFP reticle and fully multi-coated SCHOTT high-transmission

tractoptics.com

Maven;

RS1.2 - 2.5-15x44 FFP

Buy Maven Outdoor Equipment Company RS1.2 Riflescopes. Our RS Series Riflescopes stack up with the most celebrated and expensive scopes in the world…bar none.

mavenbuilt.com

 

[tim1457]

I recently bought a Trijicon Tenmile 6-24×50 and put on a 6.5PRC I built. Glass is very good and tracking was spot on. Eurooptic has it on clearance for $975. They also have some Nightforce SHV under $1K.

Trijicon Tenmile 6-24x50 SFP w/ Red LED Dot, MRAD Ranging, 30mm, Matte Black Riflescope 3000005

FREE SHIPPING on Trijicon Tenmile 6-24x50 SFP w/ Red LED Dot, MRAD Ranging, 30mm, Matte Black Riflescope 3000005

search.app

 

[bluedog69]

This summer I pulled the trigger on a Leupold MK4HD 4.5-18x52 FFP MOA PR-1 reticle Illuminated and love it.
I missed an elk of a life time several years back due to dialing turrets on a SFP scope thinking I remembered how far I had to figure to compensate and missed. Now this FFP reticle stays full size all the time and I can dial as much as I want.
Remember, if you have a SFP scope dialing turrets changed point of impact but not on a FFP. Just a thought

This explains what you said.

 

[Little Church Mouse]

My suggestion would be something from Tract Optics.
This is one of their best, there are also lower price points. This one has a reticle and turret markings designed for aging eyesight.

TORIC UHD 4-25X50 34mm FFP MOA Eagleman Long Range Hunting Rifle Scope

The TORIC 4-25x50 34mm FFP rifle scope will change the way you approach extreme long range (ELR) shooting. Featuring the Eagleman long range rifle scopes

tractoptics.com

They sell direct to consumer, so you get more for your $ by eliminating distributer and retail markups. You can can actually speak to one of their co-owner/ founders on the telephone for advice on an exact product to fit your situation. Their optics are made in the same factory in Japan that produces Nightforce scopes.

 

[popeye]

If weight isn't a big deal your in the 5x25x56 nightforce shv range . Scope is built like a tank and it has good for the money glass and repeatable turrets . I've got a few of them from 4x14 up to the 5x25x56

For the ranges that the op has stated I personally would want a lower magnification than a 5x25. Something closer to a 3x15 maybe. Just my thoughts

 

[khart1988]

Hi. I am working on piecing together a .300 win mag rifle and am curious on scopes.

For starters - I know someone that has done/does precision shooting and they have gravitated towards Schmidt and Bender for scopes. The current equivalents around the range his is are many thousands of dollars. I realize in the realm of "optics" price shoots up exponentially with quality. That is where I want to dig, though.

Ultimately what I am after is a reasonable scope that I can zero to my rifle at a set range then use elevation and windage turrets to compensate for both as conditions change. What I don't want is a set of turrets to zero the scope only. I want my set/starting point on the turrets zeroed to where I sight in my rifle, not the adjustments TO sight in the rifle. I've seen reticles that have scales in both directions that supposedly allow for some type of reference without needing to adjust the scope. That's not the direction I want to go - I want to be able to precisely and repeatably adjust the scope without loosing my sighted in position.

The range I am after is usually 100-300yds, but I'd like to be able to eventually get out to double that at 600yds. I'm not overly concerned with close-in range as that isn't what I'm going after with the rifle, but I don't want a large fixed magnification that restricts field of view much - adjustable zoom would be great (3-20, 5-25, something like that).

Are there any "entry level", if you can call them that, scopes/brands of scopes any of you would recommend? What are you using?

Pick up a SWFA 3-15x42, or even a 10x42 if that's low enough magnification to suit your field of view requirements.

Or bump up to a nightforce F1 of whatever flavor you can find.. they just seem to have very thin reticles.for my liking.

 

[Jamie]

A lot of good suggestions

 

[Hard rock]

You might take a look at the Meopta scopes , especially the Meopta 6 3-18 zero stop and zero lock on the elevation turret . They are European company not Chinese like a lot of your name brand scopes . I personally have a MEOPTA OPTICA 6 - 3-18 with tha DIACHRO reticle and can see nearly in the dark . These scopes are under a 1000 bucks and compare to scopes twice their price . Hope that helps.

 

[popeye]

For what it's worth, there are many good choices under $1500. If I were starting out I would go to a store where I could look through many different brands and check out the eye relief and reticle choices.

Things to consider would be FFP or SFP, MIL or MOA. If you're new to the game and learning, I would lean toward MIL but that's a personal preference. FFP on low magnification can be a little hard to see for my old eyes but an illuminated reticle helps if allowed in your state for hunting.
If your average range is 50-300 yards I would lean toward a lower magnification optic, like 3x15. Leave it on lower magnification and you can always turn up magnification if they are further out.

As stated above, buy once, cry once. Scopes are like trucks, ford vs Chevy vs dodge. In the end it is YOUR scope so get what works for you.