SWWI Shooter
Member
You might try a new or used Maven. They are sold direct to the consumer and have a great warrantee. I had one but I really didn't like a FFP reticle so I sold it, but it was a fine scope.
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New member here! Long range scopes!
- Thread starter tebrooks
- Start date
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memtb
Well-Known Member
Welcome from North Central Wyoming! Scopes: I got nutt'n! 
memtb
memtb
Bang4theBuck
Well-Known Member
I agree with all the folks that suggested more scope rather than less. 500 yds is a chip shot once you get a little practice and understand tge cause and effects of it all. This groupmwill help with all of that. I like something north of 20x magnification. A great scope for the money is the vortex diamondback tactical. 6-24x50 FFP. The only key feature it lacks is a zero stop. The strike eagle is another decent optic for the money, and it has a zero stop. If you happen to be a veteran, vortex has a great discount program as well.
Arken, Athlon, Vector.....top choice in your budget...all the bells and whistles for 1/2 -1/3 of the price of comparable named brands.
I would suggest considering a SWFA 6x fixed power. Zero retention and tracking are your main criteria. This is first and foremost an aiming device, not an observation device. In the last few years my scope philosophy moved away from emphasis on glass quality, weight, etc that really don't matter at all if it doesn't adjust correctly and stay adjusted. Too many frustrating experiences (though thankfully no rodeos on live animals) with supposedly good scopes that would have zero shifts or inconsistent tracking, too much time and too many spent primers trying to figure out what happened only to end up just re-zeroing and wondering when it would happen again.
You really don't need much magnification to shoot 500 yards, that 6x is more than fine for that. I tend to shoot at around 1.5x per hundred yards, but 1x per hundred is still quite doable.
I hope this analogy makes sense: to me it's a bit like a carry handgun. It needs to go bang 0.00% of the time that I don't pull the trigger, and 100% of the time that I do pull the trigger. That's like zero retention and consistent tracking. The scope can't move unless I tell it to, and when I do turn the turret it must do it reliably. That's not negotiable. Once we have that established, we can evaluate accuracy, ergonomics, trigger, and all the other things people get excited about (glass, reticle, magnification range, etc)
In my experience and reading, the best picks for very good mechanical reliability in your price range are SWFA fixed or 3-9, used Bushnell LRHS or LRTS, used (maybe abused) Nightforce SHV 3-10. I don't own any SWFA yet, as availability is spotty and there haven't been any available when I've needed to scope a rifle over the last few years since my focus shifted. I've used SHV's, but have really settled on the LRHS as my favorite of this bunch. You can find them used if you look for a while, and the SWFA's seem to be coming back in stock.
Good luck, and don't buy a Vortex or Leupold!
You really don't need much magnification to shoot 500 yards, that 6x is more than fine for that. I tend to shoot at around 1.5x per hundred yards, but 1x per hundred is still quite doable.
I hope this analogy makes sense: to me it's a bit like a carry handgun. It needs to go bang 0.00% of the time that I don't pull the trigger, and 100% of the time that I do pull the trigger. That's like zero retention and consistent tracking. The scope can't move unless I tell it to, and when I do turn the turret it must do it reliably. That's not negotiable. Once we have that established, we can evaluate accuracy, ergonomics, trigger, and all the other things people get excited about (glass, reticle, magnification range, etc)
In my experience and reading, the best picks for very good mechanical reliability in your price range are SWFA fixed or 3-9, used Bushnell LRHS or LRTS, used (maybe abused) Nightforce SHV 3-10. I don't own any SWFA yet, as availability is spotty and there haven't been any available when I've needed to scope a rifle over the last few years since my focus shifted. I've used SHV's, but have really settled on the LRHS as my favorite of this bunch. You can find them used if you look for a while, and the SWFA's seem to be coming back in stock.
Good luck, and don't buy a Vortex or Leupold!
mdmiller
Well-Known Member
Welcome from Illinois!!
I'm a Vortex guy at the moment.
Are some nice ones around the $500 range.
I'm a Vortex guy at the moment.
Are some nice ones around the $500 range.
waveslayer
Well-Known Member
I am under the school of thought that you buy once cry once.... Spend the money on quality glass and keep it for a long long time. For 500 yards or less you can get away with a fixed 10 power, that's not very far out.
Up the budget and use 1 nice glass on all your rifles, you will then not have to worry about scope issues, just accuracy
Up the budget and use 1 nice glass on all your rifles, you will then not have to worry about scope issues, just accuracy
WildRose
Well-Known Member
I learned the hard way that by the time I'd been through two or three cheap scopes trying to get a decent one I'd have been much better off being patient and saving my money a little longer to by one good quality Leupold or Trijicon.
Outlaw6.0
Well-Known Member
Reminds me of an old quote:
"The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."
Buy once, cry once.
t
SWWI Shooter
Member
What Waveslayer, Wildrose and Outlaw 6.0 said! If you have a maximum budget, you are better off spending more on a scope and less on the rifle. I see too many people that want to buy a Browning and then put a $200-300 scope on it. Would be better off with a Savage and a higher quality scope. Bottom line is that you can't hit what you can't see!
W
Wyo37
Guest
Bushnell lrhs2
My 2 cents goes to the Trijicon sale at Eurooptic/Scopelist, used the 4-16 Credo this weekend to take an Antelope, IMO a steal at 599.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
And you can't judge what you can't see very clearly with good edge quality and definition.
There's a lot of cheap glass out there that you can see a deer in, even decide if it's a possible shooter or not, but you need really fine glass to truly judge and that gets really important on a special once in a lifetime or very expensive out of state or overseas hunt.
I've got a monster 5pt (total) with better than a 24" spread that I would have shot a couple of years ago with a cheaper scope that didn't let me really count points and judge the rack.
He's got a funky mule deer looking rack on a white tailed body and it's never going to get any better just heavier and wider if I let him go this year.
