The Search for the Best Scope

[toddc]

Thanks for the help guys, ive also been told to look at the Redfield Revolution by a few friends as it appears to ge a great scope in my price range.

Let mek now what you think.

Scot E - do you think the Bushnell Elite Tactical is a much better scope over the Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn?

I aint Scot E but uhhh yeah. LOTS. Like difference between two coke bottles JB welded together in a mud hut in Africa and a real scope

 

[Scot E]

I aint Scot E but uhhh yeah. LOTS. Like difference between two coke bottles JB welded together in a mud hut in Africa and a real scope

LOL! I would tend to agree.

To the OP.

Again, I am not stating that other scopes can't work and they sometimes may work.

I am giving a list of scopes that I have found to have solid, repeatable performance in the areas most important to medium to long range shooters. That is durability (nothing more frustrating than wasting a few boxes of ammo trying to figure out why your gun ain't hitting where its supposed to only to find out its your scope. That changes the cash flow game in a hurry!), repeatability, and a decent reticle so the turrets can be used as little as possible. They aren't going to be very accurate in this price range for the LR game. This includes tracking and return to zero

With the ones I listed you can use the turrets and their performance is very good to excellent. I haven't found that on any other scopes in your listed price range.

These would be my minimum requirements. As always other's mileage my vary!

Hope This Helps,

Scot E.

 

[yodasheet]

I aint Scot E but uhhh yeah. LOTS. Like difference between two coke bottles JB welded together in a mud hut in Africa and a real scope

Thanks, is this the scope you are talking about:Bushnell Elite Tactical G2? If so it does look like an amazing scope but it's way, way over my budget which is why I was considering the Dusk & Dawn.

Now one more scope to get your opinion on and ill have my shortlist.

I saw that on https://tangotactics.com their reccomended scope for the best bang for your buck in my pricerange was the Vortex Crossfire 2. Seems like there's also some great reviews for this scope on amazon as well

 

[FEENIX]

Thanks, is this the scope you are talking about:Bushnell Elite Tactical G2? If so it does look like an amazing scope but it's way, way over my budget which is why I was considering the Dusk & Dawn.

Now one more scope to get your opinion on and ill have my shortlist.

I saw that on https://tangotactics.com their reccomended scope for the best bang for your buck in my pricerange was the Vortex Crossfire 2. Seems like there's also some great reviews for this scope on amazon as well

Check out the Primary Arms offerings >>> Shopping

 

[Bravo 4]

Whenever the budget scope topic comes up I always recommend this:
https://www.natchezss.com/weaver-2-10x50-super-slam-riflescope-dual-x-reticle-matte.html

I have had one for several years and it is one of my favorite hunting scope. Really good glass and pop up turrets that track true. It's been sitting on my short barreled .338 Ultra Mag for about 200 rounds. Before that a .300 WinMag, 7mm RemMag, 30-06 and really light 243 and there is no telling the round count. My average shooting session will involve a quick zero check and then cranking turrets up and down for dope. This thing has never let me down.

Also, watch the classifieds. There is a Primary Arms, like Fenix mentioned, for sale on this site for $175. It's a pretty darn good scope, especially for a beginner or if you wanted to try your hand at FFP and/or a matching turret-reticle milradian based scope.
I bought a basically new 4-16 Nikon Monarch X a couple months back for $300.
A few days ago Amazon had new 2.5-10 Monarch X's for $250!

 

[Bravo 4]

Yes, you can get a decent scope for $250

$219 on sale, a great deal

Vortex® Diamondback HP 1" Riflescopes : Cabela's

I would keep this as an option too.

 

[6x6 elk]

Like Bravo 4 mentioned, the Weaver a Super Slam at $250, is a great deal.made in Japan, and durable. Another option is the Burris MTAC, Cabelas has been running them on sale for around $280. Good optics and eye relief, with forever warranty.

 

[yodasheet]

Thanks so much for all of your help guys.

I went and checked out a few scopes over the weekend and tried some of the ones you reccomended in my local shop aswell and ended up going for the Vortex Crossfire 2.

I felt that this is a really good scope for the money and even the manager of the store said he has one and it has never let him down. It feels leagues greater than the VX1 and I think it was slightly nicer to use than the VX2 as well.

Overall I am very happy with my purchase so thanks again for your help guys

 

[toddc]

Thanks so much for all of your help guys.

I went and checked out a few scopes over the weekend and tried some of the ones you reccomended in my local shop aswell and ended up going for the Vortex Crossfire 2.

I felt that this is a really good scope for the money and even the manager of the store said he has one and it has never let him down. It feels leagues greater than the VX1 and I think it was slightly nicer to use than the VX2 as well.

Overall I am very happy with my purchase so thanks again for your help guys

Two coke bottles JB welded in a mud hut in Afghanistan are better than a VX-1 or 2.

 

[Oldschool280]

Two coke bottles JB welded in a mud hut in Afghanistan are better than a VX-1 or 2.

As a hardcore buy American guy, i purchased three different vx-1's in the past year. Just this week i bought my kids a new 700 mountain rifle and was a
Little light on cash for glass , i went with a bushnell banner for 80 bucks , went to the range and now i have much less respect for the vx-1's.

 

[yodasheet]

As a hardcore buy American guy, i purchased three different vx-1's in the past year. Just this week i bought my kids a new 700 mountain rifle and was a
Little light on cash for glass, i went with a bushnell banner for 80 bucks , went to the range and now i have much less respect for the vx-1's.

I totally agree, i feel the Leupolds are kinda overrated. I have read many review sites and most of them said cheap rifle scopes like the Bushnell Dusk & Dawn are just great for the money. I'm personally super happy with my Vortex but I will try a bushnell for my next rifle if I'm after something on a budget and not to bothered about the warranty.

 

[FEENIX]

As a hardcore buy American guy, i purchased three different vx-1's in the past year. Just this week i bought my kids a new 700 mountain rifle and was a
Little light on cash for glass , i went with a bushnell banner for 80 bucks , went to the range and now i have much less respect for the vx-1's.

I totally agree, i feel the Leupolds are kinda overrated. I have read many review sites and most of them said cheap rifle scopes like the Bushnell Dusk & Dawn are just great for the money. I'm personally super happy with my Vortex but I will try a bushnell for my next rifle if I'm after something on a budget and not to bothered about the warranty.

We all have to start somewhere and have varying experiences and preferences. Most of my earlier scopes are Leupolds and all of them are still good. I have 3-9x40 VX1 mounted on my son's Remington 1903 in .30-06 that I was using deer hunting in 2003. It was a muddy situation and I slipped and fell; the scope sustained a ding on the bell when I fell but still managed to harvest a muley doe at 200 yards with it. I was planning of sending it for repairs/inspection but my son wanted it as-is, he said it adds character. It now wears a flip scope cover.

On another situation, my buddy and I were black bear hunting. He had a Bushnell banner 3-9x40 on his .30-06. He started tracking a nice boar into the woods but came back after 30 minutes into his stalk because his scope fogged up and cannot see darn thing with it. Perhaps it just Murphy's Law or bad karma but he was so mad he went straight to the LGS for a new scope.

Just sharing for what it is worth.

 

[just country]

morning, Nikons for ever. never had a bad one. for the money the best buy.

Monarch's. r the only way. THK. U lightbulbgun)

 

[Cobramach1]

We all have to start somewhere and have varying experiences and preferences. Most of my earlier scopes are Leupolds and all of them are still good. I have 3-9x40 VX1 mounted on my son's Remington 1903 in .30-06 that I was using deer hunting in 2003. It was a muddy situation and I slipped and fell; the scope sustained a ding on the bell when I fell but still managed to harvest a muley doe at 200 yards with it. I was planning of sending it for repairs/inspection but my son wanted it as-is, he said it adds character. It now wears a flip scope cover.

On another situation, my buddy and I were black bear hunting. He had a Bushnell banner 3-9x40 on his .30-06. He started tracking a nice boar into the woods but came back after 30 minutes into his stalk because his scope fogged up and cannot see darn thing with it. Perhaps it just Murphy's Law or bad karma but he was so mad he went straight to the LGS for a new scope.

Just sharing for what it is worth.

I have to agree with FEENIX on this based on experience. I saw the same thing with Bushnell and a few other <$200 scopes. Many years ago in SD on a deer hunt I drug two rifles out with me because there were also a lot of coyotes around. My 300 RUM for deer with a Leupold VX-3 4.5-14LR and my 204 Ruger with a $150 Simmons scope on it. I had heard coyotes around me getting my scent in the dark and after the sun started coming up saw a coyote about 300yds away. Got the 204 in place to take the shot since there were no deer around and couldn't see anything through the scope and it was very dark through the scope. Thought that was odd because never had a problem seeing before. Pulled the 300 up and crystal clear. Took the coyote with the 300! As the sun came up more the scope was fine but just didn't work in low light. Sent scope back to Simmons and let them know what problem was. Instead of replacing they sent me a scope that cost 2x the price the predator quest version. While nicer, I've found it isn't much better in low light situations. Seen same thing happen to Bushnell Banner as well including the Bushnell lose it's tracking so sent it in. They gladly repaired it but I've relegated both of these scopes to day use only for target shooting on light shooting rifles as I wouldn't trust either to a hunt. Because of that I also won't purchase 'cheap' scopes for precision work or anything I'm using for hunting. Nikons are reasonably priced but I can't stand the open circle aim points so won't buy them anymore which is a shame because they do have good glass and seem to be of great quality. I just wish they offered different reticles. My Leupold, Zeiss, Nightforce scopes have never let me down. My buddy has a couple SWFA scopes that I mounted for him and used and admittedly I have to say that I'm probably going to give one of those a chance on my next rifle as they are reasonably priced and seem to be of good quality. Rule of thumb for me is cheap scopes on cheap calibers, i.e. rimfires and small centerfires only if you must save some money.