What’s the best deer hunting scope for under $500?

Maol said:
At 2-300 yards with a 6.5C that Burris would more than do. Here is a heck of a deal, a Burris Veracity (Blem) 3x15x50 Ballistic Plex FFP at Natchess.

outdoors.natchezss.com

BLEMISHED Burris Veracity Rifle Scope - 3-15x50mm 30mm FFP Ballistic Plex E1 - Matte

The Burris Veracity 3-15x50mm riflescope is designed to help you capture prairie predators, elusive elk, or dangerous game. Proven Burris engineering combines with state-of-the-art refinements for accuracy and precision. Its 5-times zoom system provides a wide field of view and powerful ranging...
outdoors.natchezss.com outdoors.natchezss.com
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I had a Veracity and would love to believe I had a lemon, but Burris said it was in spec. The glass was barely better than my FFII. That's the same price as the Razor LH listed above. The two are not even in the same ballpark on quality of glass, at least to my eyes. The Veracity does feel like tank. I have no problem believing it'd last a lifetime, but the glass was disappointing.
 
jeffreyjwilliams said:
Hello,
I am looking for a new rifle scope for deer hunting. Hoping to keep it under $500. I will be hunting in Texas and Arkansas. The likely range will be less than 200 yards. Most of the time we will be shooting from deer blinds. I am shooting a Tikka T3x lite in 6.5 cm. I have been checking out the vortex diamondback tactical but looking for some other options.
Thanks in advance for your recommendations.
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Meopta Optika5 will get you excellent glass with superior low light brightness during prime hunting hours. They have a 2-10x42 for $349 and a 3-15x44 for $399, both of which would be good sizes for whitetail. Excellent quality Czech products w/ lifetime warranty. Don't be fooled by Vortex marketing, it's very mediocre quality Asian optics not really any different than any other products sourced out of Asia where the company whose name is on the side, doesn't actually manufacture anything. If a lot of people use the Vortex warranty....is it really that great of a product?
 
I would say if you are going to set it and forget it, Leupold would be fine. I have and have had some Leupolds. Never had an issue with them returning to zero, however would be disappointed IF when I needed to dial, they failed.

Recently was dialing down my Vari-X III to zero onto a rifle I mounted it on. It bottomed out and then the M1 turrets I had installed slipped. No idea how much, but it didn't matter as I had not shot it yet. I have dialed that one out to 600 yards or so and it seemed to return fine with those turrets. Lightweight too. Will see what else it would go on.

Like I said, if you are going to set it up and not dial a VX series is fine. Glass it pretty good for the money. I just picked up a used VX3 LR that will be going on this same said rifle for a little more power.
 
shiples0861 said:
Meopta Optika5 will get you excellent glass with superior low light brightness during prime hunting hours. They have a 2-10x42 for $349 and a 3-15x44 for $399, both of which would be good sizes for whitetail. Excellent quality Czech products w/ lifetime warranty. Don't be fooled by Vortex marketing, it's very mediocre quality Asian optics not really any different than any other products sourced out of Asia where the company whose name is on the side, doesn't actually manufacture anything. If a lot of people use the Vortex warranty....is it really that great of a product?
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What about nightforce, tract, maven....the list goes on. Yes some of the vortex bottom end is junk but pst and razor line is very good and some big companies put their name behind them.
 
Athlon Argos or Talos. You might even find a Helos on Ebay within your price range. It might be a bit more than you need, but I'd rather have more than less, just in case you ever expand your range someday.
 
jeffreyjwilliams said:
Hello,
I am looking for a new rifle scope for deer hunting. Hoping to keep it under $500. I will be hunting in Texas and Arkansas. The likely range will be less than 200 yards. Most of the time we will be shooting from deer blinds. I am shooting a Tikka T3x lite in 6.5 cm. I have been checking out the vortex diamondback tactical but looking for some other options.
Thanks in advance for your recommendations.
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Jeffrey, I also deer hunt in Arkansas and used to live in Texas as well so I'm familiar with the terrain you are hunting. Some of the suggestions would not be great for your conditions.

One of the primary factors to consider before you even choose a brand is reticle visibility at dawn and dusk--especially under the dark canopy of deep woods. Many scopes that are fine for wide open spaces fail inside the woods where the shade and dark and the brush and briars are thick.

First of all, you can pretty much rule out FFP scopes for your terrain.
You also do not need to dial elevation and big tall turrets will only get in the way.

You do need wide FOV since you will probably take most shots under 100 yards. Unless you hunt pipelines or Right-of-Ways, there are not a lot places you can get shots farther than that where you hunt.

I have a Bushnell Elite 6500 2.5-16X on one of my deer rifles for that very reason. My others have been OK for close shots even with Burris Black Diamond 4-16X. But you don't want or need to go any higher than 4X on the low end of magnification.

What kind of reticle do you need for this--highly visible--maybe an illuminated center dot would enable you to take shots at dawn and dusk.
 
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I am one who sets/forgets. I like the older VX3 but for the money, a Burris Fullfield II 3x9 BDC for around $200 is ideal. I have used them on hard kickers, shot them out to 700yds to record my range/dashes on a 7mm RUM, rain/snow/no problems. Last one I got for $180+ at OpticsPlanet. The Vortex Crossfires are a gamble out here, see many go wonky on guys rifles at the range. Natchez sells Weavers, Nikons are good. My "first centerfire scope" was a Montgomery Wards (made by Tasco) 3x9x40 on a mod 77 .280, this was down in Liberty Co, Texas. I shot a buck at 15 steps on 3x and another at 276 long steps down a Pipeline on 9x. Always held zero. So you have alot of options. Let us know what you ended up with.
Caveat Emptor- Last year I bought a Leupold VX3 3.5x10x40 from a guy on a forum for $250. When I got it, he had went past the stops on the Elevation turret and stripped it. I just sent it to Oregon and Leupold repaired it, warranty, but I spent more $$ on shipping and had to wait around 6 weeks. You "pays your money and takes your chances", ha.
 
jimbires said:
for hunting out of a blind , at 200 yards and in , you don't need tactical . there will be no need to dial , no need for side focus . I think what you need is a 3-9 that is good in low light .

I don't know what out there compares , but if Zeiss still made the conquest 3-9x40 , that would probably be an ideal scope for you . I have a few of these and use them as you are planning to . at the end they sold these for $400 .
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You sometimes can find on ebay
.used in like new condition
 
I like that diamondback tactical in FFP. My brother just put that on a tikka t3 and it's a shooter! Really out to 200 yards a basic 3-9 would fit the bill.
 
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