Looking for $250 - $500 scope with side focus and non-covered turrets

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NOrrTH

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I bought a Savage .17 BSEV and I want to put a good scope on it. Im just going to be paper punching with it and like to fiddle with the turrets

I have a 10/22 with a Bushnell AR 4-12 and loved the turrets and side focus. My next scope I'd like to go up to 4x18'ish power. I can't find anything in my price range with non-covered "clicking" 1/4 MOA turrets and a side focus other than the Bushnell AR series.

I found a Vortex Viper 6.5 x 20 x 44 for $360 but they don't ship to Canada and the turrets are covered.

Any suggestions?

Thank you.
 
NOrrTH said:
I bought a Savage .17 BSEV and I want to put a good scope on it. Im just going to be paper punching with it and like to fiddle with the turrets

I have a 10/22 with a Bushnell AR 4-12 and loved the turrets and side focus. My next scope I'd like to go up to 4x18'ish power. I can't find anything in my price range with non-covered "clicking" 1/4 MOA turrets and a side focus other than the Bushnell AR series.

I found a Vortex Viper 6.5 x 20 x 44 for $360 but they don't ship to Canada and the turrets are covered.

Any suggestions?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

How about a Millet LRS? Side paralax, open turrets that are lockable and resetable to zero, 1/4 moa clicks, should be less than $500
 
^^^ +1 on that recommendation. I had the smaller 4-16x50 TRS model and it was pretty solid. No issues with it at all. I sold mine and thinking maybe I should've kept it for another future rifle. They are larger sized scopes compared to other brands. The LRS scope is BIG! Both have pretty good glass and a lifetime warranty via Bushnell. I believe the LRS is over $500 new. There were a couple on EE for around $400?
 
NOrrTH said:
I bought a Savage .17 BSEV and I want to put a good scope on it. Im just going to be paper punching with it and like to fiddle with the turrets

I have a 10/22 with a Bushnell AR 4-12 and loved the turrets and side focus. My next scope I'd like to go up to 4x18'ish power. I can't find anything in my price range with non-covered "clicking" 1/4 MOA turrets and a side focus other than the Bushnell AR series.

I found a Vortex Viper 6.5 x 20 x 44 for $360 but they don't ship to Canada and the turrets are covered.

Any suggestions?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

I have a very nice Sightmark for sale, its under your budget, and works flawlessly. Looks and acts like new, barley used. Turrets are open, and they lock. Side para adjust too. Here is the link.
 
If you liked the Bushnell AR 4-12X why not buy the Bushnell AR 4.5-18X? They are in your price range. I added a sponsor link to the scope for your info.

http://frontierfirearms.ca/optics/scopes/bushnell-4-5-18x40-bdc-reticle.html

Unless you are willing go with covered turrets or give up on the side focus there are limited options available. I went with an NcStar scope with the same criteria you had but got tired of warranty returns because the internals were crap. I will never buy crappy Chinese scopes again.

The Vortex Crossfire II 6-18X has caught my eye since I have gotten into shooting my 10/22 at longer ranges (100-300 yards) and my 3-9X Bushnell Rimfire does not have enough magnification to suit me. I really like Vortex's unlimited lifetime warranty.
 
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homer76 said:
If you liked the Bushnell AR 4-12X why not buy the Bushnell AR 4.5-18X? They are in your price range. I added a sponsor link to the scope for your info.

http://frontierfirearms.ca/optics/scopes/bushnell-4-5-18x40-bdc-reticle.html

Unless you are willing go with covered turrets or give up on the side focus there are limited options available. I went with an NcStar scope with the same criteria you had but got tired of warranty returns because the internals were crap. I will never buy crappy Chinese scopes again.

The Vortex Crossfire II 6-18X has caught my eye since I have gotten into shooting my 10/22 at longer ranges (100-300 yards) and my 3-9X Bushnell Rimfire does not have enough magnification to suit me. I really like Vortex's unlimited lifetime warranty.
Click to expand...

Good call on the Bushnell AR series scopes. They're in the OP's price range. They've got surprisingly clear optics compared to some scopes that cost 3x as much. My 1-4x is holding solid so far. My coworker has the 3-12x. The Nikon AR series are also priced similarly and have really clear glass too. Lots of choices out there.
 
I like high end scopes, but one entry level scope that make the cut is a Bushnell Elite 3200 10X40 Mildot, very clear and reliable scope, i use it on many of my rifles and never had a problem, under 300.00... JP.
 
Thanks for all the advice.

I went to Wholesale Sports and spent a looong time looking through many scopes, holding them up swapping one after the other, same magnification and all focused. I was at one end of the large store and was focusing on a calendar in an office at the other end which was probably 60'ish yards. If I am truly honest I couldn't discern any real difference in clarity or brightness between them. No doubt inside a store with florescent lighting isn't the best place to test scopes but they weren't going to let me take a box full to the range. The lease expensive was a Bushnell AR 223 at $170 and the most expensive was a Bushnell Elite at $520. The one's in between were a couple of Burris and three Vortex.

I ended up walking out with a Vortex Viper 6.5x20x44 because:

It appeared to be the highest quality
Has an excellent magnification dial
Highest magnification compared with the next highest Bushnell Elite at 18
Side focus
Turrets felt the most well made - the clicks seem more precise and the markings on them were finer.
Best warranty "unconditional"
Was on sale for $499

If they had of had a Bushnell AR 223 6.5x18x40 ($260) in stock I probably would of bought it because it would have more than met my needs, but I'm glad they didn't :0)
 
The Vortex is a great scope. I tried out a 6.5-20x50, great glass but the min focus of 50 yrds was a deal breaker. Targets off the bench at 25 couldn't be done. Same thing for gophers at close ranges, the fuzzy image didn't work for me. Went with a Bushy Elite 6-18, fills the bill nicely.
 
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