Scopes for average shooters on a budget

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ratherbefishin

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I am as enamoured as the next guy over the latest and highest quality 'glass' which you can spend a lot of money on, but not much is said about the average shooter on a budget...not the bench rest competition guy but the guy who likes to get out and do a little rimfire plinking or hit the deer woods in the fall.
An old 'K-4' or a 'scopechief' used to fill the bill ( and the budget) but now we have so many offerings it dificult to decide what's good value and what fits the budget and fills the needs of most of us( which I suspect are the majority of shooters)
My criteria for such a scope would be fixed power, probably 4 or 6 X ,clear glass in focus and adjustments that don't get knocked out...I'm suspect if all the stuff coming out of China ,but not ruling it out either ( Norinco makes some pretty good knock offs ,ie the JW15 copy of a BRNO,which while not as finely finished is accurate and functional,but at a fraction of the price) that's the stuff I'm asking about ,don't need all the bells and whistles, high magnification ,just a good functional scope that holds zero and doesn't break the budget or use up the mortgage money...not everybody is a sheep hunter or can afford Zeis
 
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On some of my guns I still use the older Weaver scopes, they are very durable and can be picked up quite reasonable at gun shows. Ive picked up a few for $20.00 or less. If you want to go new, I like the Bushnels, you get what you pay for with them, but they range from $79.00 to over a $1000.00 and have a lifetime warranty. There are a few other brands as well that could fit your needs. Just do your homework and check the reviews on a model your interested in.
 
Notwithstanding the old stuff( some of the old fixed power 'Scopechiefs ' made in Japan are still holding up nicely ) but they didn't have new lens coatings we have today either.Nikon made a nice fixed power rimfire scope but that was discontinued
 
I view a VX2 in a variable and an FX2 in a fixed as sensible minimums for centerfires. The few pennies you can save are nothing compared to the cost of shooting.

.22 plinkers can be scoped with anything you have laying around. I have Leupold Rimfires on the ones I care about.
 
Could be diminishing returns the more one spends on a scope. Impressed with these long-discontinued Bushnell Banner 1.5-4x20mm scopes that were manufactured in Japan back in the day. Appear to be early 1970's production. I picked up a couple of these new a while back, must have gotten lost in their inventory. Absolute gems for fifty bucks each.

Had one on my .45-70 Ruger No.1. Good clarity and brightness, and it held up to the recoil just fine.

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I suspect a lot of people may have succumbed to the ' latest whizbang' marketing propaganda and the demand for perfectly serviceable equipment has fallen by the wayside,resulting in discontinued lines. ie. The aforementioned Nikon Prostaff fixed 4X .

If the shooting sports are going to survive,we have to bring new blood into it and affordable equipment is essential as is experiancing the pure joy of just plain small game hunting and plinking..I know if it hadn't been for my 'bubba'd ' 303 and a Cooey iron sighted 22 I never would have even started hunting
 
My go to when I don't want to break the bank is Nikon, I have a couple prostaff scopes and have been very happy with them. One on a .22 and one on a .303, just picked up a couple cheap bushnell banner 3x9x40 to play with so we shall see how robust they are. For $100 a piece it will be good value if they hold up to 12g slug recoil, the other one is on an sks so I'm not worried about that one.
 
I’m not sure how much you want to spend but I have found the Bushnell banners to be great for really cheap. You can find package “take offs” (Bushnell not Weaver, we had a weaver go teets up) for next to nothing. But they are great scopes. Have had mine for years and it still works and my friend had one on a 30-06 savage that held up.

I wouldn’t be afraid of the 3-9 at all... esp not bushnell’s. Hell I’ve seen Bortex Crossfire 2’s (3-9) for 100 bucks. Not sure how Wrong you can go for a scope with a lifetime warranty. I just picked one up a 6-18 and it seems good.

Otherwise I would say for 200 you cane get a used ring marked Burris E1 shipped, and they are 400 new. I also have one (it somehow blew up) but before it did I liked it for my 243

Pembykid
 
Best value that I've seen out of any scope within the last 5 years have been Nikon's. Feature to dollar wise they can't be beat, and even the cheap models have good glass when compared to other makes in the same price range.

I got a wicked deal on a Monarch 3 for my .300 and feel spoiled by it, still not as nice as my sightron but that's on a rifle for an altogether different purpose. The Prostaff's that the BiL put on his rifle, and his wifes rifle are really nice scopes as well, especially when compared to the other $200-250 scopes available. Beats the redfield I bought a few years ago in the same price range.

I haven't looked at a Nikon scope I didn't like, and would recommend one for someone who needs a scope on a budget. They range from $200-$1000 depending on model, at least that's what I've seen them going for.
 
Cheap scopes always have a place. If you have a .22 rifle that's nothing special but you want some glass on it, why spend two or three hundred dollars on a scope for it?

I've looked through a few examples of the more current Bushnell banner and haven't been impressed with them though. Definately blurry at the high end of the magnification. The next step up, the Bushnell trophy, is a significant improvement over the banner in my opinion. I also have a Bushnell 3200 and I would say it is noticeably more clear than the trophy. The 3200 isn't exactly expensive in the world of rifle scopes, but I find it to be excellent.
 
Hi,
The day I bought a Vortex scope was the day I decided I would buy nothing but Vortex from then on (I now have three different optics from them). They have a good variety of magnifications, reticles, red dot, and prices. And you can buy a used one, and still have 100 percent warranty coverage. How do you go wrong? You can get an cheap vortex new for $250-300 tax in (which is in my opinion a pretty good scope for the price) and it will last you forever. When it stops working, send it in, get another. Or buy used for less. If its broken send it in and you have a new scope for the used price. That being said the resale value of these scopes is higher f Find the vortex website to see what is available.
 
IV been having good luck with the scorpion line of scopes. I have a 1-6 3mm tube on my 308 scout for hunting. A 3-9 compact on the wives 10-22 and a 6-24x50 30mm tube than I use to work up loads on various rifles. So far so good
 
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