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Rifle scope recommendations

If your shots are less than 200 yards, with an occasional shot to 300, I don't think you need anything more than a basic 3-9x scope. I have a fixed 4x on a muzzleloader and have taken shots out to 200 yards. And I am no Davey Crocket. Higher power scopes require better quality glass and for your money of around $300 to $500 put the $$ into quality glass over magnification. Clarity beats magnification any day, particularly in low light situations (dawn and dusk).

Brandwise, lots of options in your price range. I would look for deals with brands that have good warranties. I've been happy with Vortex but I am sure there are lots of good choices. IMO, $300-500 is close to a sweet spot regarding price and quality.
 
I have a model 700 16.5 inch 308 with a nikon buckmaster 4.5 to 15 scope. Was like 280 when I bought it like 6 years ago. I absolutely hammer deer with that gun.
 
Shoot a less expensive scope like a Nikon Monarch and put the extra money into ammo to practice with. I have no trouble ringing steel plates at 700 yards with my 4x10x40mm Nikon. I have three rifles with Nikon scopes, very inexpensive to pick up used, and they have always held up well in the woods for me. Good low light performance as well. People laugh when they see me set up on the long range with a beat Rem 700 in 308 and a Nikon, but it gets the job done. Then I am the one laughing cuase I have less than $500 tied up in the whole rig.
 
I love my older Nikons; however, Nikon is now out of the rifle scope business. I would be leery of purchasing a Nikon now.
 
sojourner said:
I love my older Nikons; however, Nikon is now out of the rifle scope business. I would be leery of purchasing a Nikon now.
Click to expand...
They quit making them? Crying shame.

I bought a vortex for my new .22 mag, and I still just don't think the optical quality is as good as nikon. Sad if my prostaffs are collector's models now.
 
Get a good scope. You want it to shoot the same on 3x as it does on 12x. The cheaper the scope the less likely it will track well.
I have a 4x12x40 Leopold on my 308 and couldn’t be happier. I got rid of my bigger magnification scopes when I moved to Tn shots out to 500 are rare here.


See you in a tree, Ricky
 
If you can find one of the Zeiss Conquest in a 3x9x40 that @Blinginpse referred to you should buy one. I have a couple and they really can't be beat for the money. That scope is no longer offered from Zeiss. It was actually not even made by Zeiss. It was manufactured by Meopta for Zeiss. They stopped doing that and Cablea's picked up that line from Meopta and sold it as their Instinct HD line at one time.

Cabela's Instinct HD Rifle Scope | Cabela's

The Cabela's® Instinct® HD Rifle Scope is fully multicoated with MeoBright 5501™ ion-assisted lens coatings, resulting in industry-leading 99.8% light transmission. Premium lenses,
www.cabelas.com www.cabelas.com
 
I have owned leupold and vortex, you can't go wrong with either. I also put a Hawke 5x20 on a 6.5 build I finished last year and it was awesome. They make a good product as well, made in the UK, and the warranty looked good but never had to use it as I sold the rifle. There are some lesser known brands that are worth a look but if it seems too good to be true for the $, it is too good to be true.
 
Squirrels said:
If you can find one of the Zeiss Conquest in a 3x9x40 that @Blinginpse referred to you should buy one. I have a couple and they really can't be beat for the money. That scope is no longer offered from Zeiss. It was actually not even made by Zeiss. It was manufactured by Meopta for Zeiss. They stopped doing that and Cablea's picked up that line from Meopta and sold it as their Instinct HD line at one time.

Cabela's Instinct HD Rifle Scope | Cabela's

The Cabela's® Instinct® HD Rifle Scope is fully multicoated with MeoBright 5501™ ion-assisted lens coatings, resulting in industry-leading 99.8% light transmission. Premium lenses,
www.cabelas.com www.cabelas.com
Click to expand...
Bingo, many do not know that.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 
Nutterbuster said:
They quit making them? Crying shame.

I bought a vortex for my new .22 mag, and I still just don't think the optical quality is as good as nikon. Sad if my prostaffs are collector's models now.
Click to expand...

Yupper. Prostaffs, Monarchs, all of them. To me, the older Nikons were great upper middle-tier scopes.

My Nikon scopes,
My H&R Ultra Slug Hunter,
Parker Crossbow

All collectors items.
 
sojourner said:
I love my older Nikons; however, Nikon is now out of the rifle scope business. I would be leery of purchasing a Nikon now.
Click to expand...

Yep, an absolute shame. They were my choice for performance per dollar. They do claim they will continue to honor their lifetime guarantee though, and there's still quite a few out there for sale.
 
I’ll third Vortex. They’re customer service and warranty are top notch. Here’s a post of mine about an experience I had with them:

Vortex for lyfe!

Awesome experience with Vortex. I have two of their scopes already but wasn't aware just how awesome their customer service is. Here's my tale: Bought a new open box Spitfire ar off ebay. Arrived and was missing the turrets, manual and tool. Whatever I'm cool. Emailed vortex and said hey how...
saddlehunter.com
I also have a diamondback on my 308, love it. Matter of fact I was yote hunting and dropped my rifle outta the tree stand(don’t ask). Rifle landed on the scope when it hit the ground. Aside from being covered in dirt and a couple small scuffs it was still dead nuts.
 
For the money the primary arms is hard to beat. The bdc is specific for 308.
I love mine. After having a illuminated reticle & first focal plane, I can never go back.
I'd buy it again over my vortex, nikons & leupold's (all of which are great too).

Here's the one I got & love.

Primary Arms SLx 3-18x50mm FFP Rifle Scope - Illuminated ACSS-HUD-DMR-308

There's a cheaper one but there are a few things different but would still punch
way above it's price. I've got no experience with it though.

Primary Arms SLx 4-14x44mm FFP Rifle Scope - Illuminated ACSS-HUD-DMR-308
 
All of my optics are Vortex; binos, range finders, and all scopes. . Great warranty and bang for the buck. Buy the highest level you budget allows and you won’t be disappointed.
 
Squirrels said:
If you can find one of the Zeiss Conquest in a 3x9x40 that @Blinginpse referred to you should buy one. I have a couple and they really can't be beat for the money. That scope is no longer offered from Zeiss. It was actually not even made by Zeiss. It was manufactured by Meopta for Zeiss. They stopped doing that and Cablea's picked up that line from Meopta and sold it as their Instinct HD line at one time.

Cabela's Instinct HD Rifle Scope | Cabela's

The Cabela's® Instinct® HD Rifle Scope is fully multicoated with MeoBright 5501™ ion-assisted lens coatings, resulting in industry-leading 99.8% light transmission. Premium lenses,
www.cabelas.com www.cabelas.com
Click to expand...
Good call! I have 2 Cabela’s branded Meopta’s. They are fantastic! My wife has a Cabela’s Magnitude which was made by Vortex and it’s also excellent quality. You can find these on EBay for real reasonable prices
 
TooBigToFit said:
Yep, an absolute shame. They were my choice for performance per dollar. They do claim they will continue to honor their lifetime guarantee though, and there's still quite a few out there for sale.
Click to expand...
My Dad called Nikon on a warranty issue on a Monarch recently. They will honor warranty to original owner with receipt. But here’s the kicker.....
only until parts and supplies are exhausted. That is a deterrent for me, although I’m not pulling my Nikons out of use
 
fbwguy said:
My Dad called Nikon on a warranty issue on a Monarch recently. They will honor warranty to original owner with receipt. But here’s the kicker.....
only until parts and supplies are exhausted. That is a deterrent for me, although I’m not pulling my Nikons out of use
Click to expand...

Good to know. Understandable that they can only do so if they have parts, but a bit of a bummer. Still, I'd like another Prostaff Rimfire. They seemed to be the best bang for the buck rimfire scopes around.
 
Nikon scopes have fantastic lens and they are clearing them out right now.
I'd go 2.5-10x
 
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