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Rifle Scopes Best budget scope?

3

308sniper147

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 13, 2013
554
2
Huntsville, AL
I am buying a .223 for an extremely close person to me(they roam these forums sometimes through google so I'm being secretive;))and might be able to afford a scope depending on what it is. I currently have a falcon menace 4-14 FFP x44mm. I will purchase a vortex at some point or another. Anywho, it doesn't have to be FFP as they will basically only be shooting with me at known target distances. I would consider a fixed power if it was outstanding in all other categories. Just let me know what you guys think would be a good starter scope with good glass, good fit&finish, and exposed mill/mill turrets.


Thanks,
Andrew
 
I might as well just only talk to you lol! Thanks for your help.
And with this scope I don't want to name a price to see what everyone says is the primo budget scope or some options.
 
Popular/typical recommendations:

$200 Bushnell 3200 Tactical 10/40 mil/mil
$300 Weaver GS Tactical 3-10x40 mil/mil
$300 SWFA SS 10x42, 12x42, 16x42 MRAD or MOA (depending on preferences)

I personally own two of the Weaver 3-10x. They have 1" tubes, only 16.5MIL of elevation and no side/rear focus but have good glass clarity, are light, track well, and the variable power is a benefit for some.
 
Hey 308, I have been running a Vomz, Russian scope on my M700. It's very accurate out to 1000. Yes, the manual is in Russian but it's very easy to work in the chevron based graduates. Take a look at them a see what you think. They are very reasonable in price.
 
308sniper147 said:
I might as well just only talk to you lol! Thanks for your help.
And with this scope I don't want to name a price to see what everyone says is the primo budget scope or some options.
Click to expand...

Everyone has a different opinion on what they consider to be a budget optic. For Your tasks IMO a good quality budget optic would be the swfa ss scopes in fixed power. They are available in 6x, 10x, 12x, 16x, and 20x. You can check them out here SWFA Riflescopes SWFA SS Rifle Scopes SWFA SS Scopes SWFA SS MRAD Scopes
 
If I were looking into a simple budget scope for a .223 I'd look at the various Sightrons. They've come a long way in the past decade.
 
BoilerUP said:
Popular/typical recommendations:

$200 Bushnell 3200 Tactical 10/40 mil/mil
$300 Weaver GS Tactical 3-10x40 mil/mil
$300 SWFA SS 10x42, 12x42, 16x42 MRAD or MOA (depending on preferences)

I personally own two of the Weaver 3-10x. They have 1" tubes, only 16.5MIL of elevation and no side/rear focus but have good glass clarity, are light, track well, and the variable power is a benefit for some.
Click to expand...



Also, what 1" ring and base do you run with is? I've ran weaver one peice 20moa base and had nothing but good luck with mine.
 
308sniper147 said:
Also, what 1" ring and base do you run with is? I've ran weaver one peice 20moa base and had nothing but good luck with mine.
Click to expand...

The AR has Burris XTR extra highs (too high IMO) and the other is on a 22LR with 0MOA EGW base and Burris Signature Zee medium rings. XTR Lows would work great with a 20MOA base.

I find Weaver 20MOA bases to be a good value; don't own any currently but previously have had 2.
 
Ive got a bushnell 3200 fixed 10x my savage 308, does everything I need it too. If you want a variable then the weaver tac looks nice. What about a Leupold mark AR I think the 3-9 can be had pretty cheap especially the capped turret. Mod 1 has exposed turrets not mil/mil though but I could be wrong.
 
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My two budget scopes are Nikon buckmaster 6-18x44 mildot sfp and vortex viper6.5-20x44 v plex sfp. Both have surprisingly good glass for the money and track very well.
 
rweaver00geo said:
Ive got a bushnell 3200 fixed 10x my savage 308, does everything I need it too. If you want a variable then the weaver tac looks nice. What about a Leupold mark AR I think the 3-9 can be had pretty cheap especially the capped turret. Mod 1 has exposed turrets not mil/mil though but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

The Mk AR mod 1 series all have mil turrets (plain non-mod 1 are moa). They have plain duplex, mildot, and fire dot illuminated reticle options. I have the 3-9x40 and I have ended up really liking it. 18.2 mils of elevation in mine, pretty clear glass and nice smooth mag ring... Actually a good value in a Leupold, it is the main direct competitor to the weaver 3-10x IMO.
 
Twisted300Win MAG said:
My two budget scopes are Nikon buckmaster 6-18x44 mildot sfp and vortex viper6.5-20x44 v plex sfp. Both have surprisingly good glass for the money and track very well.
Click to expand...

Always wanted to try one of those nikons. Have used the monarchs which are nice which was a variable power that topped out at 20x I believe.
 
I had to send my Vortex pst in twice for warranty work so i had lost faith in it. I stepped down to the swfa fixed 16x and couldnt be happier. A solid scope with decent glass, cant beat it for $300.
 
SFWA. Awesome glass, great value, and the best customer service of any manufacturer. If you decide you don't like the scope they will even give you a good trade in value on another scope and they have a great selection. Do yourself a favor and checkout their website.
 
+1 for bushnell elite 3200 have one on my 223 and could see a milk jug at 600 yards easy. Dialed In for 600 one shot hit. Brought my scope back to zero and shot it was right back on the money at 100 yards. Love this scope. Tracks great nice clear glass and good audible turrets that you can really hear and feel
 
As for SWAF I saw them offer to give a guy back his money because he was complaining about his scope. That is putting your money and customer service out front. This was here in the last two to three months.
 
I have two nikon buckmasters 4.5-14x40 sf with mil-dot ret. both track very well. I move them all the time from 100-700 yards and never have a problem. One is on a 300 win mag. So recoil is in the factor as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I recently picked up a Counter Sniper DOH-326 10-40x - 56mm. Surprisingly enough, it has very clear glass! I also own an ATACR NF, that set me back $2500. With the CS, up to 30 power, the glass is as clear as my NF! I tested zero return and its dead on every time. Excellent light transmission through the 35mm tube. The TDRM reticle makes it so easy to range in yards or meters. Mine is the SFP, but you can get it in FFP. Fallback is, no Zero stop like on my NF, but everything else is equal. Shipped to my door with 6 screw rings $660. Check them out, I'm very happy with the package!
 
88blazer said:
I recently picked up a Counter Sniper DOH-326 10-40x - 56mm. Surprisingly enough, it has very clear glass! I also own an ATACR NF, that set me back $2500. With the CS, up to 30 power, the glass is as clear as my NF! I tested zero return and its dead on every time. Excellent light transmission through the 35mm tube. The TDRM reticle makes it so easy to range in yards or meters. Mine is the SFP, but you can get it in FFP. Fallback is, no Zero stop like on my NF, but everything else is equal. Shipped to my door with 6 screw rings $660. Check them out, I'm very happy with the package!
Click to expand...

96179-fic-injector-black-friday-sale-maybe-futurama-fry-not-sure-if-jpg
 
Best budget scope?

88blazer said:
I recently picked up a Counter Sniper DOH-326 10-40x - 56mm. Surprisingly enough, it has very clear glass! I also own an ATACR NF, that set me back $2500. With the CS, up to 30 power, the glass is as clear as my NF! I tested zero return and its dead on every time. Excellent light transmission through the 35mm tube. The TDRM reticle makes it so easy to range in yards or meters. Mine is the SFP, but you can get it in FFP. Fallback is, no Zero stop like on my NF, but everything else is equal. Shipped to my door with 6 screw rings $660. Check them out, I'm very happy with the package!
Click to expand...
LMFAO!

It was obviously sarcasm.
 
OP I would suggest SWFA super sniper line especially the fixed 10 power.
 
Last edited:
About a year ago I purchased an illuminated Weaver Kaspa 3-12x44 with tactical ballistic-X reticle for my single-shot 223.
At that time it was on sale for a little over $100 shipped so I got it.
It has a 30mm tube.
It's not MIL/MIL but has been a great cheap little scope for me with the single-shot.

Good luck.
 
I've been shooting SWFA scopes for more than a decade now, and have bought/traded/sold many of them. My current recomendation - for the money - is the 12x fixed power mil/mil at $300. Here's a right-up I did to review the 3-15 FFP SWFA
https://tacticalgunreview.com/blog/2013/09/swfa-ss-3-15x42-tactical-rifle-scope-review/

From there you have to spend a lot more money to get more features and Vortex is the next in line. I realy love the PST 4-16 FFP for the money.
In the SWFA fixed power line, I find the higher-mag ones work, but the eye box is a bit less forgiving than the 10 and 12x models.
 
any of the new offerings from NCStar are amazing, I mean, who doesn't want rubber armor on a scope?
 
VJJPunisher said:
any of the new offerings from NCStar are amazing, I mean, who doesn't want rubber armor on a scope?
Click to expand...

I second this. I've also heard Countersniper is coming out with new stuff at SHOT. I'd take a seriously close look at them.
 
GlockandRoll said:
I've been shooting SWFA scopes for more than a decade now, and have bought/traded/sold many of them. My current recomendation - for the money - is the 12x fixed power mil/mil at $300. Here's a right-up I did to review the 3-15 FFP SWFA
https://tacticalgunreview.com/blog/2013/09/swfa-ss-3-15x42-tactical-rifle-scope-review/

From there you have to spend a lot more money to get more features and Vortex is the next in line. I realy love the PST 4-16 FFP for the money.
In the SWFA fixed power line, I find the higher-mag ones work, but the eye box is a bit less forgiving than the 10 and 12x models.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that link. I have now read several of your reviews from that site. I also have it bookmarked.
 
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