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Rifle Scopes I can't find the perfect budget scope and I know it exists.

athhud

athhud

Full Member
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 17, 2007
134
4
Florala, Alabama
I'm looking for the perfect scope to suit my grandfather's .243 coyote killer. I need something that isn't going to lose zero banging around in the tractor cab. That's the most abuse it will see. It must have a graduated reticle that sub-tends to a round figure. Preferably not a BDC that subtends to 3.74 etc. moa or some shit like that. I prefer mils, but MOA is fine too. The elevation and windage just have to match the reticle. I prefer .1mil or .25moa adjustments, but it doesn't really matter as the reticle will be used far more than the turrets. The turrets must be capable of zeroing and must be covered. Tube diameter isn't really a factor. No need for illumination. The bigger the objective the better, nothing smaller than a 40. Other than reticle and turrets, my main concern is low light capability. 90% of the shots he takes will be right at dark. I'm looking for something under $400 so I understand that I have to compromise somewhere. The glass quality doesn't really matter. I don't care if the image is a little fuzzy or if the color is off. The lowlight visibility is the only factor to be considered. He needs something more powerful than a 4 power, but no more than a 10.

I'm a huge SWFA SS fan. The 6x SS would be the no brainer if the turrets were covered or would lock. So what I am looking for is something as close to the 6xSS as I can get. I would prefer a fixed power for the cost, simplicity, and durability, but variable isn't a deal breaker. I just don't need anything over 10 power.

I know there is a 3-9x50 out there somewhere, that fits the bill. All I can find is what I consider to be cheap Chinese junk. I have never had a pleasant experience with the low end scopes, so I figured you guys would be better at weeding out the junk than I am. Some Japanese glass that fits my description and won't fall apart is all I want! I didn't think I was being too picky until I started shopping. The biggest hurdle, it seems, is that all of the "tactical" scopes with a graduated reticle and a half decent turrets, have exposed turrets. He will never check to make sure that the knobs haven't been turned off of zero. If he did check he probably couldn't see the lines anyway, so I know exposed will not work well. Especially since the rifle will be tossed around a thousand times more than it will be shot.


Edit: I forgot to add that if I have to go with a variable that I want it to be FFP

Also, bonus points if it is sold by SWFA!
 
Last edited:
Perhaps "budget" and "perfect" do not go together?

But....

I'd recommend a VORTEX scope.
 
You're not going to get all of that for even twice your budget. Basically what you want is a NF 2.5-10 with capped turrets and NPR1 reticle for 1/3 the price.

Any BDC reticle in your price range is going to have the odd spaced hash marks, in fact I believe Swarovski is the only one that makes a typical BDC reticle that is evenly space and is mils too. The closet thing to what you want in your price range has a mildot reticle and doesn't have capped turrets and thats the weaver tactical 3-10. You get you matched knobs and reticle, japanese construction, 3-10 mag range, and decent low light performance. The Weaver is one of the few budget scopes I've found whos crosshairs don't dissapear when the light starts going down.

Unfortunately you're not going to get exactly what you want for $400. Also the same thing that makes the image 'fuzzy' as you put it also makes it suck in low light which you say is your main concern. You need to accept this and decide what you're willing to settle on. For your purpose the first thing I'd settle on would either be not requiring the knobs to match the reticle (you said your only going to zero it), and the reticle substentions having to be equal. With a reticle like that you're going to have to have a reference card anyway which you can make for any reticle regardless of the substentions.

Another option would be the Bushnell Elite 3-9X40 bone collecter with BDC reticle from natchez if you can live without a few more features. It is also made in japan, is in your magnification requirements, has capped turrets, BDC reticle, good glass, and its reticle also doesn't dissapear in low light.

Or you can spend $1200 on a scope that will get you all those features.
 
The Viper may have to be what I settle for. I just wish they would offer the same thing in a fixed magnification.

That Burris is very attractive. I don't know how I missed it. I assume it is SFP? I've already doubled his budget by allowing an extra $200 out of my pocket as a Christmas gift. An extra $50 is pushing it this time of year, but I think it would be well worth it if the MTAC is one of the "no questions asked lifetime warranty" scopes that Burris offers.


Amsdorf said:
Perhaps "budget" and "perfect" do not go together?

But....

I'd recommend a VORTEX scope.
Click to expand...

Oh I am well aware. That's how I end up with white boxes from USO...

redneckbmxer24 said:
You're not going to get all of that for even twice your budget. Basically what you want is a NF 2.5-10 with capped turrets and NPR1 reticle for 1/3 the price.

Any BDC reticle in your price range is going to have the odd spaced hash marks, in fact I believe Swarovski is the only one that makes a typical BDC reticle that is evenly space and is mils too. The closet thing to what you want in your price range has a mildot reticle and doesn't have capped turrets and thats the weaver tactical 3-10. You get you matched knobs and reticle, japanese construction, 3-10 mag range, and decent low light performance. The Weaver is one of the few budget scopes I've found whos crosshairs don't dissapear when the light starts going down.

Unfortunately you're not going to get exactly what you want for $400. Also the same thing that makes the image 'fuzzy' as you put it also makes it suck in low light which you say is your main concern. You need to accept this and decide what you're willing to settle on. For your purpose the first thing I'd settle on would either be not requiring the knobs to match the reticle (you said your only going to zero it), and the reticle substentions having to be equal. With a reticle like that you're going to have to have a reference card anyway which you can make for any reticle regardless of the substentions.

Another option would be the Bushnell Elite 3-9X40 bone collecter with BDC reticle from natchez if you can live without a few more features. It is also made in japan, is in your magnification requirements, has capped turrets, BDC reticle, good glass, and its reticle also doesn't dissapear in low light.

Or you can spend $1200 on a scope that will get you all those features.
Click to expand...

No, basically what I want is a $300 SWFA with capped turrets that I would be willing to pay $100 for. I didn't say I wanted a BDC reticle. I'll take pretty much anything that equally corresponds with the turrets. I'm not asking for premium lowlight glass. I just want the best lowlight glass that is available in the ~$400 range. I should have just said that I don't need an adjustable parallax rather than using words such as fuzzy. I didn't know that I needed to justify each need, so I guess I could have been more clear on the requirement for matching the knobs to the reticle. My grandfather will never use them, but I will. I built the rifle for him and it is one of my favorite hunting rifles, so I use it fairly often. If it were just for my use I would get a USO ST-10 and be done with it. The Weaver just will not work for me. Exposed turrets are a deal breaker. I can't find sub tensions for the DOA reticle anywhere and anyone that has asked Bushnell couldn't get a straight answer, so that is the nail in its coffin as far as I am concerned.

Thanks for the help!

The Primary Arms is a little too powerful for my liking, but it might be interesting if I could find more reviews on their products. I just haven't seen too many people that have had hands on experience with them.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well that made things easy! I didn't even know you guys price matched. That plus my trade in will be an awesome price! Thanks fellas!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
SWFA has a sale but it may not have exactly what you want. its today only.
 
There's also Midways BSA Tactical 4-14 mil/mil FFP. Only $250 and a great scope for the money.

I'm with you though... I wish the scope companies would come out with a lightweight $400 compact FFP scope with a 1" tube, maybe 2-12x45, with capped finger adjustable .1 mil low profile turrets and a basic half mil reticle.
 
athhud said:
I can't find sub tensions for the DOA reticle anywhere and anyone that has asked Bushnell couldn't get a straight answer, so that is the nail in its coffin as far as I am concerned.
Click to expand...

Thats a non issue. You simply take one of those fancy USO's of yours, place a pieces of cardboard at whatever distance (inside 100 yards works best, I do 25-50) with a bunch of orange dot targets in a vertical line spaced unevenly. You mil/MOA the distances with a known scope and then figure the values with the BDC reticle scope on high magnification. I do this all the time as most BDC reticles don't come with substentions, in fact I've got the DOA 600 one laying here somewhere I'll try to dig up.

You can also use one of the grid sight in targets but the small 1" or so orange dots are much easier than counting lines.
 
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