Also look at a Leupold Rifleman or VX-1 in 3-9x.

So if not Vortex, what are the recommendations in the $150-$200 range. Primary Hunt is Whitetail/Hogs.

How about none. If that's your scope budget I would be scared to see your base and rings budget

Jimmie, at that price range you can get a very nice Burris FFII. The 4.5-14 was, I think, recently discounted to $200. I have a couple of them on various rifles and think that they are really nice. Used one on my 260 for about a year and can only say good things about them.

Of course, if you want to be cranking turrets, which is rarely necessary for pigs and deer, I doubt you'll get a good scope at that price.

Well alrighty then. Guess all my hunting gear will be for sale in the Classifieds and we'll find another hobby with the kids.

Don't be scared, it's just poor writing for don't forget your base and rings in the factor. There is a pretty good market on usable scopes in your range. Just be on the look out for much better scopes for not much more money.

I'm no competition shooter and I don't do a lot of dialing, but I do generally hunt one type of critter or another at least 2-3 times a week, year round. I have four Vortex Crossfire II's and I am completely satisfied with the performance of them all. I could have spent $1,500 each to keep up with the Jones's, but $150 each to get the job done and still have $5,400 in my pocket just makes more sense to me. I don't need to shoot a dime sized group at 1,000 yards to kill a deer, pig, coyote, etc. I don't shoot thousands of rounds at paper either. Maybe one day the Vortex's will break down; but under normal, plain old hunting conditions they have proven very reliable and accurate for me. I understand that some folks have a different job to get done and they may need a more expensive tool to work with; but for my purposes, Vortex fits the bill just fine and I will probably buy another Vortex when I need another scope. And no I don't work for Vortex or anyone associated with them.

This week, my 5-20 Razor is going back to Vortex for the third time. First time was for tracking issues, second time my reticle came loose and would spin when turning up or down the magnification, and this time it's going back for not holding a zero and tracking issues. Each time they have fixed this scope until it broke again. We will see what they say this time. This a very early Razor, and I hope they will consider replacing it. Three times for issues is enough to burn anyone.

It would be nice to find a scope that doesn't break, but I'm not sure such a scope exists.

How about none. If that's your scope budget I would be scared to see your base and rings budget

I certainly couldn't use a fixed 12x on a deer hunting rifle. 6x would be much more practical.