Looked at a diamondback today and I think the crossfire is a better scope. Eyebrelief was ok at 4x but at 12 you would be risky shooting it and not getting smacked. So now that I'm looking for a cheaper scope for a cheaper gun. What's out there decent under $200

Midway has Nikon ProStaff 3-9 for $179.00 or so. It's their bottom line scope but I have one on a 30-06 and it has stood up just fine.

What about the buck master? Saw those at academy today. I've used the pro staff but not 100% sure that's what I want

The older Buckmaster was a very fine scope. The newer "Buckmaster II" is the old ProStaff renamed. The old Buckmaster is now the ProStaff 5. I'd pass on the Buckmaster II because of the poor glass qulity.

FWIW, as I understand it the internal workings of all but the Monarch series are basically the same. The actual glass is of varying grades and coatings between the ProStaff, Buckmaster II, and ProStaff 5. Reliability on all of them would be the same.

I'm a Nikon junkie. Own 9 of them, and none of them have ever failed in any way.

EDIT TO ADD: Send a message to a member here "Barton H". He is a Nikon rep and can give you the exact details on the model differences.

Don't know how you think the Crossfire is better than a Diamondback. The Diamondback is a better scope IMO. I would think the majority of people feel the same.

For my eyes the best scope for $200.00 and under is the Burris Fullfield II and then the Diamondback. YMMV.

Problem I had with the diamondback was on higher magnification eye relief was terrible. Glass may be better but I don't want to get scoped either. Low magnification they were fine its just higher power.

There are 2 versions of the Diamondback.
The D'Back HP uses Viper glass and has an eye relief of 3.9"'s, while the regular D'Back has an eye relief of 3.3"s.

You can verify that data either on Cabela's simplified description chart, or on Cameraland of NY's more complete individual product listings.

The Crossfire II series is also, as I remember, in the 3.9' ER range, at least the 4x12x50 A/O I bought last year was, as was the 1st level in th Minox ZV3 series that is the CF II's price competitor.

I have a real problem with scopes who's eye relief is under 3.5-3.6"s and stopped buying those brands & models, regardless of how good the glass or price is.
Ron

I think Academy has them on sale this week for $149.

I bought a vortex as a lower cost option for a reliably tacking scope for long range correction. Its been good but I have found several things I'm not exactly wild about. It is definitely not the brightest scope I have ever used, on low powers it does ok, but on higher powers its pretty poor in low/lower light. Probably my biggest complaint is the eye relief. It is very picky about exactly where you place your eye to get a full picture through the scope and the pikiness increases as the power goes up.

Bushnell Gold Series sold at Natchez is actually a really decent set of optics for the $. It's nearly identical to the $200 Weaver 40/44, which is made by the same parent company. I think it compares favorably to other "made in Philippines" scopes in the $150-$200 price range, but the 4-12x44 is only $89.

The problem I have with Nikon Prostaff Scope advertising is that they are never advertised by the Prostaff Model Number...which to me constitutes a Possible Classic Bait and Switch opportunity.

I just bought 2 Vortex Viper HS scopes from Cabela's at about $200 off each of them, as Cabela's advertised exactly the model being delivered and discounted, and I could make my fully informed buying decison sight unseen 'cause I knew exactly what I was getting...then when they ran out of the promo freeby Vortex 30mm scope rings, offered me a choice of waiting for a new shipment of Vtx rings, taking another ring height Vtx ring that was in stock, or switching the freeby offer to a set of steel WARNE Maxima's in the medium height I wanted, and shipped them 2 days later at no additional charge, even though the Warne's probably cost ?? more than the Vtx rings that were the "langnaippe" promotional item, in addition to the CASH discounts, that differed by item.

I'll use the Warned rings, as I am already doing on other rifles as my basic go to setup, where I probably would have "filed" the unknown to me Vtx rings, mebbe in a drawer. This transaction Opened my eyes to Cabela's Cust Svc for sure, and made a customer of me for a shop here 1st experience.

Not saying that ALL Prostaff's are bad scopes, but the physical diff's 'tween a PS 1 & PS 4 & a PS ?9 are what the widely different price points are all about. So when you say some BigBox Retailer is selling a Prostaff at XX$'s what exactly are they advertising other than a generic brand name rifle scope without ID'ing what THAT particular ProStaff has in this or that feature...sounds more like a GM/Ford/Dodge Crew Cab truck ad and I could just as easily say my Mercedes was bought for under $35-$40k which believe or not is possible, but the difference from a C250/C300e to an AMG something is about $100k or more & why MB does not allow their authorized dealers to advertise New 'Benz's by price ...aka they ain't a Ford/Chevy/Dodge kinda car company.

Nikon and it's retailers however, are using the same kinda genaric Car Company advertising hype that is common, and UNLESS there is a Model Number reference in the Ad that can be independently verified as having this or that feature....doesn't say Nuthin. Just Sayin...
Ron

I understand your point now. I'm not a fan of Crossfires, I believe they offer a lot of bells and whistles with substandard glass, especially in low light.

I've bought 12 Nikon scopes from Midway over the years. They were ALL advertised as the model they were. I don't know what retailers you have been dealing with, but I've never purchased a Nikon scope and got a surprise.

And FWIW, dealing with quality retailers allows you to return any item you receive for any reason. No questions asked. How could you go wrong with a return policy like that?