low budget rifle scope

Looking for a good low budget rifle scope amybe a couple of them. Going on a 243 and a 270. Was thinking Nikon Por Staff or Bushnell Bone Collector. Any thoughts on those or any others appreciated.

I've had good luck with the Vortex Crossfire and Sightron SI's. The ProStaff is a good scope for the money as well.

Nikon Pro staff is good. I like the Buckmasters better and they are not much more. Stay with a 3-9x40. That's all you need.

I would look at leupold mark ar mod 1

I love my nikon prostaff 4x12x40 bdc reticle on a .308 used it last year and is spot on this year. Plus nikon has the spot on app for hold over range valves at each magnification.

In the sub $200 range, Nikon is one of the best all around class.

I believe I saw in Lone Star Outdoors where Academy has in-store rebates on all Nikon optics. It might be worth a trip to your local store to compare the models side by side.

FWIW, I can tell you that even entry-level scopes are as good today as top drawer optics were several decades back, when I was buying expensive Leupold, Burris, B&L, and German glass. These are the good old days when it comes to optical performance, thanks to Pacific Rim manufacturing. Same as computers, cell phones, and electronics....

Thanks for the advice, I'll stop by a couple places a check them out. Was thinking Nikon though.

While you're looking keep an eye out for "display models." I got a sweet deal on a scope at Academy a couple months ago, got it for about 1/2 price. It's a popular brand with a solid lifetime warranty so I wasn't worried about buying it.

Will do, there's a couple different Academy stores nearby. I'll be on the outlook.

Take a look at the SWFA demo's as well. www.swfa.com

Love my Vortex Diamondaback

Speaking of, Cabela's has the 4-12x40 Diamondback on sale for $159.99. Can't beat that with a stick!

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Vortex-Diamondback-4-12x40-V-PLEX-Riflescope/1862549.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dvortex%26x%3D24%26y%3D6%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=vortex&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

You could try here for a Leupold scope it's been reduced by $200 to a fraction over $200 from $400, not sure if you want this one though

http://rifleandgunscopes.com/leupold-vx-1-3-9x40-waterproof-gun-scope/

I have the diamond back on some 22 and a loaner rifle. I actually think this scope is better than their similiar models that are double the price.

For the same price you'll pay for a Prostaff, get a Crossfire I, II, or Diamondback and be done. Lifetime warranty. Done.

Sounds like a vortex may be the way to go. I'll check into them also.

Hard to go wrong with the Nikon. Have it on my .308 for 3 seasons and still going well. That being said, Chinese optics have come a LONG way in the last 10 years. I have a $50 Chinese scope that has better optics than several of my $1k+ glass :-/ The down-side to Chinese optics (or any lower-end optics) is quality assurance. If you are buying from a store and have figured out what you want, ask to see through 2-3 of the same scope. For lower priced scopes you are very likely to see a difference even though they should be exactly the same. This can apply to high-end ($500+) scopes as well but difference is likely to be much less.

The more important factors are fog-proof/water-proof, repeatability of adjustments, ruggedness, etc. Lots to choose from in the $100-$250 range that will meet 95%+ of normal hunting situations in Texas. Scopes are always going on sale so just look around and you are bound to get a deal.

Shop the Sample List at SWFA & the Demo List at CameralLandNY for some bargains. Both are good operators to deal with. Waaay too many scope lines out there today to look at without getting confused

Good Post above from RockHound. Handle and look thru as many scopes as you can find at your Budget's price point,

Here are some thoughts from my semi checkered past. I sold them as a disributor for 7 years, & tried to take the Line as a Rep one time since I had been strictly a Leupold & Stephens buyer for more years than most of guys on here have been alive, never had any real issues but felt they became over priced for the FAB's (feature/advantage/benefits) of the competition. Can't say anything about Redfield one way or the other, as they died after Don Burris, thioer cheif desingner went out on his own in a dispute over moving production to Asia and formed his own Company down the road a bit north of Denver. After Redfield was resurrected by Leupold I have not paid any attention to them, but it looks like L&S is using Redfield to get back in the low end price point game again.

Moved my guns to using strictly Burris 20+ years ago and in this now $200 +/- Price range feel like they are still a solid item, having owned several of them that were always sold with a rifle that went down the road. I assume the upper end Burris products are as good a buy as the FF II's have been.

Nikon has reinvented itself, several times it seems like, with the Pro Staff name initially being their Promo line, and now hard to keep up with all the diff's in the PS models. Kinda like the pea under the walnut shell sidewalk game I used to see in Manhatten??? Their big box retailer generated volume also generates lots of Warranty claims, and lots of short term 90 day long Warranty refurb's that I would be leary of..just sayin. I have a 3x9x40 Buckmaster that has been everything I expected of it...just not a standout in the litter of 3x9x40 scopes I've run thru...but then I got it at my price so I can't whine, but it'll get replaced prolly with a Vortex Viper of some sort...depending on finances I'd really like a Viper HS or PST 2-10x44 30mm with the better upgrades in coatings and features as the gun is a 3-400 yard all purpose shooter like most of my guns have been so far.


FWIW Burris was bought out by Beretta long time ago, but the Cust Svc, PTL!, has recovered and has been good to me on my nit pikin "please check this out" send backs with no failures of any kind by the scope itself...and still run a 20+ year old 1st Gen FF II that was made in Greely Colorado that is clear as a bell and tracks perfectly, and resale value has increased judging by the prices on SWFA's Sample List.

Have not owned a Minnesota/Wisconsin?? based Vortex yet, but like all scope co's they have gone thru a reinvention of their original designs while retaining the ID of a Price Point Line's product name so the retail customer can follow a product and not get lost in the Sales Gack clutter...which is what you want to see a company do in keeping up with the competition and trying to capture a chunk of a price/feature category.

Another US based & mfg'ed line, Minox was in this same growth mode but failed to keep up - see if you can find a used US made Minox ZA3 for a steal of a scope, and IMO pass on the Chinese made ZV3's until they get their kinks worked out althought the prices are REALLY interesting .... and in the OP's Price Budget, Minox ZA5's are pushing the price point with a US Made product.

Meopta is another "lower end for a Euro" excellent German scope trying to cash in on the bottom end growth and repositioning of Zeiss in their recent Terra line and well worth the bux but at double the OP's budget target of $200 as I recall.

I own a still functional ugly arsed dinged up Sightron S1 bought off EBay for waay Cheaper $'s than I usually spend even for me, bought for my 22LR Marlin 39D, and a decent moderate price range US Made scope series from North Carolina with a Lifetime Warranty that will take a beating...but there are as good/better products in the same Price Point. Again see if you can find a Sightron used SII as a big step up in quality at reasonable $'s.

As far as magnification power goes a 3x9x40 is/has been the standard deer rifle scope most places, but I find a 4x12 to have distinct advantages where the cover is not too dense to use the upper end ... and am moving to 42-44 objective bells, impressed with the 30mm tubes too, to get more light in the scope with little/no weight gain or mounting issues like you can get in a 50MM bell.
JMHO & YMMV
Ron

I put the Vortex Crossfire II on my 243 and 22 Hornet. For me they have been excellent and clear. Mine are both high powered 4x12 (hornet) and 6x18 (243). When I got them last year they were around $230 each.