I've never seen a sightmark on anything but a 22 and some of those failed. Not even in the same category.

For your price range, this is about as good as it is going to get. Not saying a cheaper scope won't get you to 1000 yards at some point but will never do it consistently and not at at varying yardages in between.

Either save up and get good glass to play long range or don't. FiremanJG had given you a real reference to something that will work, but if you want something to hunt with, adjustable zoom is better that fixed glass.

Right.

To shoot long range, lots of things need to be reliable in the scope. Glass that let's you see your target, and the area around it, in the event of a miss. A serviceable reticle for making correct wind holds, and eventually holds for elevation and wind simultaneously, when the situation dictates. Turrets that track properly and return to zero.

These features do not exist in cheap scopes. The least expensive make and model I will put my name on, is a fixed power SS. They possess all those features, and have been proving it for years. Myself and several friends, that shoot long range, have witnessed them getting the job done.

I've got two SS scopes, one being a fixed 12, and the bother being the 5-20X HD. The 5-20 has been punished as bad as I've ever punished a scope, unintentionally of course. It looks like a used pair of welding gloves, but I've never sent it in for repair.

Then WTH are you doing here? FNG!!

^^^ This. If you plan on doing more hunting than 1,000 yard shooting I would look into a 10x fixed power scope in Mil/Mil.

Also, Athlon makes good FFP scopes for $300 or less. The turrets are not the best, but they dial correctly and the glass is surprisingly good for the price.

"How to win friends, and influence people".

Maybe optics just ain't his strong suit.

Recent history is proving that to be true.

This is correct.

Rest of my comments are for 2hab:

A co-worker of mine who is a lead engineer for a major program once said these words to me. I made some comments about how difficult one of the other engineers is to work with and that I had called him out on a few things. He simply responded, "So you're winning friends and influencing people then, I see?"

Those words have stuck with me for years afterwards. Regardless of how strongly you feel about something or how stupid you think someone else's opinion is, you aren't going to persuade anybody that you're right and they're wrong with insults, disparaging remarks, etc. I know you probably have a reason that you feel the way you feel, but you'd have a much better chance of allowing us to see your point of view if you stated it in a way that wasn't abrasive and condescending. Go to youtube and search "trey gowdy persuasion" if you want to see a similar point of view from a much more articulate speaker.

To the OP: Fact is that a 12x SWFA scope will allow you to shoot precision from 50 yards to 500/800 yards and hit targets with some degree off accuracy out to 1,000 yards. The scope has decent glass, tracks wells, and is built to handle the job you're wanting to do. If you want to go with an Athlon, Sightmark or something else, that's not a life-changing decision that you'll regret on your deathbed. It's a few hundred dollars that you're going to spend one way or another, so don't get too worked up about it. But none of those are going to be at the same level as the SWFA for glass quality, tracking reliability, build toughness, etc. Does that mean they absolutely won't work? No. Does it mean that there are risks associated with that choice that you probably don't have with an SWFA fixed power? I believe so.

Good luck on your long range shooting journey. I've listened to a lot of Jason's advice since joining the forum and have gone from literally not owning a bolt-action rifle to being able to shoot really good groups at 100 yards and hitting steel at 300-400 yards fairly consistently. I'm trying to convince my brother to join me and take Jason's long-range class so I can extend my range even further. My point is that you'd be hard-pressed to find someone that goes out of their way to provide helpful, honest advice more than Jason and the other forum regulars on here (Chad, KRoyal, 2Beez, RR, and many others I'm forgetting at the moment). Take all of the hater comments with a grain of salt. Nobody is perfect, but most of us are on here to help each other and share our honest experiences about shooting, and you'd be well-served to remember that when reading responses on a thread like this.

Fonzie, there are several decent options for good scopes on a budget. I recently did the same deal. I bought a Weaver Tactical 3-15x50 mil/mil FFP scope for my son's 308 Win rifle. I have shot it twice out on the range, and the last time out I went out to 700 yards. For a $579 scope, you get a lot of scope for the money. I am an FFL dealer, and get dealer pricing. This price at Natchez was below my dealer cost at 2 of my sources. It's something to think about.

https://www.natchezss.com/scope-tactical-3-15x50-mil-adj.html

What about the bushnell elite tactical 10x are they any good for this application?

Went out to 800 at JG'S with my 6.5 grendel and 308. Elite 3200 10 power and the tracking was spot on.

Not everyone can spend 600 to a thousand and beyond, on a scope !

The original poster asked the 300 range,,,, he did not say the 400ish 500ish or 600ish range ...give the poster what he wants... not what you want !

And yes it can be done and quite well !

Will it be Night Force quality, not even close,,,, but it will work well !

And the first suggestion fits right into his criteria and has a much better track record of reliability/repeatability.

Yeah, and I want a half-ton pickup that tows 40k, costs $5, gets 100 mpg, and parks like a motorcycle. You get what you pay for, even op acknowledged that his desires might not be possible in his price range. There are lots of options mentioned beginning with one that was in his price range.

Nobody had an issue with you suggesting that we stay in budget. You lost credibility with us when you went personal with comments like this (which had nothing to do with the OP's budget):

I own one as well. Great scope never an issue. Picked it up in the classifieds for $200 a year or so back.

Back to the original topic.



Fonzie, I can empathize with trying to make purchases with confining budget.
You have a very capable long range firearm. And the truth is, you have some options.

Now personally I have never seen/shoot with Athlon, so I have zero opinion on how they preform. I can tell you that they are a new manufacture. However the owner's are seasoned, being in the industry for a while. So perhaps they are on to something, but again, never used it so my commentary is moot.

However, I am able to convey on MANY other solutions that are available.
You'll typically see a theme from those who post often and with respect to that who shoot often too. Take FiremanJG.
Jason is a veteran shooter and began an instruction course, he get it. He has students who come out with all sorts of optical solutions, in which he has to get acclimated with in order for the student to receive instruction properly. His initial suggestion of the SS 12X42, is well within your budget and is perfectly capable use that your rifle may achieve.
SWFA SS 12X42 Mil-Quad Link

Here's are some unbiased reviews from others on the 12X42
SS 12X42 Video Reviews

Personally I would say get something with a mil-dot reticle. Make CERTAIN that the turrets have matching .10 MRAD adjustments. This will be less headache on the range. I would also want something that is 30mm over 1", because it will have more internal adjustment and can carry the 6.5 out to longer distances without using special pic rails that have 20 MOA built in.
Illumination would be helpful while hunting, but not a caveat to shoot.
Exposed turrets are not required, but are an added benefit.

Some other options to entertain;
> $300 Options

Designed correctly for target shooting
Link (Mil-Dot Reticles/MRAD Turrets)

You can see in some of the search criteria, the more features you would like, the list diminishes quickly.

I tell you what I would suggest doing, especially as you begin shooting and you discover that shooting long range is a lot of fun. I would ultimately suggest finding something within your budget now, go ahead and buy it, learn how to use the mil-dots in order to make adjustments on the fly, learn how to range find with it, and continue to rat hole money. As you get a nice shoe box with some cash in, then use that scope as a trade in to off set the out of pocket cost and get the scope with more of the features that you would like to have.

Oh, don't forget the mounts. This is one thing I would not cheap out on. Your mounting solution holds the scope true while being used.

BOOM, the winner, nicely put


hope you are enjoying that TX Rye Whiskey !!!

You may want to post what rifle, and ammo you plan on shooting, cause you also need to make sure you have enough travel in the scope. Not to mention you may be close to the bullet entering the trans sonic velocity.

Hey Fonzie, your location says North Richland Hills, I live around there. It's not far from Fireman's shooting class. Regardless what scope you get you should go take his class and learn how to hit out to 800 yards.

I built a set up pretty much with what Fireman recommended and developed 6.5 Creedmoor loads with information from Chad and I was hitting 800 yards within 1 hour. I just started shooting 4 years ago so I am far from an expert.

The SWFA 12x fixed power scope is tried and true. They are built like tanks, I own a SWFA SS 3-15x42 and it is by far my favorite scope. I've owned Vortex Viper PST's, an Athlon Argos BTR, and a few 3-9x40 Leupolds. I've sold them all off and kept the SWFA.

The Athlon is surprisingly good for the money. However, the turrets aren't that great and the fit/finish lacks considerably. I am sure it will work, but the SWFA line of scopes are much tougher and will work 100%.

Before too long I will buy a fixed SWFA 6x or 10x for my .22 and set it up as a training rifle.

You could go with a Nikon prostaff 3.5-18x40 mildot great scope but has limitations as it is a sfp

Power is good, but that is 1". He's not going to have the internal adjustment to reach beyond 600 yards with that one, sadly.

Like Jason and several others I can't speak to Athlon.

Even the best spin doctor couldn't do anything with Sightmark. They are a POS. No way around it. Lipstick on a pig.