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Thread: Best scope for under $200?

  1. #21
    Boolit Master Boolit_Head's Avatar
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    Another vote for the Vortex Crossfire. They are amazing for the money. I have 2 and would not hesitate to get another. They make my Nikon scope look like cheap junk.
    On every question of construction let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.

    Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, June 12, 1823

  2. #22
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by texasnative46 View Post
    am44mag,

    WISE choice, imo. = I (right now) have 6 Model 780 rifles/carbines in calibers from .244 to 9.3x62 & the 1954 "Plain Jane" .300 Savage is the rifle that I reflexively reach for to hunt WT/hogs.

    Fwiw, my old .300SAV wears an early model AIMPOINT & that works well in the thick South Texas brush, especially shortly after Sunup & before dusk.
    My other 760 rifles "wear" old school 3.5 & 2.75 power Redfield/Leopold scopes.
    (I don't trust variables.)

    yours, tex
    The "Plain Jane" ones were exactly what I was looking at. I think it'll do just fine up here.

    Where did you find one in 9.3x62?

    Quote Originally Posted by Boolit_Head View Post
    Another vote for the Vortex Crossfire. They are amazing for the money. I have 2 and would not hesitate to get another. They make my Nikon scope look like cheap junk.
    I'm definitely leaning towards the Vortex. From what I can tell, the Diamondback is more or less equal to the Leupold at a cheaper price point.
    ______________________________________________
    Aaron

  3. #23
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    am44mag,

    JES remodeled a "long-action" 760 for me. - They do EXCELLENT work & at a very reasonable price, too.
    (A .30-06 or .270 caliber can also be reformatted into a .375 Whelen or .400 Brown-Whelen Improved if you want a heavy-caliber rifle. - The short-action 760 rifles, btw, can easily be remodeled into a .358WCF.)

    yours, tex
    Last edited by texasnative46; 07-08-2017 at 09:22 AM. Reason: typo

  4. #24
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by texasnative46 View Post
    am44mag,

    JES remodeled a "long-action" 760 for me. - They do EXCELLENT work & at a very reasonable price, too.
    (A .30-06 or .270 caliber can also be reformatted into a .375 Whelen or .400 Brown-Whelen Improved if you want a heavy-caliber rifle. - The short-action 760 rifles, btw, can easily be remodeled into a .358WCF.)

    yours, tex
    Thanks for the tip. I might just send a couple rifles his way.
    ______________________________________________
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  5. #25
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    heres a heck of a deal on an inexpensive scope http://cameralandny.com/spec-sheet.html?catalog[product_guids][0]=2e5c1660-0bd6-0134-ae77-00163e9110c0

  6. #26
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    am44mag,

    Fwiw, I have shooting friends in SA, who have teased me about being "President of the JES Fan Club". = As soon as I gather up some more nickels & dimes (I've bought WAY too many rifles/pistols in the last 6 months.), another long-action 760 is headed to Jesse's shop to be remodeled into a .400 Brown-Whelen Improved.
    (Fwiw, I paid "peanuts" for the last & "very tired-looking" 760 that I bought locally, as it has a ROUGH bore & needed a complete refinishing from A to Z, including a new recoil pad. = After numerous hours of fun handwork, it now looks quite handsome & I'll still have less than 300.oo in it, including JES reboring/rechambering to .400B-WI.)

    Note: Once returned to me, the remodeled 760 will wear an "old school" 2X Redfield that I bought at a garage sale for 20 bucks.

    yours, tex
    Last edited by texasnative46; 07-20-2017 at 11:30 AM. Reason: add

  7. #27
    Boolit Buddy
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    Vortex, Burris Fullfield II, I'm a big fan of Nikon glas, the Nikon Buckmaster can be had cheap and they are superb. Also Leupold has the "Rifleman" series that are cheaper than their typical scope but still a Leupold.
    Pain heals, chicks dig scars, glory ... lasts forever.
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  8. #28
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    Scorpion8,

    WELCOME HOME, brother-in-arms.
    (Fwiw, we retired military folks are one of "the smallest minorities in the USA".)

    yours, tex
    USA, Retired

  9. #29
    Boolit Master
    marlin39a's Avatar
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    Take a look at Mueller scopes. Great quality at reasonable prices.

  10. #30
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by HappyWarrior View Post
    Vortex has had so much bad press all over the net, I'm amazed they are still around.

    The Leupold warranty alone is worth the price difference.

    More to the point, why would anyone want a $200 scope ? I'd wager that by giving up a few vices, almost any of us could afford a $500 scope.

    You don't need a different scope for every rifle. With a QD mount a scope can be swapped and rezeroed in an hour or less.

    If I had to I could get along with my 4-16x50 Schmidt (varmint reticle) and my 2.5-10x32 mil dot Nightforce across 2 dozen long guns.

    IMO better to have one $1000 scope across 5 guns than 5 $200 ones.
    You might as well only have one rifle since you won't be able to shoot the rest until you spend a lot of time and ammunition changing and re-sighting the scope whenever you want to shoot the others.
    The time and ammunition saved will pay for a good scope before long. I have to drive an hour to get to the closest range available to me.
    How about having a backup when you go on a hunting trip?

  11. #31
    Boolit Master Murphy's Avatar
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    My choices are easy enough, experience has taught me the hard way. Cheap glass (not that $200 is cheap in most folks book) is never cheap if it costs you a hunt, such as fogging, won't stay zeroed...etc.

    I can't say I've tried them all, but I have tried enough to know the three I would seek out given your price point are as follow.

    Leupold: Rifleman Series

    Nikon: ProStaff

    Those are my top two picks, the last some may laugh at, others will swear by and not at. Watch Gunbroker or Ebay for an older made TASCO that was MADE IN JAPAN. Once TASCO stopped making them in Japan, they went to ****. I picked up a couple dirt cheap made in Japan ones a few years back. One for a lower end 308 'fun gun' and another for a .22 LR semi auto Mossberg. I have friend who have had the older Tasco's made in Japan mounted on the same rifle for 25 years, and they seem to be darn good scopes for the money.

    Murphy
    If I should depart this life while defending those who cannot defend themselves, then I have died the most honorable of deaths. Marc R. Murphy '2006'.

  12. #32
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    I remember those old TASCO scopes. They weren't as classy as some others but they worked. At that point in time for me, inexpensive was the name of the game. I used several of those old scopes.

  13. #33
    Boolit Buddy
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    Just checked Optics Planet, and they have quite a few different Vortex scopes fairly reasonable. Never dealt with them, couldn't say if good or bad.

  14. #34
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    I have exactly one Vortex Crossfire scope. It works as well as another but I think my two Redfield Revolutions, my Nikon Prostaffs, and two old El Paso K-Weavers are clearer to my eyes. I have focused &refocused the Vortex. Maybe it's my eyes. I just realized my Burris 6x Fullfield cost the most of all my scopes! How the hell do I get by?
    Best, Thomas.

  15. #35
    Boolit Master sawinredneck's Avatar
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    I have the Vortex Crossfire as well, caught it at Cabelas on sale for $200. I love it for what I wanted. I may pick up another Vortex for when/if I ever decide to stretch its legs some day. This review sold me on it, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q84jsw_O1j8
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  16. #36
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    If you like higher magnification, Midway has the Bushnell 6X24X40 on sale for $130. It normally sells around here for $240. I have three of them on rifles in 243, 308, and 30-06. I have had no issues with any of them.

  17. #37
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    I like the Leupold VX-series and the Vortex scopes and yes I had a lot of them back in the day. If I were to buy today most likely would look at these two scopes.
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  18. #38
    Boolit Master MyFlatline's Avatar
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    Ain't it great that we all can have our own opinion and so many choice of quality glass to choose from.

    Great to be an American

  19. #39
    Boolit Master Boolit_Head's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BeeMan View Post
    I saw a Crossfire II 3-9x40 AO on clearance and decided to try it because so many spoke well of the Crossfire II improvements over the original model. Pluses are surprisingly long eye relief and a quite crisp and clear image for the price point. The main downside is eye alignment is ridiculously critical. The windage adjustment feels okay, but the elevation is mushy and clicks are barely detectable. The sample I have is either grossly defective or the optical design balance is badly skewed to get the long eye relief. I doubt I will even bother to mount it and certainly won't mess with another Crossfire model.

    On the other hand I have and like the Diamondback and Diamondback HP models. Both are very usable and good values.
    Sounds like you need to take advantage of their wonderful service and warranty. Mine is not like that at all.
    On every question of construction let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.

    Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, June 12, 1823

  20. #40
    Boolit Master
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    I will a agree with Murphy, those older tasco's made in Japan were a decent scope. I wasn't Gona mention it because it was not what the OP was looking for. But if you can find one cheap, snatch it up. Though the years I've bought several rifles that had the old tasco's on them, and I would change the scope thinking I was upgrading, and most times I could tell little difference.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check