Best scope for under $200?

[am44mag]

I need a decent scope for my Remington 700. Nothing extreme, just something with a decent amount of magnification (I don't have the best eyes, so 12-16x would be very nice) for hunting and a little target shooting. 99% of my shooting will be within 150 yards, though I would like the ability to accurately shoot out to 400 yards if I wanted to. My budget is $200.

I found one I like the looks of. A Vortex Diamondback 4-12X40 AO with a dead hold BDC reticle for $180. I have heard that this scope has amazingly clear glass for the price, and is a great deal. I own a few Vortex products, so I know that they make a great product. Their warranty is top notch as well. Is there any better scope than this for under $200, or is this the best for the price?

[gpidaho]

I think that scope would be a very good choice on a budget. I buy Vortex for my rifles. Outstanding warranty. Gp

[RedJackson]

bushnell 10x mil-dot

cheap variables will fail.

[tdoyka]

leopold vx-1, it will go from $140-$199, depends on who sells it.

[Any Cal.]

Really like the Redfield Revolution, made by Leupold but typically a bit less than a VX1.

[kungfustyle]

check out Hawk optics. Lifetime guarantee and good prices. http://us.hawkeoptics.com/vantage-riflescopes.html

[725]

I've got 3 Vortex and would buy another when the need arises. So many good choices out there.

[tazman]

I recently purchased a couple of Vortex Crossfire II scopes that are excellent for my use. The one I bought was slightly more than $200 but would otherwise fit your requirements.
Glass was clear and the adjustments worked as they should. The Dead Hold BDC worked like it was supposed to as well.
Mine was a 6-18X.

I paid $220 for mine.

[jmort]

Vortex Crossfire II
+1
On this scope
Around $250 but worth the step up
The Leopold vx-1 is another direction I would go in this price range

[williamwaco]

I like the Weaver Classic line. I have been using Weavers so century 1950 and have never had a problem.

[izzyjoe]

Another vote for the Redfield revolution, for the price they just can't be beat! My wife got me one for Christmas from Walmart.com for $165, it a 3x9x 40, and I absolutely love it on my 760 Rem.

[am44mag]

Thank you fellas for all the suggestions! I looked into all of them, and I have a few that I'm really interested in. I'm stuck between the Redfield Revolution/Leopold VX-1, or the Vortex Diamondback. I like the looks of the Diamondback HD, but I doubt I'll be able to get the money together before the sale ends. If another pops up, I'd probably go for that one. I'll keep looking while I save up some money.

[Lloyd Smale]

if my experience means anything the redfield revolution and the vx1 are not the same scope. they may share lenses but that's about it. Mechanicaly the leupold is hands down better. I owned two redfields a 2x7 and a 4x12 and neither would track right and neither would hold zero. Sent them back for repair and they still had the problem. Sold them dirt cheap and wouldn't have another one on one of my rifles if it were free. If I had 200 bucks to spend my first choice would be a vx1 followed closely by a vortex diamondback or the newest Nikon pro staff. Anyone of those three have decent optics, good low light performance and are good reliable scopes. The leupold and vortex have the advantage of having lifetime no questions asked warrantees.

[Shawlerbrook]

Another vote for Leupold vx-1.

[am44mag]

I'll have to do some more research into the Leupold VX-1 and the Vortex Diamondback. 4-12x40 is the magnification I want, so there is a $100 difference between the two scopes. The Vortex is the cheaper scope, and I like it's BDC reticle over the Leupold's Duplex reticle. I could easily live with the Duplex though.

[hc18flyer]

Cabelas just sent a flyer out with the 4 -12 x 50 Vortex Crossfire I I for $119.99
Better check it out!

[am44mag]

Cabelas just sent a flyer out with the 4 -12 x 50 Vortex Crossfire I I for $119.99
Better check it out!

I may pick up one of those for the Remington 760 I'm wanting. At a $120, that's a heck of a deal! Thanks for the heads up.

[texasnative46]

am44mag,

WHICH 760 do you really want??
(I just have an even half-dozen currently.)

yours, tex

[am44mag]

am44mag,

WHICH 760 do you really want??
(I just have an even half-dozen currently.)

yours, tex

I'm wanting one chambered in 300 Savage. I usually hunt either in thick woods or on the edge of a small clearing. I figure that rifle with that round would be just perfect for that. :D

[texasnative46]

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 2.5 & 2.75 power Redfield/Leopold scopes.
(I don't trust variables.)

yours, tex

[Boolit_Head]

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.

[am44mag]

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. :D

Where did you find one in 9.3x62?


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.

[texasnative46]

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

[am44mag]

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. :D

[Lloyd Smale]

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

[texasnative46]

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

[Scorpion8]

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.

[texasnative46]

Scorpion8,

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

yours, tex
USA, Retired

[marlin39a]

Take a look at Mueller scopes. Great quality at reasonable prices.

[tazman]

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?

[Murphy]

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

[tazman]

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.

[holsterguy]

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.

[Texas by God]

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.

[sawinredneck]

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

[tazman]

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.

[shdwlkr]

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.

[MyFlatline]

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

[Boolit_Head]

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.

[izzyjoe]

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.