yuppiejr wrote:It's easy to pay a lot of money and get a great optic, tons of great choices from great manufacturers that have been mentioned.
When you're looking for scopes that have a particularly high value proposition that are in reach of most hunters, my favorites include:
$230 or less (shipped):
Nikon Monarch UCC 3-9x40mm (usually BDC) - Dick's regularly puts these on sale for $199, great all purpose "lifetime" hunting optic with bright/clear glass that would not be out of place on almost any bolt action hunting rifle on the market.
Nikon Buckmasters Mildot 4.5-14 mildot/side focus - $220 at Natchez regularly, a step down from the Monarch in quality but it's surprisingly clear across the greater magnification range, side focus and mildot are great features for the price making it suitable for a budget tactical, rimfire or varmint build.
Bushnell Elite 3200 Tactical 10x mil-mil - $200 shipped at Midway, great fixed magnification no-frills tactical scope (mildot reticle with mil-mil adjustments & target turrets) with a lifetime warranty.
$130 or less (shipped):
Mueller APV 4-14, hard to beat for $130 shipped (Amazon) - German engineering, Japanese optics assembled in China to keep costs in line... one of my favorite all purpose rimfire or budget/recreational build optics when springing for the Nikon Buckmaster doesn't fit the budget, lifetime no-hassle warranty (call it a "budget boutique" brand, their small-ish optics company focuses on building high quality budget prices scopes and they do it well).
Nitrex (by Weaver) 3-9x42 for $99-$129 depending on reticle/finish at Natchez, 94% light transmission multi-coated glass, made in Japan with a lifetime warranty from Weaver... my personal favorite for a budget hunting scope, originally retailed for $300 but have been discontinued so availability is finite... often compared to the Weaver Grand Slam series in optical quality/characteristics, I've compared them side by with to the Nikon Monarch 3-9 UCC and actually swapped a few to save money on a couple of rifles where more expensive optics didn't make sense. Their $109 8x42 binocs are really nice as well and replaced some larger/heavier Nikon Action 10x50 glass I'd been using. Reviews of the Nitrex TR-1/2 line were generally favorable but I think the line was redundant in the bigger picture so ATK discontinued the line in favor of the Weaver Grand Slam/Super Grand Slam against which they compared.
Simmons Whitetail Classic 6.5-20x50mm - $129 at Midway all the time, probably the "best of the worst" when you compare low priced high magnification variable out there - the least clear of anything on the list above BUT the best glass in it's price category (compared to similar offerings from BSA, NCStar, Barska, Bushnell, etc..) particularly as you hit the higher end of the magnification range but for the price you get a ton of magnification, adjustable objective and mildot reticle.
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