For me, 3-9x40 Leupold Vari X II illuminated reticle for big game, 2-7x33mm Leupold for plinking or general use, and a 20mm MRD (Pick your brand) for defensive use.

Vortex Diamondback is the best for the money. Of course big dollars get the best optics.

I was in need of a new scope recently and I have found new company that makes really good scopes and I bought mine from them. When you are buying a scope it is important that you buy a good one. You should spend a bit more because you will be spending money only once. You can find really good hunting scopes for your rifle on ATN website. The model I have is ATN X-SIGHT 4K PRO 5-20X. It is great when you go to hunt and it makes doing it easier. I like that I can film everything in HD with it and show it to my friends afterwards.

I have had (and still do) four different Leupold scopes, mounted on everything from a heavy load shooting 45-70 to .270 winchester, , .308 and inline muzzleloader. My oldest scope is thirty years old, and still (VX 3 1.5 x 5, of which I have owned 3...my favorite scope) as good as when new. I also have a VX 2 2x7 and VX 2 3x9. they all hold perfect zero,, take my accidental bumps (several which had been much more than bumps) without getting knocked out, and are clear as a bell. You pay for what you get more now than ever, and having also owned and used Tascos and Simmons, Bushnells, Weavers and Nikons, the only other brand worth considering was Nikon, but they are stopping production last I knew.
A used Leupold can be considered as good as a new. The company will take any scope back for inspection and refurbishing back to orignal specs without cost and return it to you promptly.

"Best scope for the money" imputes that the scope is at least worth the money it cost or is worth more than the money it cost such as from a discounted price, etc. It doesn't necessarily mean inexpensive and could reflect any price point, depending upon the buyer who is making that decision. Which tends to make the term pretty much subjective, depending on one's budget. A lot of scopes could be deemed as a best scope for the money depending on how much you want to spend. A more useful measure of scopes for most people would perhaps be which scope is the best value for different price points or scope budgets.

If your disposable income is unlimited, the term is unnecessary for your budget. If you're on a more limited budget, you might be limited to $200 or less. A $200 scope won't be the equivalent of a top of the line Swarovski or have some expensive MilDot reticle but you can still get a basic 3x9 with a duplex reticle which will give adequate low light performance and cover 95% or more of the shooting situations somebody might experience. That's more scope than most of the famous historical hunters had and will easily cover anything up to 300 yards or more. Personally, I'm with NickWhittle on this one and think the Leupold VVX-Freedom in a 3x9x40 with a duplex reticle is very hard to beat.

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Last Activity: 06-01-2019 10:05 AM

Just a FYI...atm you can buy a Vortex Viper 3x9x40 at MidwayUSA for $200 or a Viper HS 2.5x10x44 for $250.

Yea, I like the Diamondback too for the $$$$..... not bad at all.

I agree also, the Diamondback is a very good scope for the money. I've had one of their Viper PST scopes before also, great glass, much more expensive than the Diamondback though.

+1 on what mrbb and CalHunter said! 👍🏼

Naming scope brands, magnification ranges, and specific models is well intentioned. 😊
However, without knowing in what shooting scenarios the scope will be used —
what the personal preferences are of the user —
and what the budget is —
well, it's like saying the best motorcycle for the money is a Harley, or Honda CRF450, or a motor scooter, or a Goldwing..... 🤣


🔶 Scopes have so many functions and features that the scope shopper should know how these fuctions and features support or hinder the kind of shooting he/she is planning on doing.
▪Otherwise, they might end up with a scope with MOA turrets but a MIL reticle.
▪Or a scope with such a small objective lens and low quality glass coatings that the intended dusk/dawn shooting in the thick woods ends up in the dark optically speaking.

▪Or a scope with too little elevation adjustment that shooting both close range 100y and long range 1000y isn't possible without changing the cant of the scope every time with adjustable rings or a canted rail.

▪Or a scope with outstanding glass quality following the recommendations of the glass purists among us — but this particular shooter might not even notice(!) the chromatic aberrration and darkening around the edges! A scope for half the money would have been more than enough in this case.

▪etc. etc. 😄



🔶 Figure out what you want to shoot and how you plan to aim at it. Then match that with the functions/ features offered by different scope models. 👍🏼😊

Matthias

I use the Bushnell Banner 3-9x40 scope for deer and coyote hunting. I have it on my 243. Great scope, clear glass, and it's only $89 bucks on Amazon. I've only put about 40 rounds thru the gun and I know 243 is a low recoil cartridge anyway, but so far no complaints. I've seen where people have these scopes on 45-70 Govt rifles, and Bushnell says they'll be good on 20 gauge slug guns. So they're pretty good scopes for the money I think.