Budget long range scope

The only thing that I would advise is most of the folks on these forums have used their equipment in the field. In the store is a place for retail price but not much more. More reading the forums, asking questions and be ready to buy, good equipment sells quickly at good prices. Seldom have I ever bought new anymore. Most all glass can be sent in and inspected for the cost of shipping and insurance $30. Hopefully you have a 1200 yard gun and get experience shooting it. omi

I've shied away from the lower end Vortex because they have wire reticles.

If your looking at budget priced name brand scopes at least make sure it has etched glass.

Millet
SWFA
Athlon
Primary Arms
All have etched glass under $500.00

Thats good information,thank you.

Vortex hs-t 4-16x44. Zero stop, tracks true, side parallax, usable reticle, and decent glass for under 600.

According to the discription on Midway USA site the Vortex HS-T 4-16x44 also have wire reticles...I've had them break before...took 8 shots to put a nice 10pt down...no more wire for me!

CaptnC said:

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According to the discription on Midway USA site the Vortex HS-T 4-16x44 also have wire reticles...I've had them break before...took 8 shots to put a nice 10pt down...no more wire for me!

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Could you provide details of your wire reticle failure? I have used the hs-t hard in field conditions with no issues. It seems to me a more rugged scope than millet or primary arms(two you suggested). I have not heard or read many reports of wire reticle failure in general.

IMHO glass etched is the best. If a scope has a wire reticle I would not get it. I to have seen them break.

I had fallen on a rocky slope in Colorado while Mule deer hunting. Fell backwards landing directly on the scope eye piece. I had to bend the eye piece up some so the variable would work again. We found a good spot to shoot the rifle after the incident. I shot a grapefruit size rock at about three hundred yards...so all was good. Next day killed a decent little Mule deer buck at 400yds.

About 3 or 4 weeks later while deer hunting in Texas got lucky while still hunting and walked up on my first ever 10pt WT buck...75yds away! 8 ugly shots later he was down. I did kill a 8pt and one doe the weekend before. Both bang flops at around 100yds.

While setting up to shoot the rifle the next morning the upper section of the vertical cross hair made a upside down "J".

That one incident was the only rough treatment the scope ever had. It was many years ago and the scope (3x9 32mm Weaver) was about 7 or 8 years old.

I had an hs-t on a 22-250 coyote rig...for about a week. I did not care for the glass at all, moved it down the road.

SWFA or Vortex

I bought a Sightron S111 6-24x50 a while back. For the money I don't think you can buy a better scope IMO. I think I paid about $750. It has perfect tracking and good glass. They also only weigh about 24 Oz.

257Tony said:

What budget? Under $1000 I like Burris XTR II or Veracity, Bushnell LRHS, Leupold LRP, Sightron SIII.

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Call GA Precision and put down a deposit on one of their next shipment of Bushnell 4.5-18 LRHSi. They're letting them go for $750. Absolutely the deal of the century.

John

At least take a look at the Primary Arms website.

The scopes are made in Japan and are a decent quality. I have one on my DPMS GII Hunter and it handles the recoil of a semi-auto and tracks very well.

One could start with a PA brand scope and save up their money for the big named glass.