Rifle Scope Recommendations

mac019 said:
Hello,

I just bought a tikka t3x .223 rifle and am looking to mainly target shoot with this rifle and do some small game hunting. I have a max distance of 500yards. I am looking for the scope to be in the 400-800 dollar range. Any recommendations??? Any help would be great, being new to the rifle optic market and all these options is very overwhelming.

Thanks,

Mike
Click to expand...
Mike:
I have a Valdada 3x18x42 (35mm tube) with rings that I'll sell for $500. It was used for one hunt only and is in like new condition. I removed it because it is relatively heavy at 28 oz and my hunting terrain is very steep and rough.
You can email me at [email protected] if you are interested.
Randy Weir
Valdada.JPG
 
You absolutely will not do better (for a new scope) than the SWFA SS 3- 15 x 42 with MOA/MOA or mil/mil turrets and reticle, FFP and side focus, or any other SWFA scope for that matter.

SWFA has NO advertising and NO dealers so the savings are passed on to us.
I got the above scope on a $100. off sale. That sale came around again in Dec. but the price is now back to $600. which for FFP and the good glass of that scope is unheard of in the industry.

When some folks on the "6.5 Creedmoor" site told me about SWFA scopes my reaction was, "What the hell is SWFA? Never heard of it." But then other SWFA owners chimed in about the good quality and I watched some Youtube reviews and was sold - and I still am.

OK, the turrets have no locking feature but you can buy aftermarket shim kits from a guy on Snipers Hide so that a combo of the different thicknesses under the turret cap gives you a zero when cranking down on the elevation turret or in on windage, meaning you can always crank back to your zero. With all the other features of that scope I can forgive SWFA for no locking turrets. I love their reticle for hunting with a laser range finder programmed to your cartridge hold over.

Eric B.
 
I like the Vortex Crossfire II. It has a range estimation and bullet drop compensation reticle. Not sure about a 223 at 500 yards. any kind of wind will push the bullets off the target at that range.
 
KyCarl said:
You should really think about that IOR for 500 bucks!
You won't find a better used $500 scope.
I have a couple and love them!
Click to expand...
I was just fixing to say, holy crap... Wish I had the cash, I'd buy it just for the price alone. And I've got 3 other scopes just sitting in the safe right now. LOL
 
I really like the illuminated reticles the only down side to that Valdada is that it is 2 lbs. I am starting to lean towards the Nikon 4-16x50 Black X1000 30mm Riflescope. Any other recommended illuminated scope options?
 
Illuminated reticle is something you don't use 99.9% of the time. It's a very overrated accessory on a magnified hunting optic. Optics for battle or lower-magnification scopes, like a tactical 1-4x or a red dot they work great for targets and silhouettes, but those optics aren't really made for hunting. I went down that road several times in the past, but realized I was paying for unnecessary stuff.

So, I wouldn't let that be your deciding factor to skip over better optics, just to get one of lesser quality but the same price, because it has the illuminated reticle option.

Once again, just a personal opinion.
 
I have seen a lot of crazy's suggesting the Dillion 650 and Hornady ammo plant setup to beginners. I am with mud on this one, just a simple single stage is all you need to get you going. Learn to make good ammo and follow safe reloading practices. It will do more for your shooting than one might think. I haven't bought box ammo since I was 13. Just can't see why anyone would feed their rilfe factory ammo. Good luck.
 
Litehiker said:
You absolutely will not do better (for a new scope) than the SWFA SS 3- 15 x 42 with MOA/MOA or mil/mil turrets and reticle, FFP and side focus, or any other SWFA scope for that matter.

SWFA has NO advertising and NO dealers so the savings are passed on to us.
I got the above scope on a $100. off sale. That sale came around again in Dec. but the price is now back to $600. which for FFP and the good glass of that scope is unheard of in the industry.

When some folks on the "6.5 Creedmoor" site told me about SWFA scopes my reaction was, "What the hell is SWFA? Never heard of it." But then other SWFA owners chimed in about the good quality and I watched some Youtube reviews and was sold - and I still am.

OK, the turrets have no locking feature but you can buy aftermarket shim kits from a guy on Snipers Hide so that a combo of the different thicknesses under the turret cap gives you a zero when cranking down on the elevation turret or in on windage, meaning you can always crank back to your zero. With all the other features of that scope I can forgive SWFA for no locking turrets. I love their reticle for hunting with a laser range finder programmed to your cartridge hold over.

Eric B.
Click to expand...
What would you compare swfa scope to in quality? I have never heard of them except a mention here and there on this site.
 
I was considering illuminated reticles because I tend to lose the cross hairs. This may be because I have not bought expensive optics before and have been using the same optics for the last 8 years. I just want to have optics with thick enough cross hairs that i wont lose them while looking through it.
 
Tidus,
Good question. Guess I would say I would compare my 3 - 15 x 42 SWFA SS to a Nikon Black 4 - 16 x 50 in overall build quality but the SWFA scopes are more rugged and can be used in air rifles that have reverse recoil. The Nikons would likely have their internal lenses shot loose with an air rifle, as would most Bushnell scopes or most Vortex scopes. Most scopes won't handle that abuse. SWFA scopes will.
As one owner said, "I could frame a house with my SWFA."

Also I have personally compared my SWFA SS scope's glass with my Bushnell Elite ERS 3.5 - 21 x 50 competition scope, it's that good.

Whatever you get do NOT get a scope with a BDC reticle (Bullet Drop Compensating) B/C they are accurate only at sea level and say, 70 F. as they are calibrated at that standard. Go higher or get a much hotter day and they lie. Stay at sea level on a much colder day and they lie. Of course if you never shoot beyond 200 yards a BDC is "OK" but unnecessary.

Eric B.
 
Tidus56 said:
What would you compare swfa scope to in quality? I have never heard of them except a mention here and there on this site.
Click to expand...
I have 3 of them (first one back in 2014), so I've had a bit of trigger time behind them. Personal opinion, I'd say they're on-par with the Vortex Viper scopes as far as lens clarity. The Vortex HS-T is slightly clearer, because it uses PST series glass. But the SWFA scopes are definitely built like a tank, and the turrets and tube are ridiculously strong and overbuilt.
 
I really like my bushnell lrh's and I had a few buddies that got them from gap when they were on sale, don't know if that sale is still on but it would be worth a phone call to see.
 
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