I have a CZ527 Kevlar Varmint currently at the 'smiths getting the barrel cut to 18", and it will be come my resident coyote/critter/truck gun when it gets done. I am currently looking at glass.

I would like to keep the cost under $200, well under if possible. Right now I am looking at natchez, and they have several options in my price range.

• They still have some of the Nitrex TR One 3-9s. I have one of these in gloss on my 700, and its very nice glass. This was my Plan A. I am not sure I will find a better piece of glass for anywhere close to this amount
  
  
• They also have some Sightron S1 3-9x40 with Duplex, HHR, and or MilDot reticles for about the same money. I have an older S1 on my muzzleloader. Its a decent scope, but doesnt seem nearly as clear and robust as the Nitrex. Has the S1 gotten better in recent years?
  
  
• They have the Burris Fullfield II for just a little more than the Nitrex and Sightron. I have never had a Fullfield, but hear good things. Are they better than the the other options? How is the Ballistic Plex reticle for real world use?
  
  
• For a little more, they have the Burris Fullfield Tactical 3-9x40. I like the idea of turrets, and the Ballistic Plex sems like a pretty good reticle for a hunting gun. I do not, however, want to put a huge, bulky scope on this handy little rifle. How are the turrets on the Fullfield Tactical? The ones they have on closeout are green, but if they are a nice scope, I can deal with that.

Get another Nitrex, cant beat them for the $. The S1 Sightrons are short on eye relief

Nikon Pro Staff 2-7x32 Shotgun Scope alot of scope for under
2 Bill$

I have never been impressed with the ProStaff line, and I have owned several.

Id contact doug @ cameraland. He will set you up.

I love my Nitrex TR1 and that is what is on my truck/ATV/loaner rifle. Very tough scope and great glass for the money. Bought a second one for my dad and he likes it to. Hard to beat for the $ in my opinion.

Yeah, thats my gut. I am very impressed with the one I have on my 700. I am tempted to buy two at the price listed, and put one up for later.

Does anyone have any experience with the 3-10x50 Nitrex TR One?

If the rifle is going to spend it's life in a vehicle, I would suggest getting the best 6x fixed power you can afford. Vibration is murder on fine mechanisms, and the fewer moving parts, the better.

It seems I'm the odd man out. I would install a Tasco 3-12X or Tasco 4-16X. Tough as nails and I would bet the glass is going to be about as good as any $200 scope. This opinion is based on many side by side comparisons with scopes costing much more than $200.

I am gonna pass on the fixed. This is going to be a coyote/small critter gun. When I call, I like low power, and a bit highter shooting longer range or prairie dogs. For a single use woods gun, i like fixed, just not this one.

As for the Tasco...no. just no.

3-9x40 Redfield Revolution with Accu-range reticle. They run about $180 right now with the current rebate. I've got a few of them and they are solid enough for the money. No sweat to get the alternate aiming points to hit at longer ranges.

FWIW...of the variables you listed I would definitely go with Burris. I might also suggest a look at the Weaver V series as it is in your price range.

I would take the Redfield over the SI or Nitrex 1.

I think for a truck gun a fixed 6 makes the most sense and at about $120 a Weaver K6 is about impossible to beat. Super little scopes guaranteed to surprise.

Right now the sightrons on sale would tempt me an awful lot. The 6x big sky was $129 after rebate and the SI is $79. Other than that there are usually some decent used deals around. Seems I saw a buckmaster nikon in the classified recently for under $200 just the other day.

SWFA has the sightron SII 3-9x42 Big sky on sale for 199.99. You pay 299.99 then get 100.00 factory rebate. Regular price is 450.00 Its a steal.. There's your huckleberry! Great glass--compare to elite 4200, VX3, Etc. Eye relief 3.8-4.0 in. I have one and love it.

Curious how you came to the conclusion that it is a very tough scope? How many rounds have you shot with it?

FFII

Leupold Riflemen series 2-7 or 3-9.

I'd go redfield over prostaff. I don't have a problem with Nikon, but I'd go buckmaster or monarch, and the redfield fits your budget better.

good lord...we're talking about yugo's here when he can buy a cadillac on sale... The sightron SII Big sky is miles above these other models being discussed... not even close in the quality of scope.. I have burris ff2 BP, buckmasters, Elite 3200's,sightron sfII, etc. The Big Sky is in another league altogether. You pay ur money and make ur choices.

I'd have to guess a couple hundred. Not on a real heavy kicker. The true test for me is it is nearly through its second year of living in a gun boot on an ATV in some of the rockiest rugged country you have ever seen. The county seat is a town called Rocksprings and the town got its name for a reason. A short ride on that ATV will loosen the fillings in your teeth. Other scopes have not survived well. When the rifle is not on the ranch it is behind the seat of the truck. It sees some very rough use. The rifle is a Stevens 200 with the 3x9 Nitrex in cheap weaver quad lock rings. My purpose for the rig was a tool to be worked hard and that you don't worry about getting beat up. Plus I can loan it to people like my brother in law who can tear up an anvil. So far so good and the quality of the glass is impressive to my eye.

Same place that has the Nitrex has the V-9 Classic for $139, very nice glass. That would be my choice for the application.

My truck gun is wearing a Vortex Viper 2-7X32 for $199 from Camearland

Minor Correction- it is $219 after rebate but it does come with free mounts and rings too. Would seem a very rare deal indeed.

Well, I checked the SWFA website just prior to posting and the 3-9X42 SFII Big Sky with dot reticle was 199.00 after rebate... Maybe I read it wrong but maybe they lowered it. A few weeks ago I remember it being 219.00

K6 Matte

Dober

That is a good one..

The Sightron is a very intriguing option. I will have to give that one serious thought.


As I said before, I do not want a fixed, no matter how awesome they are.

hell, if it were I; I would even buy the sightron and put it on another rifle that has a lesser scope and move said lesser scope to the truck gun that brother in law is going to destroy anyway. But that's just me....lol. Good luck! Happy Holidays To all!

Now, thats an idea!

So, buy you a piece of junk cheap scope & you tell us which one is the best for under $200.

Thanks for the advice. As exhibited in this thread, there are a lot of options at or below 200 that are not junk. Different uses call for different choices. One must shop, and look for bargains, but they are out there, mixed in with the junk.

The Nitrex I can attest is not junk, and I have no reason to believe an SII Big Sky Sightron would be anything close to junk, either. The Burris Tac30 that has been riding on my patrol rifle for two years is most certainly not junk. While I admire nice glass as much as the next guy, certain guns just dont call for >$500 optics.

Many of us loose sight of the fact that a rifle scope is a "sight" and not a photographic or viewing only device. Really great glass (highly corrected) is nice, but not absolutely necessary, since we're not taking photos or using for extended time viewing. A guy in the woods doesn't need great "1000yd" resolution. Good enough is good enough. What is most important is mechanical reliability, and a scope with a good track record mechanically AND fits your pocketbook will be your best choice.

Dufar thanks for the post on the Sightron SII Big Sky 3-9. I've got one on the way.Like you said for the price can't beat em.

While certainly not the rule, but rather an exception, there are times when you need to have that "1000 yd resolution" to pick your target out of a crowd. Easy enough to identify the trophy animal with a good bino, but under adverse conditions (i.e., low light) a lesser scope might not be able to discern what you could find in your binos. This is just one example of an advantage to having quality glass on your rifle.

I have been killing stuff for a long time with $200-300 dollar scopes. Maybe Im just white trash, or perhaps thats really enough for killing the occasional whitetail or rolling a coyote. I have decent glass on my heavy .308, but even thats not extravagant (Vortex Viper HS tactical 3-15x44).

I do fully realize that good glass is better, and I am not trying to dispute that. I do, however, have realistic expectations out of my hunting guns. For this rifle, which will largely be used for coyotes and the occasional pig, that any of the variable listed in this thread will be plenty good enough.

I'm in no way trying to dispute your choice or your logic. As far as I'm concerned your logic is sound and there are quality optics in the $200.00 range.

I listed my example as the exception rather than the rule for just that reason.

Understood, and I completely agree with you.

I'd look at the E1 for $150.

Or that SII deal mentioned for an extra $50.

The SII Big Sky 6X42 for $130 after rebate would be a good choice for a truck gun.

On the cheap, for variable long range magnification, the 6.5x20 50mm Whitetail classic from Midway at $109 is one to consider. If the brother-in-law destroys it you have't lost much $$ for replacement.

Yes I own and use one of these cheapo Whitetail Classic's on one of 30-06 rifles. I also own several of the Japanese Monarchs, Leupolds, Zeiss Conquest, Burris FFII's and XTR scopes on a couple dozen or so rifles ranging in caliber from .223 to 458 Win. Mag.

In my humble opinion the quality of the optics in the older Japanese made Nikon Monarch scopes will be hard to beat by any rifle scope that I know of, new or used, that would sell in the under $200 price range.

For higher quality that the Simmons, Tasco, Bushnell, stuff and much better optics, I would shop for a used Nikon Monarch that was made in Japan. Much better quality than today's Monarch line. My old eyes say superb glass and light transmission, for the $$ spent.

Care to share the specifics of your personal experience where this has been a 'deal breaker' or even mattered at all?

Well, as many experts here have stated, a good 6x42 is all you really need. And, it really should be a Zeiss or Schmidt & Bender. But if you're too cheap to spend your kid's college fund on hunting equipment, a Leupold will get you by and a Sightron is ok as long as you buy it now with the $100.00 rebate. I sold this stuff for 35 years, and believe me I have no problem with buying, using, and recommending high end optics. When I took "real" photos, people would ask me why I used/needed a Hasselblad just to take pictures. I would tell them "Because I can't afford anything better". Well, the same applies to rifle scopes, automobiles, and just about everything else I buy. You really can't beat using/having the "best there is" and in a perfect world, we would all drive Bentley's and use Schmidt & Bender's. I would be willing to bet any amount that far more animals are missed (even in dim light) due to mechanical issues than optical quality.

Go with the Nitrex, as you and i know, it's a great scope. Is identical to the weaver that cost 400. I own two TR2's and just bought a tr1 for my truck gun. I also own a sightron siii 8-32, a vortex pst, two bushnell Tacticals and several others. If your not turning dials, the Nitrex is a steal at 100 bucks.

There was on occasion when I could see the deer with 8X bino but could not distinguish the antlers in the tangle of twigs and leaves until I turned the scope up to 10X.

Was your scope set on 8x like the binoculars to begin with and then moved to 10x?

Thats what my gut is telling me. I have been impressed with the TR One on my ADL. I just pulled it out of the safe a few minutes ago, just to make sure, and the glass is still amazing for a scope of this cost. I think it will serve me well on the little .223.

While you were defining us low dollar scope buyers as "white trash". I 'd like to say I prefer big dollar stuff bought inexpensively, the best quality that what money I have to spend can buy. So why don't you cruise fleabay, Gunbroker,24 hr classifieds, and other sites find a deal on a 3x9 Leupold VariX llc and quit farting around. Last one I bought was a $160. You asked and I delivered. Magnum Man

Good Choice!!!

Huh?

For what its worth, I have a Vari-X IIc on a rifle at the same time I had the Nitrex on the ADL. I kept the Nitrex. Not a Leupold fan then, now, or most likely in the future.

Some people get to hung up on name brands. The glass and coatings on the Nitrex are as good or better than any VX-II Leupold plus they are a one piece tube

And, with great frequency. Grins.

The Sightron Big Sky in either 3x9 or 3.5x10, with the rebate = $199. Tis a no-brainer.

The $4000.00 one can spend on the most expensive S&B 5-25 might pay my daughter's tuition and fees for one semester...and then there's housing.