A lot has changed in the 20 years since the 1st post. I still like the Burris FF-II in that price range. They used to be $199, but I've seen them selling for $160-$180 lately
Has it ever changed. I hate that Weaver is gone. I have one at this point. They were solid for the money. In the interim Leupold picked up Redfield and started making the Revolution line in the USA. I have 4 of those. Bummer they are gone too.
The Burris FFII 3-9x40 has not changed much at all in the last 26 years. But went from USA manufacture, to the Phillipines. The coatings and outside appearance has changed a small amount, but the way the scope functions is exactly the same as they have been since their introduction in the late 90's. It's still a bargain at it's price point. The first one I bought was $175.00 in 1998. The last one I bought was $99.99 a year ago. Sad they are being discontinued though, as they have a good following, for obvious reasons. Soon, they will be in the $200.00 price range, when you can find them. Much like the older American made FFII 3-9x40 with ballistic plex reticle. Add in gloss, and you'll be paying over $230.00.
As for Weaver, there were some good ones made back in the day. Those were the ones made by LOW, like the V16 4-16x42 that I have:
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/Qzo39Zj.jpg)
These are excellent scopes. I actually paid $100.00 for this scope, a few years ago, but it's worth much more than that.
The Bushnell elite series are excellent scopes too, but you will rarely find one in the $200.00 and less range. However, I did see a nice 4200 2.5-10x40 Bausch and Lomb for $169.95 the other day. I could have bought it for $150.00. That is a stellar deal for that rugged scope. Rain guard worked great, and those scopes are known for putting up with high levels of recoil without failure. Very solid and reliable scopes, with decent glass. If you can find one for $200.00, you better snag it.
Leupold. Good luck finding a good one in the $200.00 range, unless you know where to look. It's just not going to happen!!! I'm talking the Vari-X IIc models. Especially the gloss and silver ones. They hold their value extremely well, and they are good robust scopes that Leupold built a solid reputation on. I'd buy one of these way before anything made these days. That includes the Leupold/Redfields. The old saying goes, and is true, "they just don't make them like that anymore!!".
