Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Deer hunting scope $400 budget?

Coworker 60 year old eyes needs a deer maybe elk hunting scope for an inherited 300 H&H. Likely won’t shoot past 250 yards. I feel like there are plenty of 3-9x42+ That will work but don’t a go-to recommendation as best for this common need. Opinions?

How about a Meopta Meopro 3.5-10x44 #4 for only $399.99?

Meopta Meopro, Leupold Vx-3I , Zeiss Conquest and there are probably others as well. I think it is easy to find based on your criteria

Meopta, enough said.

Yep... meopta that Doug suggested.

I love Meopta scopes but... some have rather short ER. Although not a monster, the Super 30 does have a little bite. I'd look for something with a constant 4" of ER... or close to it.

Not sure what Meopta scope you have but the meopro's have sufficient eye relief unless you have a higher magnification than 10x. The one Doug mentioned has a 3.5" eye relief.

The Meostars/Artemis lines are a little short on eye relief but the Meopros have plenty

The Meopta/Cabelas/Conquest 3-9x40 scopes have 4" of eye relief. The Meopta 3.5x10 and 3-9x42 have 3.5" of eye relief. I prefer the 4" of eye relief and notice the difference on a hunting rifle, especially hard kickers.

The 3-9x40 Meopta Meopro has the same heavy Z-PLEX reticle as the Zeiss Conquest. The 3-9x42 Meopta Meopro have a thinner more traditional PLEX reticle from what I understand.

Don’t ask me a question like this and expect a non biased answer. I have but one answer. That’s Leupold and most likely a VX-3i. I can get one for under $325 off Ebay NIB. My personal favorite for my deer rifles is now the 3.5-10X40. It’s plenty bright and clear and sharp. There’s a lot of hoopla about high dollar scopes giving you 10-20 more minutes of hunting. I say if it’s that critical you’re bordering on the unethical. I don’t see it and I’m not paying several hundred dollars more for a scope for 5 or 10 minutes of supposed extra light. I really think there’s a point where the optics won’t translate to the ability of the human eye. But each to his/her own.

Does the $400 include mounts? You can grab 3-9x40 Zeiss Conquests/Meopta Meopros in great shape on the classifieds for $300 without much trouble. Leaves some room in the budget for mounts and you won't want for more scope. I agree on wanting the 4" of eye relief. Fast focus eyepiece is nice too. Etched reticles stick around better for me in low light.

The newer Meopta are skimpy on eye relief. Deal killer

I like this one though:

https://cameralandny.com/shop/Meopt...110c0?variation=1118215&query=Meopro

double post

4x Leupold.


Okie John

Thanks for the opinions, I love my Meopro on a 30-06 and shared the link to Doug’s #4 reticle as well as Midways 3.5-10 Leupold VX3i with a gift card for $399. He won’t look through the classifieds or buy used. I suggested Talley lightweights for mounts and with either scope he should be set up for his lifetime easily. But I’m a little surprised this price point doesn’t have more contenders- is it good cheaper scopes or are higher cost now the norm?

Not to hijack a thread but I have no experience with Meopta and have only heard of them on here ,wondering how are they for clarity,repeatability,dependability,warranty ? How do the stack up against what I know well Leupold and Nikon ?

Meopta is superior to those in every aspect without a doubt.

Why do you say that and are there tests to back it up ?

Just because you have zero experience doesn't mean nobody else does. They're quite popular around here and if you know how to use the search function you can find lots of threads.

Zeiss thought enough of Meopta to have them build their Conquest scopes for years, and their high end FL T spotting scopes for a few years as well. Meopta has been around a long time in Europe, and up until a few years ago was primarily servicing the Czech military. They make great stuff.