Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Consensus on the best low power variable compact scope?

With a price point below $2,000, what is the consensus on the absolute best compact low power variable scope for a custom lever rifle with shots most shots inside 100 yards and max shots not over 200 yards?

"Best" is hard to define. Low light? Image quality? Illuminated reticle? Magnification high/low? Target size?

Clarity, low light, illuminated reticle if it can be dialed low enough to be useful. Deer and hog hunting.

I have tried a Swaro Z6 1x6 and 1.5 x 6 x 42 on it, too bulky for brush and hunting out of a truck. Rifle has a 16" barrel and shooting the 450 Bushmaster. 30mm tube scopes I don't think are going to get me where I want to be. I have tried an older 1" tube Weaver V3, Swaro 1x4, Luepold 1x4, and a Nikon African 1x4 on it with the Nikon being the best for my eyes but hits a brick wall in low light compared to the Z6.

Hoping there is something out there that rings all the bells. The low power compact variable scope market seems to be slim pickens.

You might be happy with the Leupold VX-3 1.5-5, if you can find one Sightron made a 1.5-6x40 with a 1" tube I have it on my favorite pelt hunting rifle.

You found that scope "bulky"?

You really are looking at a small pool of scopes.

If the VX6 1-6 Patrol is not too bulky, it might be a good pick. Not big turrets, nice heavy-ish duplex, auto-off illuminated dot. Keep the mount low and use low-profile rings.

ETA I just looked at the eyepiece dimensions, they are the same diameter.

The 30mm tube is how the objective stays big enough for good light at 5x or 6x. The 20mm obj on a 1" scope means lower low-light performance.

Just a suggestion.

You might be happy with a 2-7x scope with a 1" tube.

Trijicon 1-4 is pretty compact.

Any scope with a 30mm tube is too bulky for a levergun... or for any ordinary deer hunting rifle, in my opinion.

OP, I have a Leupold 1.5-5x20 on my BLR levergun. Even a 2-7x28 and a 2.5-8x32 seemed too big on it.

Attached is a pic of the unfinished rifle with the Nikon African on it. When I snap the rifle up, it is perfectly on target. 30 mm would require a stock change or a cheek pad which neither I want to do. The Nikon is not bad, but I want the best I can get for under $2000 as this rifle is my go-to hunting rifle for the rest of my life.

If a 30mm isn't an option, the Leupold 1.5-5x is probably your best bet. I have a handful of the Nikon African 1-4x on Ruger No. 1's and like it for that application. I also have a Leupold 1.5-5x and feel it has better glass than the Nikon. I'm not aware of other currently available LPV's with 1" tubes other than Leupold.

Slim pickin's

Please provide the specs on that beautiful rifle! Don’t see too many custom 99’s!

I don’t find the 30mm Trijicon Credo HX 1-6 on my Howa 6.5 Grendel to be bulky, and at 1x the amount you can see is amazing, almost like there’s no scope. For your budget, you can get two!

Lol “consensus”

Agree. That is an excellent LPVO.

I’m also struggling to see the problem with 30mm. It’s only 2.2mm higher. I don’t think the meat of my cheek is that discerning.

I agree also. I really like my Credo HX 1-6x24. I wasn't sure about the 30mm tube. Once I mounted it I was glad I got it. To the OP, you really limit your options in a lpvo by sticking to a 1" tube. The Trijicon Credo HX 1-6 has really nice glass (Japan) and is built like a tank. To me it doesn't seem to be to bulky with a 24mm objective lense

I know people bash Leupold, but all of my scopes are the old ones. I think the used 1.5- 5X is perfect for what you need. And they don't cost 2,000 dollars.

The Trijicon Credo 1-6×24 is right at 19 oz. 19 oz atop a svelte live-action rifle? No thanks.

Good point. It would probably look and move better with a VX-3HD 1.5-5X20 CDS-ZL ILLUM. FIREDOT TWILIGHT HUNTER at 12.5 ozs. I don't own one but I have 3 Leupold VX5HD 3-15's Fire dots. I like the VX5 HD's. But the Trijicon lpvo is still one hell of a scope for the money.

Just so happens I recently weighed my Mini after replacing the hinged floorplate with a different one. With a paracord sling and swivels, it came to 6# 11oz, hardly a burden, and balances and handles very nicely.

As JB and others have noted, one reason for building a lightweight rifle is to allow the use of good, reliable optics without the assembled rig getting too heavy. This one is a success in that way, a pleasure to tote around the woods.



Posted this pic before, but it is a good illustration…..and maybe my best dead-dear photo.

If a man can deal with a 30mm tube, the Trijicon Accupoint 1-4 is only 14oz. Given the superior glass, tracking, and durability compared to my Leupolds the extra couple ounces is nothing to fret.

Good pic Pappy. Nice little rig you put together there. That Trijicon sure doesn't look bulky on that bolt gun.

Thanks. It is a Savage 99C with the removable magazine, barreled at 16" long to 450 Bushmaster. Whatever scope I end up with for this will be QD, and it will have a combination of a fold down peep sight and leaf sights to go along with the banded front sight. The sight base will also be milled to accept a Aimpoint Nano red dot sight that will also be quick release. Lot's more work to do on it before it is finished but at least the stock is done and I can hunt with it.

The Trigicon 1x4 is an option I did not think about and it looks like a prime candidate as it is the same length as the Nikon and only a couple of ounces more. If I go with the super low Henneberger HMS super low rings and possibly mill some out of the mounting surface of the scope mount it may line up just fine.

The size of the scope is mostly an issue shooting out of the truck and trying to quickly grab the rifle and swing it out the window without bumping the scope. I think a straight tube scope is a must and to me it makes a difference.

Attached pic is the Swaro 1.5x6x42, Swaro Z6 1x6 EER, and the Nikon Monarch African mounted.

Gotta love Texas! Anywhere else popping one off out of your truck would cost you the whole shebang, nifty rifle and your ride.

Looks like you will be ready for anything. How’s the balance?

I bet most hogs in South Texas are shot from a truck or Jeep. They are liable to show themselves anytime and almost anyplace and one has to be ready. It is a lot of fun and a great way to get rid of them.

The balance is perfect with that Nikon on it and I think the Trijicon will be spot on also.

I've never handled one, but a Nightforce fan & think the 1-8x25 NX8 should be a nice piece. Provided they haven't scrunched it down too much.

8.7" long & 17 ounces !

I had no idea Nightforce made a scope that compact. The Nightforce on my M1A is a big mutha. I am going to try and find one to look through and get a feel for it. It looks like an option. Only issue I see is the tactical reticles offered. How hard would it be to offer a simple German #4 on such a nice scope?

That's still a big scope for a svelte lever action. 30mm diameter and over 1 lb.
Remember, the only significant advantage of a 30mm scope is more adjustment range for dialing. Just not useful on a lever gun.

I am willing to bet half the Antelope in Wyoming are shot within two steps of a vehicle......

100% agree the 30mm tube itself offers no advantage on a lever gun. That is unless you can get much better glass in a 30mm versus a 1" scope which makes 30mm scopes a relevant consideration on a lever rifle.

I really like the 1-4 accupoint, but if I need smaller/lighter, a Leupold 1-4 with a heavy reticle is one of the few Leupold scopes I doubt I’ll ever be without, and the last one to go will be my VX2 w/German #1….currently on an old Marlin dirty thirty carbine. It’s faster than irons and minute of deer or coyote to 200…..and doesn’t change handling enough to notice.

Nightfirce NXS – 2.5-10x42mm

Leupold 1.5-5.

Too bad Leupold doesn't offer heavy reticles anymore.

You can still occasionally find a heavy duplex out there, though. It doesn’t get any smaller and lighter for a variable, AFAIK (than a Leupold 1-4). The 1.5-5 isn’t too much larger/heavier, either and works well. I just think the 1-4 is a better package….it’s just VX1 or 2 vs VX3 for the 1.5-5.

There aren't any new scopes on the market that are well suited to lever guns anymore. Special congrats goes to Leupold for fuggin up the 1-4 VX Freedom by discontinuing the duplex reticle and replacing with that stupid pig plex reticle. You have to buy used for a good lever gun scope today.

We just got a big shipment of the Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42 Compact ZeroStop - MOAR Illuminated

+1

I rather like the Pig-Plex reticle for calling coyotes in heavier cover and have made shots from just beyond my bootlaces to 20 yards. I have it on a compact 20P bolt action.

Have shot a pile of moose n caribou with as compact of a scope as I could afford. Always 7-12 oz scopes.

I did run a Burris 30 mm 1-4 euro diamond for a while. It was heavy at 16 oz, but on a 9.3x62 Mauser, not a big deal.

I did shoot a bunch of moose n caribou with a 1.5-5 vari x 3, but didn't care for it. Extremely dim at low light on 5 power, with that tiny front objective lense. The weight was too close to most 2-7 scopes.

Hard as fk to find anything resembling a compact 12 oz 2-7 scope anymore. This Japanese glass gets close enough, and will certainly be my next scope:

https://mavenbuilt.com/products/rs-2-2-10x38?variant=32127979880526

That's a good looking scope. I may try me one of those.

The scope wouldn't be so bad if it didn't have "Pig Plex" etched on the reticle where you have to look at it every time you look through the scope. That's about as cheesy as it gets.

Sheeit, maybe that Big Stick guy can get Leupold to etch him one with "Hint" on it. 😄

The 30mm tube will allow a 24mm objective in a straight-tube model, a 1" will not have more than 20 or 21mm.

That's my default scope for what the OP described.

True - but there's no significant advantage in equal quality glass unless you need the adjustment range for long range dialing.

That depends on what you consider to be significant. A 20% increase in objective diameter can certainly be noticeable.

Nightforce NX8 1-8x24mm F1?