Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Budget truck gun scope

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.