The 4 best rifle scope brands have options for different kinds of shooters and hunters. The ones I ranked below will get any job done, and each will do it for $500 or less.
FYI, Prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. Vortex Optics - Diamondback Tactical First Focal Plane
Highlight: Fully coated glass, making a perfect sight picture.
Helpful review: This tactical rifle scope is built like a tank, the standard for Vortex optics. The body is made from aircraft-grade aluminum. The joke I always hear is, "I can hammer a nail with this," I am sure it would drive the nail. The reticle may not be in good shape when I am done.
The turrets are machined like they will be used in space. They turn like butter and give a tactile and audible click at each setting. They are smooth and easy to turn but not loose, and branches or other things cannot turn them unless the scope and rifle are tossed or dropped. The magnification ring is nicely placed and thick—not just thick but wide, which makes it easy to turn. The mechanism for adjusting the magnification is smooth and stops when I stop turning the ring. Some of the cheaper scopes will have a creep on the magnification ring; this optic does not.
The magnification of Diamondback scopes varies depending on which one I want for specific jobs. They have a 4-16x44; it is my go-to for a hunting rifle. The heavier magnification is 6-24x50 for target shooters. The magnification is excellent, and it is very clear and easy to see the target. Still, at high magnification, the reticle will constantly wiggle around unless that rifle is sandbagged or held in a vice. The objective size changes with the magnification, and that is to keep the field of view relatively the same when the higher magnification is used. As the magnification zooms in, the FOV becomes smaller, so to combat that, Vortex makes the objective smaller.
The reticle is crisp to look through. The reticle has holdover adjustments for drop and windage. This scope is the magic for a hunter or a target shooter, and it is made to do either. If the target moves or is in motion, there is no time to adjust the turrets, but holdover shooting is ready to put the bullet on target. The reticle does not move, no matter how much I abuse the rifle in the handlebar mounts on my ATV. This scope stays on target for over five years, and I only spend three or four rounds to check the zero.
The Diamondback is a First-Focal-Plane optic. When I zoom this in on magnification, the holdover reticle gets a little fuzzy, which is supposed to happen. I would use a Second Focal Plane scope to keep the holdovers in play. The great thing about the FFP is that the picture stays the same when I zoom in on the scope; it looks like a camera zoom. This is what I want for a target scope: for some of our friends that shoot dangerous games of any kind, the folks that adjust turrets; this is the magic.
Get it from Amazon now: $349.99 & FREE Returns
2. Sightmark Wraith - HD Digital Night Vision
Highlight: Night vision is available in an affordable and mountable package.
Helpful review: Space guns ahead! This thing is very cool; someday, I may take it seriously; right now, I just like playing around with it because it is too damn cool not to do that.
Someday, I will mount this on a serious coyote gun. I cannot get my fingers and brain to agree to take this off my AR15 in .300 Blackout. My mentality is to get the tax stamps back, replace the brace with a stock, and put the suppressor on the end of it. With the total ninja package set up, I may never do more than shoot in the dark just because I can.
The Wraith can store five different weapon profiles in its computer. That means I can take this off of the .300 Blackout and put it on the 50 Beowulf, set up the profiles in each, swap the optics from one to the other, and it is supposed to shoot like it was never removed. I love technology as much as the next aging Gen X guy, but I will have to take his word for it and try it later to see if it works.
Here is the reason I can't get too motivated to take this optic seriously: It has an effective distance of under 100 yards. This is a good idea for shooting raccoons or skunks at the cabin to keep them from tearing my shizz apart at night. However, shooting coyotes by sheep or cattle will not do it. For shooting targets in the dark, hell, yes! This thing is fantastic and loads of fun, in case I have not mentioned it yet.
The two main downfalls of this scope are the battery-killing need for power and the lack of luster of an IR emitter flashlight. This machine uses tons of power; everything about it needs power. This optic shows a picture on a screen, and my eyeball never looks through the tube; it just looks at a screen. When the scope gets information, it has to be translated into a picture, which also takes power. The IR emitter is a flashlight that mounts to the side of the optic. This light could be mounted to the front of the AR if I wanted to, and I can figure out how to stretch wires to it for power and stuff like that. The IR light is good for about 20 yards, then it bleeds a little past that. I have some night vision cameras around the cabin, and this optic can look and see that bunch of IR light, which is suitable for flooding a sensitive area. If I mounted a bunch of big honking IR lights around the property, this thing would be like shooting it in the daylight.
With an optic as complicated as this one, the owner's manual is like a Bible. Keep it close until memorized. On top of that, this optic is heavy, and it is not one to carry around all day. If the dismount and remount thing works as well as they claim, I suppose this could be something to put in the pack and use when needed.
Get it from Amazon now: $499.99 & FREE Returns
3. Bushnell - Engage Riflescope
Highlight: The hashtag reticle is to be used for holdover shooting.
Helpful review: Bushnell was not counted among the high-quality scopes for a long time; they held the market for budget scopes and did a great job there. Lately, Bushnell has been taking the high-end scope market by storm. With a built-in fan base, I always closely examine what they offer.
I put one of these on my wife's Savage Axis shooting .223 Remington. The exposed turrets are easy to adjust, along with the side-mounted focus knob. It was great to sight in and zero. Still, my wife discovered how awesome it is to adjust reticles to the target. Now, I think she is addicted to target shooting.
The magnification ring has a built-in raised knob, and it can accept a throw arm for quicker target acquisition. The parallax knob works well and should work better for this price tag. The reticle for this optic is what they call the Deploy reticle. I can tell you that this reticle will work with any rifle for drop and windage. It is not caliber-specific, so with some range time, anyone can tell where to use the hashmark to compensate.
The glass is good quality and clear. Like the rest of the scope, the lens is coated for reflection, and for all of that, Bushnell has created an armor coating called EXO. The EXO coating is one of the highlights of this scope, and Bushnell spends a lot of time talking about it on their website. For good reason, it works like it claims it will.
The body is made of high-grade aluminum, and the tube is filled with nitrogen to keep fog and water out where they belong. Bushnell is so sure of its seals and purges that they have given this a waterproof rating, not just a weather-resistant rating. The machining on the turrets and rings is excellent, and they feel nice and smooth when turning.
I have read reviews saying this scope is better and more precise than a comparable Leupold optic. I don't think I would go that far, but it is quite a money-saving option compared to the price of the Leupold. For the price of this scope, I can put one on many guns for the cost of the Leupold; that part is up to the buyer to decide where to put that checkbook influence.
Get it from Amazon now: $489.99 & FREE Returns
4. Vortex Optics - Diamondback Second Focal Plane
Highlight: The perfect modern hunting rifle scope.
Helpful review: When I grew up in a hunting family, no one ever said, "Spend as much on the optic as the rifle." Our world did not support that much money spent on tactical scopes. We went with "spend as little as possible on the same scope as everyone else uses." I remember the day my Uncle Mike showed up with a different scope and how much disbelief everyone had—what a bunch of dorks we were once upon a time.
This scope fell into my world as I grew up. It is impressive and does not cost the same amount as the rifle—not even close. As with anything made by Vortex, the scope is made out of the highest-grade materials, and it all comes with the Vortex no-questions-asked warranty.
The thing I like about using a Second Focal Plane scope is the way it does not screw up my reticle for holdover shooting. The turrets are fantastic and make target shooting easier. I did not say it is easy, but holdover shooting is the only way to hunt. I like the holdover shooting because animals move, but targets don't. When the target starts moving around, readjusting turrets is not a valid option.
The glass is clear from edge to edge. I have never seen the thick border line nor known a shooter or hunter to have a vortex scope fog up in the field or when going from the cabin to the truck. The Diamondback is fully coated with all that magic, and the lens seems scratchproof. I have not tried to damage an objective lens; maybe if Vortex sends me one to try and break, that would be a great article to write. Hunting environments have never damaged this scope.
I mounted this scope on my Dad's old 30.06 with a wooden stock that, after carrying it around for about half an hour, I think must be lined with lead. After, I think, 230 rounds, the recoil has not bothered the scope in any way. I used the Vortec mount and drilled and tapped into the action like we used to do in the old days.
I offer this scope on any of the AR10 rifles that I build; it is the perfect match. Unless the customer wants to go with a red dot or just some high-speed flip-up sights. Suppose a customer wants to use the AR10 to its maximum benefit. In that case, they get the Diamondback, and I use the one with a Second Focal Plane, so it will do whatever this rifle will someday need to do.
Get it from Amazon now: $269.99 & FREE Returns
5. Burris - Fullfield II Hunting Scope
Highlight: A straightforward hunting scope that is easy to use.
Helpful review: The Burris Fullfield is a standard in almost any deer camp I have ever been in. This scope and a 30.06 caliber are practically a requirement in Utah.
The body of this scope is made from high-quality aluminum and finished in an anodized matte black coating. It is sealed and filled with argon to keep fog and water outside where they belong. The turrets are capped, and they screw down tight with o rings. The adjustments in this scope are protected and stay true no matter how aggressive the brush is on the trail.
The glass is excellent and clear from edge to edge. The coatings have always worked great for me and the environment I hunt in any way. I have never had a Burris scope fog up or hold water on the lens. I have hunted in a snowstorm, and it seems like it evaporates when the flakes hit the lens. I don't think the snow disappears, but I can't tell where it goes. I walked under a tree and saw a bunch of snowfall from a tree branch fill the objective. All I had to do was dig out the snow and use the huff-and-puff version of field-compressed air, and I was good to go.
The magnification ring and diopter adjust smoothly and make shooting a pleasure—or more pleasurable, anyway. Not much beats a day of shooting. I can hold my rifle on a sandbag and turn the rings to move the rifle. The rings do have some drag. The drag keeps the rings in the same place when I take my fingers off them, which is how it should be, not allowing a loose-fitting ring to wander.
In all the years I have used the Burris on my 30.06 rifle, that much recoil has never bothered the scope. The reticle is on zero or very close every year when I take it out to check before deer season. I am sure the amount of zero the reticle is off is an operator error, not the optic. Before I leave this scope, I must mention the forever warranty. This warranty will go with the scope, not just the original buyer; how amazing that a manufacturer will stand behind their products forever.
Get it from Amazon now: $199.99 & FREE Returns
6. Vortex Optics - Viper PST Gen I Second Focal Plane
Highlight: Illuminated BDC3 reticle.
Helpful review: A customer came to see me to get his 300 Winchester Magnum up to speed and increase its awesomeness. I am always up to improving guns, and this one was an even bigger treat. It may be considered a vintage gun.
This rifle has a wood stock, and I will keep it according to the owner, making me feel good about the world. To increase its accuracy, I removed the stock and relieved the possible contact points in the barrel channel. Then, I glass-bedded the action, which made things work like a very modern shooter but kept the old-school charm, making me happy.
After all the dirty work was done and cleaned up, it was time to put the scope on. The scope for this build is the Vortex Viper PST Gen I that I had in the cupboard. I ordered the scope mount and used the one with six screws and one ring to ensure the recoil did not put any damage to the optic. After the base was drilled and tapped into the rifle action, the scope was lapped and leveled.
The Viper PST is an excellent fit for this long-range hunting rifle. The customer plans on using this gun to hunt antelopes. This is a hard-to-get tag in Utah, so there may not be a second chance. We made sure the rifle was up to the task, and now it's all in the hands, literally, of the shooter to make it happen.
For anyone hunting antelopes in Utah, they are hard to take after sunrise, and, depending on the area, they can be found at sunset. For this reason, the illuminated reticle in the PST is the way to go. The illuminated reticle has ten brightness settings and is also hash-marked for holdover shooting, which means that if anyone has seen an antelope in the field, there will never be time to adjust a turret if they move. With the Second Focal Plane, the reticle stays focused when the shooter adjusts the magnification. It is ready to take care of business.
The turrets are at Vortex's standard level of perfection. They are exposed so he can adjust them with his fingertips while getting in position and still use the hold-overs. The adjustments are crisp and clean and give a good feel when set in place. The parallax adjustment is back near the eyepiece and adjusts very smoothly. The magnification ring could use a throw lever or bump on the ring. But, this scope is more designed for a low-powered tactical rifle or maybe a precision 22lr, so the compact nature of the knobs is probably the better idea for what it is made for.
The objective and tube are small. This is not a long-range scope; it is a lightweight scope. Around here, the closest hike to antelopes is about three miles, or in the alfalfa field down the street, which is too close to houses to shoot one for trespassing. If we lived in Wyoming, antelopes would live in the dog run in almost every yard and can probably be taken with a wrist rocket and a marble. This scope may be the best idea for mounting a crossbow for areas that allow hunting with that style of archery.
After bore-sighting this optic, I took it to the range and spent some serious money on ammo to get it zeroed. I got it, punching the target at about one inch, and my shoulder and box of ammo were done for the day shooting this beastie. For some reason, this Vortex did not sight in as fast because of the tiny tube and clicks on the turret. I will not rule out the operator for this zeroing challenge that day.
The glass is clear, but the field of view is small due to the small objective lens. The lens coatings are just like the rest and keep everything looking good. I got some flip-up lens covers, which have to be ordered individually. I ordered a set for the front and rear sizes. I used the see-through style just in case he gets in position and the critters are right in front of him when the sun comes up.
Get it from Amazon now: $399.99 & FREE Returns