Ranking the cheap scopes

[Sawney Bean]

There are a lot of oddball branded cheap scopes out there these days and some of the old reliable cheap scopes like the Leapers Bugbusters are no longer very cheap.

I’m just wondering what people here would recommend as being good low end scopes. To me, a low end scope is one that retails for a fraction of the price of what one made by a reputable scope maker with similar features would retail for. So a 5-40x60 with a 35mm tube for $400 is still a low end scope, but mostly I’m talking about scopes in that $20-$200 range and I would consider brands like Arken and Hawke to be mid-level rather than budget.

Low end scopes I’ve personally had good luck with were the various BSA airgun scopes and the Leapers Accushot line. As I mentioned earlier though, the Leapers scopes are now approaching $200. I was somewhat disappointed with the 2 Barskas I purchased. They were functional, but they were obviously a very cheaply made product with poor glass and plastic turret adjustments.

There are a bunch of brands out there now that I have no familiarity with at all like Pinty, CVLife, Monstrum, Sniper and Westhunter.

 

[dizzums]

id say if you need higher mag pay alittle more, no cheap scope will do 24+ with any grace, put it that way .. that said having tried almost every cheap scope brand a westhunter FFP 4-16 is a rocking piece of hardware for an airgun if you can still find them .. i like them so much i bought 4 of them, its the scope to have around my yard .. and i do literally have a drawer full of options -

 

[Stubbers]

I recently picked up a westhunter gen2 6-24 ffp for 81$ (discounted price). Only downside imo is no illuminated reticle (4-14 has IR) and the reticle is really fine so 6-10x is pretty useless in lower light conditions. I may try out their 4-14 version since its IR and hopefully the reticle is a tad more use-able in low light conditions are low magnification.

You can find their scopes on eBay for 120-140$ which is quite the bargain for FFP and all that they offer. In the 100-150$ range you'll be hard pressed to find much better imo.

-Matt

 

[NorthernBallistics]

https://amzn.to/42eqWka - Hawke Vantage 4-12 AO Mil Dot - they have a good warranty.
https://amzn.to/42kpLjh - Veyron is my not so cheap scope cheap scope. It's really good, and compact. Clear and nice reticle.
https://amzn.to/3SiRagS - Vantage 3-9x40, comes with medium rings as well.

 

[WorriedMan]

Sawney,
Big fan of the Vector Veyron 6-24x44, super subcompact and lightweight with clear, crisp optics. Own 5, paid $211 to-my-door from Krale (Optics Dept) Netherlands, for my last two. Old Bushnell broke on Gauntlet .25 can't stand my WestHunter's optics so took a chance on $120s Marcool 5.5-25x50 (30mm tube) from eBay. Took 15 days to arrive (from China) but optics are clear, bright and sharp. Windage and elevation knobs are clunky, other adjustments are smooth. Perfect fit, IMO, for budget PCP. WM

 

[Airgun Al]

If useing a mil reticle, with a MOA turret is not an issue for you, Id recomend a UTG/Leapers/Accushot.
Im not sure why manufactures continue that tradition, but besides that issue, they are a decent scope for $199.

The Bugbuster is one of the very few scopes that focus down to 3 yards, which is practicle for a lot of backyard airgunners.
Its small, lightweight, durable, and has certainly proven the test of time. Aprox. $150

The Westhunter I purchased a few years ago, would not return to zero properly after a simple turret twister test.

I would suggest spending just a little more money.
A budget of even $350, would really open up possibilities!

 

[Corvid_hunter]

The nice thing about decent quality scopes is that you have them forever (unless you sell them). Sell a rifle without the scope and put it on the next one. The problem is when you want to have a lot of rifles.

 

[joedirtee]

I love my $70 Hammers 3-9x32AO "magnum springer" scope on my Marauder. Fast focus equipped and the objective lens is adjustable down to 5 yards. Took a few shots to hold poi after the initial adjustments. Haven't touched the turrets in probably 1000 rounds since last sighted. I will try their 4-12x40AO on my winchester wildcat .22lr next.

 

[Sawney Bean]

If useing a mil reticle, with a MOA turret is not an issue for you, Id recomend a UTG/Leapers/Accushot.
Im not sure why manufactures continue that tradition, but besides that issue, they are a decent scope for $199.

The Bugbuster is one of the very few scopes that focus down to 3 yards, which is practicle for a lot of backyard airgunners.
Its small, lightweight, durable, and has certainly proven the test of time. Aprox. $150

The Westhunter I purchased a few years ago, would not return to zero properly after a simple turret twister test.

I would suggest spending just a little more money.
A budget of even $350, would really open up possibilities!

The nice thing about decent quality scopes is that you have them forever (unless you sell them). Sell a rifle without the scope and put it on the next one. The problem is when you want to have a lot of rifles.

I buy nice scopes too, I just don't typically spend more on the scope than on the rifle. So for a Crosman or a Gamo I'm usually looking for a cheap optic to put on it.

The other thing I've found is that optics don't seem to hold their value particularly well. A 20 year old Leupold isn't worth anything like what you paid for it when you factor in inflation.

 

[Airgun Al]

I buy nice scopes too, I just don't typically spend more on the scope than on the rifle. So for a Crosman or a Gamo I'm usually looking for a cheap optic to put on it.

The other thing I've found is that optics don't seem to hold their value particularly well. A 20 year old Leupold isn't worth anything like what you paid for it when you factor in inflation.

Perhaps you could use this to your advantage, and pick up a decent used scope, for almost nothing!

 

[JimD]

I have a 4-16x44 West Hunter on my Avenger and it is a nice scope for the money, especially with all the extras. I've had it several years but after a month I think my chance to get it replaced probably went away. I had a similar experience with a Bug Buster. UTG says they have a warranty but that was not my experience. I got a return authorization and paid to ship it back and then nothing. No response at all. So no more UTG for me. If you are careful, I think you can get a scope from a more reputable supplier for not much more. The Hawke Vantage 2-7 on my Prod replaced the bug buster and was about the same price. Works great. I only paid about $200 on sale for my Athlon Talos 6-24 SFP. SFP solves the "disappearing reticle" common to FFP with a fine reticle. The glass in the Talos is pretty good (better than a West Hunter I think) and Athlon has a great reputation. Because of the glass I shoot targets as well with the 6-24 Talos as I do with my Vector 8-32. My Arken is my most expensive scope but I only paid about $330 for it. It suffers from the disappearing reticle but is otherwise a very nice scope. A little bit better glass than the Talos. It isn't available any more but my Primary Arms Classic 4-16x44 was only about $180 and s a nice scope. The big suppliers have a lot of pretty expensive scopes but they also have some pretty decent scopes for not a lot of money.

 

[Squirrelmageddon]

I have two Monstrums (18x and a 24x) that I'm very fond of. One took a nasty drop a few seasons ago. It was off about 2 MOA after the fall but has held a good zero these past few years. I would use them for air gunning but they are FFP and the center dot is too large for precision shooting 1/4" bullseyes at full zoom. I'd give them a 5* rating on durability. The glass is decent for the price range but I would say the push/pull locking tactical turrets give it an extra nice feature over similar priced scopes.

The Monstrum Spectre LVPO are pretty on a sub 70 yard hunting setup. It has comparable class to my 2x more expensive SIG Tango. With exposed tactical locking turrents I would say it's the best LVPO under $200. I had some time shooting with a Westhunter HD-S 6x on an AR-15 platform. It was a pretty nice scope but I didn't own it long enough to rate whether or not it will hold up to abuse.