Need scope advice

[Rockn93yj]

Bought my first rifle, Savage model 25 lightweight varminter in .223. Now I need a scope. The more I research the more confused I become. Seems really hard to get a good review of a scope or good comparison. Budget is under $250 but want to get the most for my money. This rifle will be used for punching holes in paper up to 300 yards, possibly for groundhog up to that range as well. I've heard that Nikon usually is a good buy and Leopold is good for the money but I don't know enough about scopes to buy the right model or get the right mounts or even how it mounts. Says drilled and tapped for scope mounts. Thanks in advance.

 

[Redneck]

Leupold VXI or maybe you can afford VXII

 

[davsco]

nikon is an excellent scope for the money. leupold also.

you first need to figure out if you want a variable or fixed power. fixed will be cheaper and a little lighter, with less to go wrong and less to mess with.

then you need to figure out what magnification or magnification range you want.

suggest you look through a couple of 3x-9x or 4x-12x scopes, or maybe a 10x or 12x fixed scope.

then you need to figure out what objective size you want (the forward end of the scope). I always get 40mm if not 50mm. larger lets in more light, but costs more and is a little heavier. if you're not hunting first or last light, 40mm should do fine.

you also need to figure out what tube size you want, 1" or 30mm (and there are others). for what you're doing, not a huge deal either way.

with the above info, you (with help of scope mfg or retailer websites or sales personnel) can figure out the needed height of your scope base and rings, so that your scope's objective lens is just above the barrel.

you also want to look at the various reticle offerings. you can get super-fine crosshairs, a little thicker crosshairs, a big dot, all kinds of options. just look thru a bunch of scopes and check out mfg's websites to see what will suit you. the super-fine ones are great for target shooting as there is less clutter covering the target, but they are harder to pick up if you don't have a nice clean background (ie, in the woods or fields with trees and grasses). everything is a tradeoff...

at 300 yds your bullet will be dropping around a foot from a 100 yard zero sight in. nothing major so you don't need a super fancy or expensive scope with lots of built in elevation.

 

[Rockn93yj]

thank you, very helpful.

 

[damifinowfish]

Take a look at Natchez.com.

They frequently have big name scopes very cheap.

 

[pwoolford]

I was trying to stay in that price range too and ended up with a Mueller Eradicator on my Savage .308. I've only put about 50 rounds through my setup out to 200 yards but I would definitely do it again. I'm looking forward to trying 300 yards and beyond...as soon as I can find somewhere to do it.

 

[frdfandc]

I was in the same situation as you when I bought my Tikka T3 Lite in .270. Budget was $200-$250 just like you.

I looked at Nikon, Leupold, Simmons and Vortex.

I ended up going over my budget and ended up taking home a Nikon Buckmaster 3x9-50. It was a tad over $300, but I am so glad I spent the extra money on a much better scope. With the 50mm recticle, it was much easier to see in the early dawn/late dusk night.

I picked mine up from Cabela's in Hamburg, PA. The gentleman helping me was extremely knowledgeable with optics and was very patient with me. I think we spent over an hour just looking at scopes.