$500 scopes...

Joined
Jan 23, 2014
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508
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John Day, OR
I'm pretty surprised only two guys are recommending the SWFA's. I just picked one up on black Friday and I love it! They don't come with a zero stop, but you can buy one for $23. A guy makes them and SFWA covers warranty if you use them.

I have a fixed 10X, retails for $300. If you really want a range of zoom, they make a 3-15 for $699. If you don't want to drop a lot coin but want repeatable clicks, my vote is SWFA. Keep in mind, I'm pretty new to all this, but did a lot of research and spoke with some knowledgable guys about it. That being said, my buddy has a Vortex HST and he's pleased, but I'm not a fan of Vortex. They have a great warranty for a reason, and I've used it!
 

V65Magna

FNG
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Jan 13, 2018
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MD
I have 2 of the Vortex HST's (4-16) & (6-24) and for the money, I'm reasonably impressed with them. Currently, they are mounted on a .25-06 and a 6.5X47 Lapua, respectively. The Vortex was the only one I could find in the price range for what I wanted without going with a Nightforce, which I found cost-prohibitive. I've been looking at all kinds of options for the 6.5-284 I have on order from Savage and after looking at Leica, Swarovski, Burris, Nikon, Leupold, Zeiss, etc., etc., I just keep coming back to the Vortex HST. I kind of wish there was something else but I've not been able to find anything better for the money.
 

260madman

WKR
Joined
Dec 15, 2017
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WI
SWFA is never a bad choice. I have 5 and waiting on the 6th to arrive soon. I was told the 24th they would have a shipment in.

Another to consider is the Weaver 3-15 Super Slam with the illuminated EMDR. Mil/Mil FFP. I just received mine. Natchez had them for $540.

The new Nikon looks good but not FFP.
 

Dioni A

Basque Assassin
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Mar 29, 2016
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Nampa, Idaho
If you can come up with a little more the veracity is nearly the perfect scope in my opinion. Features and quality are better than the price point they're at!
 

marty0

FNG
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
Messages
7
And yet another SWFA vote. I love my fixed six and am planning to purchase several others.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

ams

WKR
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Feb 26, 2012
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Northern CA
I’m really enjoying the Nikon black. It’s simple to use and the glass is pretty damn good. The turrets have been right on after 260 rounds ranging from 100-300 yards. It’s been out 3 times so there’s still a lot to prove but so far so good. $450
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2017
Messages
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Boise, Id.
My son and I have SOLD all, our Nikon's, Vortex's and Leupold scopes, we only use Burris Scopes, now and yes, we "Dial" on some of them!
Brighter, clearer and repeatable, AWESOME Warranty, too! I now have,.. 2, 2x7's, 1 3x9, 2- 4.5x14's and 1 5x20.
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2017
Messages
324
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Boise, Id.
If you can come up with a little more the veracity is nearly the perfect scope in my opinion. Features and quality are better than the price point they're at!

YUP,.. Veracity would get my vote, IF,.. I needed another scope.
Burris scopes were, BRIGHTER than, a Vortex my son HAD, better Eye relief than the Nikon's, clearer than ANY of, my older Leupold's !
 
OP
desertcj

desertcj

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Jul 21, 2013
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Central CA
Coming back to this. The only scopes I'm really interested in that fit this category are the Burris Veracity and the Athlon Midas TAC. I'm not sure I really like the capped turrets on the Veracity and on the Athlon Midas, it's a MIL/MIL scope. I like MOA. Frustrating...

Edit: Bushnell Forge looks pretty good to me, BUT it isn't quite there on price for me at this time. They may come down a bit over time but who knows?
 
Last edited:

2five7

WKR
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Jul 15, 2017
Messages
657
Coming back to this. The only scopes I'm really interested in that fit this category are the Burris Veracity and the Athlon Midas TAC. I'm not sure I really like the capped turrets on the Veracity and on the Athlon Midas, it's a MIL/MIL scope. I like MOA. Frustrating...

Edit: Bushnell Forge looks pretty good to me, BUT it isn't quite there on price for me at this time. They may come down a bit over time but who knows?

Couldn't you just take the caps off the veracity and then you'd have an uncapped turret? Best of both worlds.

3-15 veracity can be had for $489 right now, tough to beat in that price range.

New 2018 Burris Veracity 3-15x50 Ballistic Plex E1 FFP 30mm Riflescope 200636 381006363 | eBay
 
OP
desertcj

desertcj

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Macintosh

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Feb 17, 2018
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Pretty sure the veracity can be had with some sort of exposed turrets—they have a turret interchange system? The scope looked good to me until I got to the reticle option, singular option that is. If they made an iluminated MOA-dot reticle or something equally mid to longer range appropriate yet simple enough to not be distracting for hunting, I’d already own one.
 
OP
desertcj

desertcj

WKR
Joined
Jul 21, 2013
Messages
647
Location
Central CA
Pretty sure the veracity can be had with some sort of exposed turrets—they have a turret interchange system? The scope looked good to me until I got to the reticle option, singular option that is. If they made an iluminated MOA-dot reticle or something equally mid to longer range appropriate yet simple enough to not be distracting for hunting, I’d already own one.

I believe there are 3 different reticle types with the Veracity? Maybe even 4. I think they should have just kept it simple with the turret options though. It's a little confusing and I don't really understand why they did what they did. Tall, capped, multi-turn vs low, capped, single turn? Neither of those is what I want. As for the Nikon Black, I still can't believe that Nikon chose to go with a 2 piece tube construction. I know, "Its fine", but to me its not fine when there are other options with 1 piece tubes. Pretty sure I'm going with an Athlon Midas TAC 6-24x50. Hopefully I dont regret that....
 

Macintosh

WKR
Joined
Feb 17, 2018
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I think we must be looking at different magnifications, the veracity i was looking at (2-10) is only available on their website with a bdc reticle, no other option that I could find. Re turrets, I just checked and understood the turret options differently than you, it sounded to me that they have 2 or three different options in standard exposed turrets plus a custom lasered option in exposed turrets. if thats whats holding you back maybe give them a call, it IS less than crystal clear.
 
Joined
Feb 20, 2020
Messages
1,448
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CO
Bringing this post back up versus starting another since $500 is my soft upper limit.

I’m on the fence between the Sightron STac 4-20 vs Strike Eagle 4-24 mainly due to the great sales (CameraLand/Europtic). I do have access to some pro deals, but honestly they aren’t much better than good sales and usually a good used deal beats pro deals. Athlon Midas TAC vs Veracity are my pro deal choices, kinda heavy though.

My question - are there any used scopes that tend to pop up in the $500 range that are considerably better options and worth trying to be patient for?
 
Joined
Feb 19, 2020
Messages
972
Location
Wyoming
Bringing this post back up versus starting another since $500 is my soft upper limit.

I’m on the fence between the Sightron STac 4-20 vs Strike Eagle 4-24 mainly due to the great sales (CameraLand/Europtic). I do have access to some pro deals, but honestly they aren’t much better than good sales and usually a good used deal beats pro deals. Athlon Midas TAC vs Veracity are my pro deal choices, kinda heavy though.

My question - are there any used scopes that tend to pop up in the $500 range that are considerably better options and worth trying to be patient for?
Depending on your use case, I have a 4-20 Athlon Helps Gen2 that is pretty feature packed with zero stop, locking turrets, illum, lots of elevation travel, 10yd min parallax, and I believe it's only 25oz. Not the lightest, but for a 30mm tube and 50mm objective, it's not back. Camera land has done me a solid deal on 2 of them for around your budget.
 
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