I'm looking to get a scope for my old Remington 788 chambered in .223; I don't want to spend much on it. No more than say $200. On a budget!

I was thinking Bushnell Banner 6x24x40 I think it was.

I have a Leopould VXIII 3.5x10x50 on my 30-06 but I bought it about 9 years ago before the wife and all.

I'd go to a mueller long before a banner. the optic zone used to carry them but I think you have to direct to mueller now

http://theopticzone.com/detail.aspx?ID=3324

Bushnell Trophy is a good step up from a Banner. Here is one just in your budget in 6-18x. Lots of sub $200 24x scopes are going to be iffy at the higher magnification anyway.

I use Banners for air rifles and .22rf.
Oddly enough, I find the Banner is better in low light than the Trophy, although in good light the Trophy is crisper.
For the price, I think Bushnell have the best gear for sub £200.

While I can appreciate being on a budget when choosing a scope, I would rather have a good 3x9 scope than a piece of garbage 6-24X scope (i.e. BSA) If I had an absolute maximum of $200 to spend I would look at:
Nikon Buckmasters 3-9X
Burris Fullfield II 3-9X
Sightron SII 3-9X
Weaver V9 3-9X (only $150 leaves enough for rings and bases)
But if I wanted more magnification, I would save up just a little more and consider:
Weaver KT15 15X fixed scope, loved mine on a .223 about $225
personal favorite:
Nikon Buckmasters 4.5-14X about $250 or so, mine should be arriving sometime next week!

The advantage to buying a decent quality 3x9 is that you can either sell it or use it on another rifle if you decide you need more power. A cheap crummy scope has little resale value and only delays you that much longer to get a decent scope. My Nikon Buckmasters is replacing a Burris Fullfield II 3-9X, which I am happy to keep around until I find another rifle to mount it on. Or maybe if I find a varmint rifle, I may put the new Nikon on it and return the FFII to the .270WSM it is currently mounted on. At least quality scopes give you some options. I am not an optics snob, but do subscribe to the rule of buying the best optics you can afford. Even if it means waiting until you can afford decent options.

I just bought a Banner 6x18x50 for a .22 rifle and love it. Very crisp and clear optics and it will focus all the way down to under 15 yards on 18 power. I want to test it out on a rifle with some recoil and see how it holds up. For the money I am very impressed.

Simmons Whitetail Classic in 6.5x20x50mm at Midwayusa is $100, and a bargain.

quote:

Originally posted by MajorCaliber:
Simmons Whitetail Classic in 6.5x20x50mm at Midwayusa is $100, and a bargain.

Do you have one? I have not been impressed with the Simmons or BSA scopes I have used. It would be nice to know if their quality has went up.

If you can find a Simmons Aetec or a Simmons Whitetail Expedition(Not Classic), they are far superior to Bushnell's. Everthing but the 4200 IMO. Yes, that's right, I like the Aetec and WE more than the 3200s.

Those two scopes can handle magnum rifle recoil and are repeatable.

Simmons does make several garbage scopes on the low end but, the Aetecs and WEs were fine scopes for the money. I've abused them and they haven't lost zero. Pretty crisp too.

The Simmons 44 Mag and ATV are also fine scopes for small rifles. I know several guys that use the 44 Mag line on their big game rifles. I prefer to only use the Aetec and WE on something that has a little recoil.

You may be able to find some very good deals on these due to the closeouts on all of the older models.

Good Luck

Reloader

Another note on the Aetec...

Some time back I read on an Air Rifle forum that the Aetecs stood up better than most of the scopes they had tried.

I'm told that hard shooting Air Rifles can be hard on a scope. Not sure how true that statement is.

Reloader

Save your change and buy something in the Leupold line....in the end you won't be sorry.

For the best scope for the money
try this website: go to Nikon scopes
Find the Nikon refurbished 3x9 for $159.95 or the
4.5-14x40AO for $229.95
I have purchased several scopes and bino's from them. Great Service; better yet, call then and ask what they would recommend in your price range

http://www.samplelist.com/ (SWFA)

I've had a 6-18x50 Banner on my .270 for 4 years and it has served me well. I moved up to the Elite Line for my harder kicking calibers (300 Wby and 375 H&H). Your .223 will not be a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by Jacobite:

quote:

Originally posted by MajorCaliber:
Simmons Whitetail Classic in 6.5x20x50mm at Midwayusa is $100, and a bargain.

Do you have one? I have not been impressed with the Simmons or BSA scopes I have used. It would be nice to know if their quality has went up.

I have a Simmons 4X pistol scope "scout mounted" on a swede (the purists who are about to start foaming can bite me), it's a good scope for what I wanted it for.
there's just one small issue.... The windage/elevation assembly is installed backwards... so I had to reinstall the scope rotated 90degrees and swap the legend discs from
the windage and elevation and simply remember
that any windage or elevation changes must be made in reverse of the rotation markings.

I'd send it back to Simmons but I bought it off of ebay for $18

AllanD