Whether you are an amateur, coming from crossbow hunting, or a veteran it actually doesn’t matter. Unless you are well aware of all the latest and greatest releases, you will have a hard time finding the best rifle scope for you. You might be wondering what makes the rifle scope the best?
– There should be some sort of remark right? Well, you are not WRONG.
A long-range shooter will judge the scope based on its long-range credibility. Whether it holds its claim or not. If you bring on a hunter or a competition shooter he will judge based on the accuracy. As accuracy is their main priority. A hunter might also consider the low-light performance as there are lots of hunter hunts during the dusk.
Doesn’t matter which category you belong to, we welcome you here. This post will help you guys no matter what. You might ask! How we ranked these scopes” Well, we’ve ranked them by price segment. so no matter which position they’ve got! those all are the best by their own.
Best Rifle Scope
Like we previously said if you are looking for a rifle scope, the best rifle scope to be precise you are at the right place. So, before purchase a rifle scope you should consider some factors
1. Leupold Mark 6 3-18x44mm Rifle Scope
| Magnification | 3 – 18x |
| Objective Lens | 44mm |
| Eye Relief | High-3.9″ |
| Eye Relief | Low: 3.8″ |
| Linear FOV @100 yds | High: 6.3 ft |
| Linear FOV @100 yds | Low: 36.8 ft |
| Maintube Diameter | 34mm |
An American based sports optics and telescoping sight manufacturer. Leupold is well acknowledged among the hunter’s community and target shooters.
They mostly make high-end stuff but they have some middle-range scopes too. They are known for providing quality for the price. You will get the best materials and lenses for the premium price you are going to pay.
- Top-Notch: This scopes glass is top-notch. It’s multi-coated, fog-proof, waterproof & scratch-resistant. The reticle is on FFP (front focal plane) so the reticle magnifies as you crank up the zoom of the scope.
- Aluminum Alloy: The scope is built with an aluminum alloy so it’s super light-weight. It weights about only 23.6 oz. The scope features an ion-assist finish so that protects the lens from getting scratches. Rest assured it’s built quite heavily to ensure longevity.
- Christmas Tree Style Reticle: The reticle is based on FFP so the reticle zooms in as you zoom in the scope yourself. This 34mm tube produces exceptional elevation adjustment level and windage. The Christmas tree style reticle has 38mil viewable at 3x and when you decide to crank it up to the max 18x you still get 9mil of viewable in the lens.
- Windage Dots: As the reticle features point to subtension in vertical stadia also 0.2 in terms of windage. The windage dot expands up to the bottom of the lens but don’t worry they are tiny dots so they won’t hinder with your view.
- Parallax Adjustor: In the left side of the scope, you have a parallax adjustor which cranks up from 75 to infinity. On the right side, you have a windage turret which is locked behind a cap. On the top, the scope has a self-locking turret featuring M5B2 adjustments.
Leupold mark 6 3-18x44mm scope is best suited for the people who aren’t necessary on a low budget, people who wants the optimal performance and willing to spend accordingly. It’s a premium scope with lots of feature for the price you paying and you are getting a lifetime guarantee which does makes it a worth it product.
This is a best rifle scope for hunters, professional shooters or people just who wants to join the sniper game. It’s great for bolt action rifles as it provides accurate reticle reading.
2. Vortex Razor Hd AMG 6-24×50 Rifle Scope
| Magnification | 6 – 24x |
| Objective Lens | 50mm |
| Eye Relief | 3.6″ |
| Field Of View | 20.4′ – 5.1′ |
| Length | 15.2″ |
| Maintube Diameter | 30mm |
| Weight | 28.8 oz |
Vortex is known for providing the best budget optics & making quality multi-coated glasses; you will find in the market. It is also an American based outdoor sporting optics and binocular manufacturer.
- AMG Supposed: This is multi-coated, fog-proof, waterproof and shockproof. As they said before announcing the scope the AMG supposed to have better glass than the razor, and they managed to deliver it is actually better glass than the razor.
- Aircraft-Grade Aluminum: The build quality is quite rugged and its build really strong. Like the other vortex scopes, it also features aircraft-grade aluminum confirming that it going to serve you for a long time. It weights 28.8 oz certainly not the lightest but not the heaviest either.
- Excellent Camouflage: The hard-anodized anti-glare black finish provides the shooter with excellent camouflage possibility. The 30mm tube size helped in reducing its weight which also makes it easier to mount too many guns.
- Cristmas Tree Reticle Style: All hail the Christmas tree. Jokes aside the EBR 7B (MOA) is a great reticle. It features the Christmas tree type of reticle which is easy to get accumulated. The AMG features .2 mil hash marks on both vertically and horizontally. In the very center, there is a tiny 0.13 dot. That dot is actually amazing.
- Adjustable Brightness Settings: The adjustable reticle brightness is an awesome feature to have. It has 11 adjustable brightness setting which locks in automatically confirming that you won’t mistakenly change the brightness setting.
- Parallax: The parallax is 30 to infinity and adjustable.
- L-Tec ™ Technology: The turrets in this build quite sturdily. They stick into one place and operating them is quite easy to. Thanks to the technology called L-Tec ™ the turret locks automatically assuring you that they won’t change on the fly mistakenly.
- Magnifications Rings: The magnifications rings are quite nicely built and doesn’t feel like they are going to come off any soon.
It’s like a sweet crossover for long-range hunters and competitors. While the scope is fairly easy to use still its quite a hefty job to get to know the scope and unlock its full potential so its not exactly targeted towards beginners.
You are getting what you are paying for. A best rifle scope with the great build quality, excellent glass, great sturdy turrets. I really don’t think you need more than these in scope in this price range.
3. Steiner Model T5XI 5-25x56mm Rifle Scope
| Magnification | 5 – 25x |
| Objective Lens | 56mm |
| Eye Relief | 3.5 – 4.3 in |
| Field Of View | 21.5′ – 4.3′ |
| Reticle | SCR – Illuminated |
| Maintube Diameter | 34mm |
| Waterproof | Submersible to 33ft. |
Steiner is a Germany based manufacturer that makes military-grade scopes. Their scopes indeed are some of the costliest scopes out in the market. You get military-grade products. You get the best quality possible. No compromises.
- Water Tolerance: The glass is solid. It’s waterproof, fog-proof and shockproof. The water tolerance of the scope is 33feet (pretty much; right?) according to their official website. Steiner is well known for grinding and polishing premium quality lenses.
- Razor-Image Clarity: In this particular model, you get something called razor-image clarity. Which means everything you see through the scope it’s always crystal clear and doesn’t get pixelated easily.
- Long-Range Performance: Its weights at 33oz which is kind of heavy. The 34mm tube going to provide solid long-range performance. You might think it’s a little overkill but trust me for the long-range function ability 34mm is more than enough.
- Special Competition Reticle: The SCR reticle is on FFP (First Focal Plane). So as you gradually increase the zoom the reticle zooms alongside. It’s a special type of reticle developed by Steiner. They call it Special Competition Reticle.
- Extended Illumination Area: It has extended illumination area, 1/10mil ranging bracket helps to determine precise range. The reticle has horizontal .2 mil sub-tension. It comes it illuminated reticle which has 11 brightness settings.
- Low-Profile Turrets: Steiner t5xi 25×56 features low-profile turrets. Which to be honest looks kind of cool. The turret hard stops at zero which assures accurate windage and elevation. They are not that hard to adjust pretty easy, to be honest.
- Magnification Ring: The magnification ring is tapered all metal. It won’t be damaged that easily. No one likes hard adjustable turrets. In this term, I will say they did a bang on job with the adjustability. Its nowhere near the hardest scope you are going to operate. in fact, I would like to say it’s pretty much noob friendly.
Steiner Model 5122 T5Xi 5-25X is best suited for people who wants to experience the 25x zoom range with its full potential. They are not cheap well no long-range scope is “cheap” but if the scope suits your preference and fills your expectations I think it’s a price that you want to pay.
In the end, I would like to say it’s a solid scope for the price. It goes on sales quite often so keep a keen eye for that. It’s not the best scope in the world or anything but it most certainly is one of the best rifle scope in my book. Solid build quality, rugged body, good glass, FFP SCR reticle, low profile turrets, easy zeroing these are some great features in my opinion.
4. Atn Thor HD 384 Smart Thermal Rifle Scope
| Magnification | 4.5 – 18x |
| Objective Lens | 50mm |
| Eye Relief | 65mm |
| Sensor | 384 x 288 |
| Human Detection Range | 1500 m |
| Human Recognition Range | 600 m |
| Human Identification Range | 360 m |
ATN is the leading Tech Optics company which provides the best 4k resolution digital smart optics. They use the best processor available for night vision scopes.
- Micro Bolometer: Thermal imaging works based on a principle which is all objects emit infrared energy as heat. This lens uses a technology called micro bolometer which focuses energy on an array of sensors.
- Obsidian Core: The obsidian II core powers this ATN Thor 384 scope. And the scope uses industry-leading image digital image processing architecture an array of the image sensor to create an accurate thermogram and range of environmental sensors.
- ARM Processor: In the heart of the core lies a high-performance ARM processor which processes this complicated image processing method within milliseconds. Hard to believe isn’t it? The user interface is quite friendly and easy to use.
- Reticle Usage: Well, it’s a little complicated to explain because the scope actually doesn’t use 1 specific reticle! Yeah, you heard me right. The scope let you chose from a vast majority of their preset reticles. You can choose whichever suits on your preference.
- Accuracy: The scope uses a ballistic calculator to calculate the wind speed, target distance, altitude, relative humidity and lots of other data to hit the best possible shot. That scope’s built-in rangefinder is excellent.
- Profile Manager: You can save all your ballistic data zeroing info into profiles. You can even reset them later and chose a new profile.
- Smoth Zoom: Not a lot of scope allows you to zoom into your target smoothly without any blurry effects or distortion. But ATN Thor actually does give you that smooth zoom.
- Battery Life: The scope gives you 8h of screen time and if you pack in the ATN 20000mah weapon kit you can extend its battery life to up to 22h and that’s a lot of battery life.
If you’re planning to do some night-time hunting. Then this product certainly going to intrigue you. It hits all the marks a night vision scope need. It has lots of sweet features. And for the price you paying it should keep you happy.
The scope comes in a different price segment chose one which you can afford. It’s undoubtedly one of the best thermal sensor scope in the market.
5. Burris Eliminator III 3-12×44 Rifle Scope
| Magnification | 3 – 12x |
| Objective Lens | 44mm |
| Eye Relief | 5″ – 4″ |
| Field Of View | 33′ – 9′ |
| Exit Pupil | 16 – 4.2 mm |
| Reticle | x96 |
| Sport Type | Hunting |
Established in 1971 named after founder Don Burris, even though Burris is an American based manufacturer in 2002 Beretta acquired Burris. Don Burris used to work for Redfield scopes. Burris provides some of the best low to mid-range scopes. They don’t cheap out on build or lens quality. Burris also known for making good spotting scopes and binoculars.
- Clear View: The optical glass in it is quite high quality assuring a clear view of your target. The multi-coated glass assures that you don’t get any kind of glare in your glass and get maximum performance.
- Longe-Range Shooting: Main tube of burris eliminator III is 44mm which will give you plenty of function for long-range shooting.
- X96 Reticle: It has an x96 reticle set on RFP. You can call it a house type of crosshair which shows the range of the target. Yes, it has a built-in rangefinder neat, isn’t it?
- Laser Rangefinder: It has a laser rangefinder and its range is up to 1200yards for reflective target and 750 yards for a non-reflective target.
- Illuminated Dot: You can set your ballistics information and with a push of a button a bright-red illuminated dot going to signify your aiming point within seconds.
Burris eliminator III laser scope with the built-in laser rangefinder accurate to 1200yards it is probably one of the best sub 1300$ scope. If you can afford the cash and not a novice in range finder and trajectories programming we think you should consider this scope as an option.
6. Atn X-Sight II HD 5-20 Smart Rifle Scope
| Magnification | 5 – 20x |
| Objective Lens | 85mm |
| Eye Relief | 65mm |
| Field Of View | 240ft @1000 yds |
| Sensor | HD 1080p ATN L130 |
| System Resolution | 160 Lp/mm |
| Weight | 2.55 Lbs |
ATN makes some of the best rifle scope / night-vision scopes in the market. Their lenses and their powerful obsidian core makes a great combo for night-vision scopes.
- Obsidian Core: Using the same obsidian core II like the higher end ATN scopes this one ensures high image quality. It’s kind of hard to believe a budget night-vision scope uses the same obsidian core as the flagship one.
- Processor: This night-vision scope uses an ARM-based processor which has 2 dedicated digital signal co-processors. The processor is based on 32nm technology ensuring low power consumption and better battery life.
- ATN L130 Sensor: ATN X-sight 2 has an HD 1080p ATN L130 sensor. The refresh of the sensor and display is 30hz/fps. The field of view of the sensor at 1000 yards is 240 feet.
- Ballistic Calculator & Smart Rangefinder: The scope has a ballistic calculator. The scope also features a smart rangefinder. You just need to insert the wind reading and the obsidian core will handle the rest. This X-sight II uses a two-step method to calculate the distance between you and your target.
- Smooth Zoom: The smooth zoom is a feature which provides you lag/distortion-free zoom. You can zoom in to your target with ease without worrying about motion-blur or blurriness.
The scope provides a lot of feature for the price-point. There aren’t many cheap night-vision scopes in the market. If you want to get into night hunting and don’t want to spend thousands of dollars for a night-vision scope then you seriously should consider this scope.
7. Sightmark Photon XT 6.5x50L Rifle Scope
| Magnification | 6.5x |
| Objective Lens | 50mm |
| Eye Relief | 60mm |
| Field Of View | 18′ |
| Range of Detection | 220 yds |
| Battery Type | 2xAA |
| Reticle | w/C |
Photon XT is a scope made by Sightmark. Sightmark is an US-based company that makes scopes for rifles. They also make other products like binoculars, magnifiers, prismatic sights and flashlights.
- 810 nm LED IR Illuminator: The built-in 810nm LED IR illuminator provides clear pictures in the night. It doesn’t have fancy resolutions like ATN scopes or an intelligent core like obsidian core II. But it still provides 640×480 resolution clear images/videos even in dark nights. The scope uses a 656 x 492 CMOS digital imaging sensor.
- Nylon Fiberglass: The main tube is 30mm in diameter. After that, The housing is made of nylon-fiberglass and the battery compartment has a tethered door. And then The weaver rails are made of plastic.
- Display Brightness: The display brightness is adjustable and its bright light exposure proof. You can use the scope for both day and night without any issue. There are 6 pre-built reticles. The reticles comes with 3 colors; red, green and white.
Sightmark photon XT is a night vision scope but it’s not packed like the ATN scopes. It can handle night shooting well but you are going to miss out a lot of features. If you are on a serious tight budget and just wants some night shooting experience feel free to opt for it.
8. Bushnell FFP Illuminated Btr-1 Rifle Scope
| Magnification | 1 – 4x |
| Objective Lens | 24mm |
| Eye Relief | 3.5″ |
| Color | Matte Black |
| Reticle | Illuminated BTR |
| Anodize-Finished | Yes |
| Waterproof | IPX-7 |
Kansas-based Bushnell optics is loved by a variety of hunters, target shooters, and competitive shooters. Because from 50$ to 800$ they got a scope for all kinds of consumers. They provide quality for a little amount of money.
- Glass: The glass on this one isn’t like super great or something. But it is still multi-coated glass. So you won’t be seeing any kind of glaring of some sort. So you can use the scope in day light without any issue.
- BTR-1 Reticle: The reticle of this one is illuminated version of BTR-1. As this one is set on FFP (Front Focal Plane) the reticle zooms alongside when you zoom the scope. For the price point, you really can’t go wrong with this reticle. It illuminates it’s in FFP what more do you need in a budget scope.
- Brightness Settings: The illuminated reticle has 11 brightness setting to choose from. Set your optimal brightness depending on the light condition.
- Rugged Build Quality: The scope has an excellent rugged build quality. And the outside of the scope is built with scratch-proof and rust-proof aluminum.
If you are short on money and just want to get into the 3-gunning or medium range hunting or perhaps some competition shooting, you can opt for this scope because this one is best rifle scope if you have a low-budget.
It won’t break your bank and the build quality is good for long term use. There aren’t many scopes in FFP in this price range so give this one a chance.
9. Redfield Revolution 2-7×33 Rifle Scope
| Magnification | 2 – 7x |
| Objective Lens | 33mm |
| Exit Pupil | 5.1 – 13.2 mm |
| Adjustment per click | 1/4 MOA |
| Color | Matte |
| Sport Type | Hunting |
| Weight | 12.6 oz |
For over 100 years Redfield has provided scopes for the American firearms industry. In 2008 Leupold bought Redfield and since then they are providing some of the best mid-range scopes you can find. Any kind of gunners who are interested in target shooting probably has heard of the Redfield revolution series.
- Glass: For a sub 200$, you got to hand it to Redfield for making such a good looking glass. The glass truth be told is good like really best rifle scope for 200$.
- Field Of View: You get around 43 feet of FOV in 100yards with 2X zoom. And when you crank up the zoom to the max 7x you will get around 17 feet of FOV which is not too shabby for a scope of this kind.
- 6061 Aluminum: The build quality in this scope is pretty good. Reminding you again for the price-point it’s built quite sturdy. It is built with 6061 aluminum and is coated with an anodized matte black finish.
- Windage & Elevation Adjustments: You can find the windage and elevation knob hidden under a waterproof cap on top and right side of the scope. You don’t need any kind of tools to turn the turrets your hand is enough.
- Other Features: You can change ¼ MOA per click. And also, You can find the zooming turret in the rear side of the scope. The magnification ring has a number marked in it so you can find out which zoom setting you are on.
- Accu Range Reticle: The reticle in it is ACCU-Range reticle. Which is quite similar to their original 4-plex reticle. This scope’s difference isn’t that much but the circle in the middle of the ACCU-Range helps to aim better.
If you want a cheap scope who does a good job in sub 500yard shooting range, this scope right here might intrigue you quite a bit.
So if you are looking for a sub 200$ scope which does the job and doesn’t look that bad aesthetically well this product should intrigue you (if it didn’t already). It’s a good scope for some short-medium range 3-gunning and semi mid-range hunting in daylight.
10. Bushnell Banner Dusk & Daw Rifle Scope
| Magnification | 3 – 9x |
| Objective Lens | 40mm |
| Eye Relief | 3.3″ |
| Reticle | Multi X |
| Color | Black |
| Windage & Elevation | 1/4 MOA |
| Weight | 0.81 Pounds |
The scope has quite nice features for the price. On paper it’s not the best kind of specs but let’s be real are you expecting a 500$ scope specs from an 80$ scope?
- Built In System: The build of this one isn’t something groundbreaking. You get your typical housing a 1-inch tube (25.4mm). You need to buy 1-inch mounts for this scope. The objective lens is 40mm so you get plenty of FOV (Field Of View).
- Multi-Coated Glass: The multi-coated glass does an excellent job for the price. You don’t find multi-coated glass under 100$ so you might think it just says multi-coated but actually isn’t.
- Multi-X Reticle: The reticle is called Multi-X reticle. Bushnell uses this one in their high-end scopes too. Because it assures you don’t face any kind of unnecessary glare while aiming.
Bushnell banner dusk & dawn the cheapest scope on the list. It’s mainly for who just wants to get into 3-gunning and short/medium-range hunting.
If you are super tight on budget and just want to experience what medium-range shooting feels like you can definitely opt for it.
Best Rifle Scope: Conclusion
Those who stayed till now to you guys we thank you. Thank you for reading through this massive mass review of 10 products. We wholeheartedly hope that these rifle scopes reviews were helpful to you.
If you have any questions! leave a comment then 🙂
Hi, I’m Brent Hansford. A writer turned hunter & now sharing my love for the sport through writing. As I practically breathe weapons, I firmly believe I’m capable of providing you with new knowledge about firearms and hunting. My mission is to help more people get better at hunting & master the weapons. Let me help with unleashing the beast within you!
