$500 glass for .22

[Blacklab1]

A few days ago my friend was playing with my .22 and now he wants to get into shooting MARS this year. Today he picked up a Ruger precision and now he needs glass. The boss of the house told him he had a $1k budget and half of that was spent on the rifle. So what would be a good choice for $500? The requirements are FFP, MIL and needs to dial down to 25 yards since targets range from 25-300 yards. Anyone have any experience with a vortex venom or viper? What other scopes would be decent in that price range?

 

[Jeff Porter]

Vortex Diamondback Tactical fits those criteria. I have one on a 243 gas gun and it is tracking fine and glass is what you expect from a $500 scope. Decent reticle for hold overs too.

 

[CJ6]

He should also get a sloped base and a set of Burris Sig. Zee rings (with the off-set inserts).

 

[Waydeo]

Any thoughts on Meopta scopes. Some are under $500-$600 range.

 

[jelenko]

I just got a couple Meopta Optika 5's - very nice.
You absolutely, positively know when you've made a click.
Glass looks clearer than my Leupold VX II's. Both of them have an illuminated reticle; both under $500.

 

[Snozzberries]

I think you should consider the Arken EP5 5-25X56 FFP MIL VPR.

Arken EP5 5-25X56 FFP MIL VPR Review

I picked up an Arken SH4 6-24X50 GEN2, mounted it, sighted it in, shot some groups. I decided it was good, but I wanted something with better glass. The next day Arken released their EP5 5-25x56 (EP5-5251VPR). Near as I can tell, for $100 extra, it comes with "ED Japanese Glass". (IMO, the...

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[Blacklab1]

thanks for the responses, he’s looking into all of them.

 

[gtl1946]

A lot of Rimfire people talk highly about Mueller Optics .Don’t think because it’s talked about in rimfire circles that they are weak and inferior they are quality but inexpensive optics that could fit his budget .

 

[longrange223]

Arken EP-5 and don't look back...

 

[Schutzen2]

Sightron S-tac. Focus down to 10 yds. Turrets are better than on my diamondback.

 

[Ned Ludd]

Another vote for the Sightron S-Tac scope. I have an S-TAC 4-20x50 with a duplex reticle, it is a VERY good scope for the $$$. If I was to get another one, I would probably go with a (hashmark) reticle:

Edited to add: it also comes in FFP

Product Description

Product Description | Camera Land NY

cameralandny.com

 

[Petey]

Athlon Argos BTR Gen2 10-40x56, It's a MOA not MIL but excellent scope for the money. They can be found in the $430-450 range at some places. Nice reticle. I think the glass is clearer than a Vortex Golden Eagle at a 3rd of the price.

Bench-Rest Scope | Argos BTR 10-40×56 BLR SFP MOA

For those of you that are just getting started in the Bench-Rest competition or are looking to start, take a close look at the Argos BTR 10-40×56 scopes.

athlonoptics.com

They do make an 8-34 in a MIL if that's a must

Edit: I missed your FFP, these are SFP but works great on my MTR

 

[Schutzen2]

The OP also said it needed to be FFP. The Argos BTR would check those boxes but I would just make sure it's a gen2 model. The 214068 or 214063 models might suit his needs.

 

[longrange223]

I would stick to a model with a good Zero-Stop if you're going to be cranking it up & down...

 

[mac86951]

My vote for Sightron and Vortex; both are found on the range a lot; and both have excellent customer service and warranty. I think the others support this too, but i hear less of that, either because they don't have lifetime warranties, or don't need them?

$500 for optic is doable; but challenging with the need for FFP. Don't forget the rings / mount, so better to say $400 for the optic, which gets difficult.

EuroOptic.com and OpticsPlanet can have some real steals on last year's models; and this forum often had used optics that often include have a solid warranty to protect against a bad buy.