OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
My experience with a purchase of an "inexpensive" scope wasn't great. It was my first .338LM and instead of buying a more expensive scope, the guy at the gun store convinced me to try this Hawke Sidewinder. Well, the picture wasn't anywhere as good as the Bushnell Elite 6500's that I had on my other two rifles at the time so I put an Elite 6500 on it and sold it to my buddy at a serious discount. He put it on his .300WM and a few shots in, he was seeing black. Something had shifted inside. In for warranty it went. Got a replacement, this one went super blurry after about 10 rounds. Back for warranty again! Can't remember if it was the 3rd or 4th time but the last time he didn't even mount it, had the gun store give him a refund. I had bought my CADEX at that point and a Vortex Gen II Razor HD in 4.5-27x55 and let him use the Bushnell Elite 6500, which held-up just fine.
That was the first, and last, cheap scope I bought, and it wasn't even that cheap!
Cheapest scope I have presently was free, and is on my .22LR. It came on a Savage rifle/scope combo that my buddy got and he wanted something better, so he tossed me that one. It seems to work OK, think it is a Tasco 1-9? Could be 2-12, it's been a while since I had anything out to shoot.
This is it on the 22, next to my 2nd cheapest scope, a Leupold VX3i LRP:
For an AR-style app, I really like this Eotech:
That was the first, and last, cheap scope I bought, and it wasn't even that cheap!
Cheapest scope I have presently was free, and is on my .22LR. It came on a Savage rifle/scope combo that my buddy got and he wanted something better, so he tossed me that one. It seems to work OK, think it is a Tasco 1-9? Could be 2-12, it's been a while since I had anything out to shoot.
This is it on the 22, next to my 2nd cheapest scope, a Leupold VX3i LRP:
For an AR-style app, I really like this Eotech: