Best $100 scope

[TheRealVIC]

I recently bought my son a Colt M4 OPS 22LR(with the tactical rails) and wanted to buy him an illuminated scope for his rifle. I have no experience with scopes so i'm asking for recommendations so i can do some comparisons. Thanks

[3GunFunShooter]

Check out the Simmons Diamond Pro Shotgun scope. 1.5-5, illuminated. About $100. I and many other 3 gun shooters ran the non illuminated model on our 3 gun rifles. Used mine for 4 years in competition on a 223. still have it mounted on my ASI Mini 14. Natchez Shooting Supplies has them usually on sale. Best scope for the money out there.

[sniper4usmc]

I recently bought my son a Colt M4 OPS 22LR(with the tactical rails) and wanted to buy him an illuminated scope for his rifle. I have no experience with scopes so i'm asking for recommendations so i can do some comparisons. Thanks

[K_Labs]

Nikko Sterling 3-9X 40AO ILL MILL at turners for $89.99 you have to throw a fit for the ILL model and tell them to order it.

[Bongos]

try to spend a little more and get a Redfield (Leupold now own)

[KALIDAWG8996]

^^^ waiting on a new 4x compact scope from PA

[knucklehead0202]

+1 on the NCstar, while they used to be thought of as "cheap chinese crap" guess who makes most of the scopes on the market? I have 2 NCstars so far and they're fantastic, nevermind WAAAAY cheaper than anything else even approaching the quality. always good deals on ebay. i just bought another on there for 30 bucks. illuminated may cost a little more but still very cheap. you won't be disappointed.

[Urban-Warrior-2010]

I sure hope Kucklehead0202 and snipe4usmc recommendations of the NCstar are good otherwise its gonna be a bitter pill to swallow when buying 3 of them. Two of which you both recommend (3 - 9x42 mm Mark III) and the 4-16x50 for my saiga .308.

[knucklehead0202]

one of mine is a 4x32 pistol scope in a scout mount on a sporter i have and the optics are nothing short of phenomenal. try to find an inexpensive pistol scope. leupold sells them for 200+ and guess where they're made? not Germany but i'll let your imagination run wild. i paid something like 30-40 bucks shipped for my NCstar and couldn't think of anything to complain about. haven't mounted the 6x42 on my mauser yet but it looks to be every bit as good. i may end up buying a 4-16 for another project i'm working on. thanks for reminding me

[Urban-Warrior-2010]

one of mine is a 4x32 pistol scope in a scout mount on a sporter i have and the optics are nothing short of phenomenal. try to find an inexpensive pistol scope. leupold sells them for 200+ and guess where they're made? not Germany but i'll let your imagination run wild. i paid something like 30-40 bucks shipped for my NCstar and couldn't think of anything to complain about. haven't mounted the 6x42 on my mauser yet but it looks to be every bit as good. i may end up buying a 4-16 for another project i'm working on. thanks for reminding me

Good points, but heres a $64k question. Would anyone be bold enough to say if these NcStar's are on par with the likes of leupold of Zeiss??

Im gonna guess the two top companies i mentioned are manufactured in China?, and so another guess, ive gone full circle?

[Caseless]

I recently bought my son a Colt M4 OPS 22LR(with the tactical rails) and wanted to buy him an illuminated scope for his rifle. I have no experience with scopes so i'm asking for recommendations so i can do some comparisons. Thanks

If you are looking for a "tactical-looking" illuminated scope, there are a few choices.
For under $100, try the Leapers 1-4X.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/leapers-accushot-1-4x28-30mm-long-eye-relief-cqb-scope-scp3-1428l1.html

For under $120, try the Primary Arms 1-4X.

http://www.primaryarms.com/category.sc?categoryId=156

I had my friend's son try both the conventional 3-9x scope and P.A. 1-4X scope on a 22LR carbine at the range. He seems to prefer the 1-4X scope by far. Since you can tune down the magnification, so the sight picture shakes less when shooting freehand. He shot similar groups at 50 and 100 yards with both scope setups.

[knucklehead0202]

not certain about zeiss but most leupolds are made in china these days, kinda sad. i've heard mixed reviews on quality, but for the money, nothing can touch the NCstars. if you look at tascos and most of the other generics, most of them come from the same place. i bought a 25 dollar buck ridge from SG and it's alright, but the eye relief really kinda sucks. if you get within the proper eye relief margin, which has about 1/8" of play, the optics are decent, but you can spend a few dollars more on the NCstar with much better results. in answer to your question on-par, i'll say this, if you got a good one of the above-mentioned really-expensive brands, you'd still be hard-pressed to tell the difference in quality, if you got a crummy one, it'd make the NCstar look pretty damned good. quality from leupold these days is about like quality from remington: very inconsistent. if you really want to spend 2-300 dollars+ on a scope to feel like you got a better product, more power to you, but careful shopping can get you the same results for a much lower price. happy hunting!

[Taurus94538]

I have the Simmons 8 Point 3-9X50 on my AR, both the 5.56 and the 22lr build. It has been holding zero and was very easy zero in. I can't see spending more than $50 when these scopes are more than adequate for range play and plinking. They are not illuminated, but for those, Walmart has them for about $50-$65. Like every one else has found out, all the big name companies are buying their scopes from the same manufaturers in China, with their label slapped on.....

[ZX-10R]

Nikko Sterling 3-9X 40AO ILL MILL at turners for $89.99 you have to throw a fit for the ILL model and tell them to order it.

+1. Nice scopes for the price.

[Timberwolf]

Look at the Centerpoint 4-16X50 at Walmart. Its illuminated (both green and red), has mil-dot reticle and is a pretty good bang for your buck at 69.95. One of these sat on my 22LR Prec Rifle for a couple of years and is a very good scope.