My boss just picked up an immaculate Tikka T3 in .243 without a scope.

Looking for recommendation in the sub $300 range.

So far I've suggested the Nikon Prostaff 5 3.5-14x40 which I can get a bit of a discount on.

Primarily likely to used for whitetail in S TX, ranges up to 2-500 yes, more on the lower end of that scale.

I like the VX-2. I am a fan of the 2-7x33. Plenty of scope. Clear and bright and perfect for your rifle.

The prostaff would be good too. But think that one is more scope than is needed for your rifle.

I think Leupold phased out the vx2 and vx1, but I'd look for new old stock or clean vx2 with that budget.

Leupold VX II 4X12 has a well deserved reputation as a hunting scope in that price range.
Do not know about the long term reliability of the prostaff 5, but it is a nice clear product. Nikon has a good name and I would be tempted by it.

Midway has a vortex viper 2.5-10x44 on sale for 269.00

Other than that, leupold vx2 it vx freedom.

Thanks guys, mentioned the VX2 & he found some good deals on them, think he's going to source one of those over the Nikon.

I don't think you can go wrong with Nikon's PROSTAFF 5 scope. Lots of great features and excellent glass. I have been using them for yearts. I did notice that Nikon has the PROSTAFF 7's under a PROMO. Lots of good magnification option's to go with a 30mm tube. I do like the parallax adjustment of the PROSTAFF scopes. Especially for a .243.

I have a Nikon Prostaff or my Sig SHR 970.
Great scope for the price. Glass is clear and collects a lot of light.
Killed everything I have shot it at with the longest at just over 270 yards.

I have the VXII 4-12x50 on my 308. Great hunting scope. I also had a Nikon 3-9x40 on another rifle and I loved it. There is an old axiom that you need to spend as much on glass as you do on the rifle. I think that’s bogus as far as hunting goes. There are plenty of sub $300 scopes that work great.

Prostaff 5 2.5-10x40 ordered

Found it for just over $200

Excellent price. I think you'll be thrilled with the features found on this scope. Being a bit older I truly appreciate the fine focus knob that lets me make my target crystal clear to my eye. Post some pics and range report when you get it all dialed in. I have a .243 I use for predator's that is dialed in for 55 gr projectiles that come out over 4000 fps. Big fun!

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Prostaff 5 2.5-10x40 ordered

Found it for just over $200

Scope came in yesterday, very crisp picture (looking through it in my boss' office).
He's got rings ordered & is hoping to get it to the range this weekend (weather permitting).

Sorry about being so late to the game and providing my 2 pennies after-the-fact...

Typically good glass on Nikons. Excellent clarity and detail, even with their less expensive units. But I don't have much if any kind things to say about Nikon's CS. They burned a couple of our customers who wound up with defective units (not sold by us). I know of one scope that blew out its seals by merely being transported through the Rockies. A friend of mine who works at the shop that sold that scope said that they had to read Nikon CS the riot act just to get them to LOOK at the scope, which they ultimately replaced. Thanks to Vortex spanking their sorry asses in sales, they tucked tail and brought back the lifetime warranty that they unceremoniously dropped a few years back because they claimed that their customers were "abusing" the program. At least that's what the local Nikon sales rep told us at the time.

As for my own personal experiences: over time I've become less of a fan of their constrained field of view compared to the fuller sight pictures presented by Leupold, Steiner, Sightron, Zeiss, Trijicon and other brands, but I will admit that they're generally solid and robust riflescopes despite the altitude blowout incident that I described above. I own two Nikon scopes that have served me reasonably well, but now that I've gotten so used to using my scopes with expansive sight pictures it's now hard for me to go back to using those Nikons these days.

Soggy, Sorry to hear that.In almost 10 years of doing freelance work with Nikon I have never seen or heard about Nikon CS doing anything like that but I am certainly not saying it couldn't or didn't. If you come across anyone else ever having an issue send them my way and I will do my best to help them out. CS is not what I do with Nikon but I know a lot of folks who work in CS and I will do my best to make sure the get treated correctly.