Tread title says it. I'm seeking an inexpensive Mil-Dot scope. Goal is to get 10x or better with a standard Mil reticle and adjustable zero Mil extended turrets.

My normal rule is to buy once, cry once, but life circumstances are forcing me to compromise that and do this on a budget. I am not a long range shooter but have been given the opportunity to learn from one of the guys at work. He's steering me towards an M24 pattern rifle as an entry into long range work. I'm stymied on scopes, however, given how little I know of the market and the trend in entry-tier scopes to have BDCs.

Can the hivemind help?

Great bang for the buck in this one.

https://www.bushnell.com/produ...s-riflescopes-10x40/

SWFA 10x40 or 12x40. I have had the 10x for 12 years an it’s been an good optic.

Take a look at the Primary Arms website. Then go search for some reviews on both the internet and U Tube. They get some good reviews for their price range.

quote:

Originally posted by hvyhawler:
Take a look at the Primary Arms website. Then go search for some reviews on both the internet and U Tube. They get some good reviews for their price range.

I've got one of these on a 10/22 that has been pretty good.

https://www.primaryarms.com/pr...e-mil-dot-pa4-14xffp

My first thought was SWFA as well. Their "super Sniper" series is a great value and have a really nice MIL reticle, much more precise than the old-school mil dots.

I've got this Konus on my 10/22. Some others:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000...F8&tag=justprofit-20


https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...il-dot-reticle-matte

You didn’t ask for advice about the reticle itself, so you can obviously ignore this comment if you’ve settled on your choice.

If not, however, I strongly recommend that anyone who is considering a scopesight with a calibrated reticle to assist with various aspects of shooting to look at a more modern design than the traditional mil-dot.

The mil-dot reticle consists of circular (or oval) dots strung along the crosshairs at 1 milliradian (mil) intervals. The idea was a brilliant one when it was conceived of decades ago to assist with both range estimation and consistent aiming holdoffs. The problem with the original mil-dot reticle design, however, is that it’s somewhat coarse and difficult to use accurately for fine holdoff adjustments and range estimates.* The traditional 1 mil interval between dots makes it more difficult to accurately judge smaller increments such as 0.3 mil, and therefore more modern reticle designs usually have calibration marks at shorter increments. I have had second-hand experience with the frustrations of the traditional mil-dot reticle when shooting with a friend who has that design in one of his scopes and I tell him things like, “You’re 0.25 mil left.”

A common design as in Leupold’s Tactical Milling Reticle(s) (TMR) is to have longer marks at every 1 mil and shorter marks between them at 0.5 mil intervals. Some versions of the TMR also include a section with marks at 0.2 mil intervals, and by using the gaps between the marks (and other features) it’s possible to estimate angles as fine as 0.1 mil. Below is a link to Leupold’s manual on using tactical reticles. The manual includes depictions and descriptions of the traditional mil-dot reticle as well as their other offerings such as the TMR.

https://cdnp.leupold.com/produ...ling-reticle-man.pdf

Many other manufacturers offer reticles that are similar if not identical to Leupold’s designs, so it’s not necessary to spend Leupold level money to get one that’s better than the old mil-dot. What is important, though, is to know exactly how the reticle is calibrated. For example, the traditional mil-dot reticle uses circular dots 0.2 mil in diameter. At least one Bushnell scope I’m familiar with, however, uses 0.25 mil dots. A very early mil-dot reticle that was reportedly specified by the Marine Corps used oval dots that measured 0.25 mil parallel to the crosshairs and (as far as I can determine) 0.2 mil perpendicular.

* Most shooters these days use laser rangefinders rather than estimating target distances by using calibrated reticles, but the latter isn’t a completely dead art among professionals because laser rangefinders don’t always work.

SWFA is also my recommendation

I have no experience with SWFA scopes, but after a quick look at their site, this one caught my eye:

https://www.swfa.com/swfa-ss-1...flescope-105770.html

They also offer two in 10×, including this one with a side focus knob which is, IMO, an extremely convenient feature:

https://www.swfa.com/swfa-ss-1...mm-riflescope-3.html

The SWFA “Mil-Quad” reticle is essentially the same as the Leupold Tactical Milling Reticle I discussed above.

It'd help a lot if we knew what your budget was.

Super Sniper. Silly name ,but hell of a scope for the money.

I have a 10X on my M1A. It has been SOLID for 5 years. Reliable; returns to zero, consistent adjustments, etc.

Love my SWFA SS 10x

SWFA

I've got 2 SWFA Super Sniper's and they are a great value, but if you're shooting for group size at 100, you'll need targets you can center the thick cross hairs on, or circle shiollets you can center the dots on. There's easier ways.

I'm a Leupold fan, they make (and I have) have a low end 3-9x40 scope that has a cross hair and a dot down on the vertices leg which can be used as your 200 yard zero, as well as range estimation of known target sizes ... And several other things, I think they're around $179 another, (maybe the Rifleman) that's 4-12x40 around $279 and it has a couple hash marks instead of dots

It's not just their warranty, but I've had failures of other scopes ... While they also have lifetime warranties when they fail you may not realize that's what's happened at first ... I had a Bushnell that I didn't realize wasn't holding zero. I thought it was the 2 different rifle I'd had it on until I realized the eyepiece was slightly loose ... Bushnell not only replaced it but upgraded it at no charge ... But it was still very inconvenient.

Anyway, I'm a fan of the Leupold golden circle ... When I discovered they price ranges for all budgets it cemented me to their brand.