Guides
Each guide is a filter over the same catalog, so nothing here can claim a scope we have not recorded. Every list says which spec it is ordered by — none of them are ranked by opinion, and none by star rating, because we do not have any we can source.
LPVOs under ~$500
A low-power variable is the scope most people put on a carbine, and the price spread runs from a couple of hundred dollars to a couple of thousand. These are the ones under five hundred at our last catalog check. The columns that matter at this price are weight, whether the reticle is illuminated brightly enough to use at 1×, and eye relief — the glass is closer than the price gap suggests.
4 scopes · Sorted by approximate price, lowest first.
The lightest hunting scopes
Ounces on the rifle are ounces on the shoulder for every mile of the hunt, and the scope is the one component where a smart choice saves half a pound without giving up anything you will notice. Every scope here weighs under 16 ounces by the maker's own figure. Read the objective column with the weight: a lighter scope is usually a smaller objective, which costs exit pupil at the top of the range.
4 scopes · Sorted by weight, lightest first.
FFP long-range scopes under ~$1,000
A thousand dollars is where first-focal-plane scopes with real elevation travel and a zero stop stopped being exotic. Every scope here is FFP, reaches at least 20× and was under a thousand at our last check. Compare the elevation-travel column before the magnification column — travel is what decides how far you can dial, and it varies by nearly two to one across this list.
9 scopes · Sorted by approximate price, lowest first.
3-9×40 scopes for a first rifle
The 3-9×40 has been the default deer-rifle scope for fifty years because the numbers work: 3× is wide enough for a running shot at 50 yards, 9× is enough for a still one at 300, and 40 mm keeps the exit pupil above 4 mm at the top. Every scope here fits that pattern. Most have fixed parallax set at 100 yards, so check that column if you also shoot inside 50.
6 scopes · Sorted by approximate price, lowest first.
MRAD precision scopes
Precision shooting standardised on milliradians because the maths is decimal: a 0.1 MRAD click, a reticle marked in tenths, and a range card in the same unit. These are the precision scopes in the catalog with MRAD turrets, ordered by how far they can dial — the spec that decides whether you run out of elevation before you run out of range.
25 scopes · Sorted by total elevation travel, most first.
First-focal-plane LPVOs
A first-focal-plane reticle on an LPVO keeps its holdovers true at every magnification, and shrinks to almost nothing at 1× — which is why illumination is not optional on these. The trade is worth it if you shoot past 300 yards on the top end; if the scope lives at 1× to 4×, a second-focal-plane reticle is bolder and cheaper. These are the FFP ones.
3 scopes · Sorted by top magnification, lowest first.
Scopes with 100+ MOA of elevation
Elevation travel is the ceiling on how far a scope can be dialed, and it is where tube diameter actually earns its keep. Every scope here publishes at least 100 MOA of total travel — roughly 29 MRAD — with MRAD figures converted at 3.438 MOA per mil so the two camps sit on one list. Remember that usable travel is about half the total once the scope is zeroed, unless the base is canted.
26 scopes · Sorted by total elevation travel, most first.
Illuminated-reticle hunting scopes
Illumination solves a specific problem: a black reticle disappearing against a dark animal in the last ten minutes of legal light. It does nothing for image brightness — that is the objective and magnification, shown here as estimated exit pupil — so read the two columns together. Every scope here is a hunting optic with an illuminated reticle.
4 scopes · Sorted by approximate price, lowest first.