The Best Budget LPVOs of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
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There are few optics categories with as much price variation as low-power rifle scopes. You can pay an eye-popping $3,000 for Vortex’s 1-10×24 Razor HD Gen III. Leupold’s Patrol 6HD, which is a fairly pedestrian 1-6×24, retails for $1,300. The average price of the 15 best LPVO (low-power variable optic) scopes in our 2024 Outdoor Life Optics Test was well over $1,000. But there’s also a big field of budget LPVOs, and to a lot of shooters the more affordable side of this category makes good sense.
This roundup is devoted to those low-power scopes that retail for under $500. We’ll talk about what you get for that price, attributes you give up for that price, and supply you with real-world intel from our testing to make sure that the budget LPVO you buy is affordable, and not cheap.
Best Overall: Vortex Venom 1-6×24
Best Under $150: Monstrum Banshee 1-6×24
Best Hog Scope: Leupold VX-Freedom 1.5-4×20 Pig-Plex
Best Shotgun Scope: Bushnell Elite 4500 1-4×24
Best 3-Gun Scope: Arken EP-8 1-8×28
Best Dangerous Game Scope: Tract Toric UHD 1-8×24
Best Turkey Scope: Hawke Vantage IR Dot 1-4×20
Best AR-Platform LPVO: Burris RT-6 1-6×24
Most Versatile LPVO: Primary Arms SLx 1-6×24
Best Entry-Level: Bushnell R5 1-6×24
Sightmark Presidio 1-6×24
How We Tested the Best Budget LPVOs
LPVOs are ideal for hunting rifles, rimfires, and ARs. Bill Buckley
Just as our test has evolved to evaluate riflescopes on a different basis than we judge spotting scopes and binoculars, because their job as projectile-placement instruments is categorically different from image magnifying and clarifying optics, we test LPVOs differently than precision scopes.
We give slightly less emphasis to turret feedback, for instance, than we do to reticle illumination. And we reward reticle versatility of an LPVO slightly more than we do optical quality, the idea being that these aren’t observational instruments so much as bullet-placement devices.
Because ours is a test of brand-new along with venerated LPVOs, we used a couple of models that we consider the Platonic ideal of the platform for the basis of comparison. For higher-end competition scopes, we used both the Nightforce ATACR 1-8×24 F1 and Vortex’s Razor HD Gen III 1-10×24 as our basis of comparison (both those scopes retail for $3,000). For all-around AR/dangerous game/turkey optics, we used Leupold’s excellent Patrol 6HD as the benchmark. And to compare price-point LPVOs, we used the AR Optics 1-6×24 from Bushnell to assess the attributes and performance shooters can expect from a scope priced under $300. For this budget-minded roundup, we eliminated scopes over about $1,000 from the listing, and instead assessed a few budget scopes that we didn’t include in our full Optics Test. We included a couple scopes over $500, which we consider the upper limit for a budget LPVO, because they bring some features that are worth considering.
Testing Criteria for LVPO Rifle Scopes
We measured the optical resolution of the best spotting scopes using a resolution target developed by the Air Force. Scott Einsmann
Our testing criteria has been sharpened over two decades. First, we measure optical resolution, using the diminishing black-and-white lines of a 1951 Air Force Resolution Target to score the optical performance of each submission. We also measure the low-light performance of each LPVO scope by mounting them to tripods and focusing them as a group at 200 yards at a black-and-white resolution target at twilight, all in order to measure the brightness of the glass. As we discussed, neither resolution nor low-light performance are deal-breakers for this category, but both criteria provide valuable insights into the optical performance of the scope.
Then we take each submission to the shooting range. We put each LPVO through the same regimen of accuracy testing on bullseye targets, tracking and return-to-zero assessment on a 10-minute grid, but we spent relatively more time on shooting drills to assess their combination of instinctive aiming, precision, and versatility. These included rapid target transition drills from standing, seated, and prone positions, followed by a big-bore instinctive shooting drill in which we walked a target course of steel plates positioned anywhere from 20 to 70 yards, and when a referee blew a whistle, the shooter had to find and hit a target within 5 seconds.
How We Scored the Best Budget LPVOs
We break our 10-point scoring into four general categories: optical performance (15 percent of total grade), aiming system (a whopping 60 percent of total grade), design (15 percent), and value (10 percent). The average of these categories is the basis of our grades, detailed below.
Optical performance includes the resolution and low-light tests plus the more subjective assessments of image quality and brightness. Aiming-system performance assesses interior (reticle design, visibility, and utility as well as illumination) and exterior aiming system (turret positivity and indexing, parallax adjustment, zero stop), precision, and shootability. Design considers the exterior finish, interior blacking, mounting dimensions, and durability.
And then our price/value score rates how much scope—along with warranty and amenities such as rings, extra turrets, and lens covers—you get for your money. The LPVO that gets the highest overall score wins our Editor’s Choice award for the best in the category; the optic with the highest price/value score wins our Great Buy recognition, and we give other awards based on specific attributes.
How We Grade LPVO Riflescopes
Our 100-point evaluation adds up to a total numeric score, but we translate those to grades for each submission. Our Optical Performance grade combines the scores from resolution, low-light, and image quality. Our Aiming System Performance grade aggregates the interior/exterior aiming system, precision, and shootability scores. The Design grade considers construction, innovation, versatility, and durability. And then the Price/Value grade is our good-deal grade.
To earn an “Excellent” grade, the average of that category must be 9 or higher, which is extremely hard to achieve. “Very Good” is an average score of 7 to 9. A “Good” grade is 5 to 7. Our “Fair” grade is 3 to 25, and “Poor” is anything under 3.
Best Budget LPVO Riflescopes: Reviews & Recommendations
Best Overall: Vortex Venom 1-6×24
Photo by Scott Einsmann
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Score Card
Optical Performance: Good
Mechanical Performance: Excellent
Design: Very Good
Price/Value: Excellent
Key Features
30mm tube
Second-plane AR-BDC3 reticle
Capped turrets tuned to .25 MOA click values
140 MOA total internal adjustment
Parallax fixed at 100 yards
6-step red illumination
Weight: 19.5 ounces
Price: $300
Pros
Reticle configured for AR platforms
Ships with flip-up lens caps and throw lever
10.3 inches and 19.5 ounces
Reticle tuned to ballistics of 5.56 loads
At about $300 real-world price, a screaming deal
Cons
At low magnifications, image fishbowls
Reticle a little small for longer-range precision
You could subtract points from this scope for its very narrow utility. Its AR-BDC3 reticle in the second plane is tuned to the ballistics of standard loads from a 5.56 with velocities from AR carbines. With that use-case in mind, and with a 100-yard zero, the reticle’s holdover references should drop a 55-grain bullet into your target out to 650 yards.
Testing the Vortex Venom LPVO with a mix of fast and precise shooting.
While the Viper was one of the best AR-specific LPVOs in our test, it would be a mistake to limit your consideration to AR-15s. The scope is a wonderful rimfire optic, and we found it to be fast and reliable for dangerous-game hunting. While we might not put it on a hard-bucking turkey shotgun, it’s suitable for straight-wall cartridge rifles.
The Vortex Venom’s reticle.
The heart of the scope is an MOA-based segmented circle. The 16-MOA circle halfway surrounds a floating 1-MOA illuminated dot. Non-illuminated hashes provide holdovers at 200, 400, 500, and 600 yards with a 100-yard zero and windage dots represent holds for standard-value right-angle winds. Note that the subtensions work only at the scope’s highest power.
The scope’s controls received mixed reviews, as you might expect in a price-point optic. Most testers recorded indistinct turret clicks and noted the illumination is useful only at the highest and lowest intensities. We also noted significant distortion at 1X, with convex “fishbowling” curving the image when we panned across the landscape. Do it quickly, and you can feel almost seasick.
But the Vortex has so much value, and brings attributes to the game that many of its peers couldn’t bring at twice the price, that it is the consensus pick for our Great Buy award as the screaming deal of this year’s LPVOs.
Best Under $150: Monstrum Banshee 1-6×24
Photo by Scott Einsmann
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Score Card
Optical Performance: Good
Mechanical Performance: Fair
Design: Fair
Price/Value: Good
Key Features
30mm tube
Second-plane BDC-C1 reticle
Capped re-zeroable turrets
Turrets tuned to .5 MOA click values
Parallax fixed at 100 yards
6-step red center-dot illumination
Pros
At just under $130, an excellent value
Ships with unimount and throw lever
BDC reticle has holds out to 700 yards
Also available in circle-dot reticle
Cons
Indistinct turret clicks
Squinty glass
Internal lens fogging issues
This capable scope gives shooters an appealing option. For a bit over $100 shooters can add an LPVO to their arsenal, with the added value that this iteration is a perfect fit for an AR-pattern rifle in the 5.56/.223 chambering.
If you’re not familiar with Monstrum, it’s probably because you haven’t shopped for optics on Amazon’s online store. This brand rules that particular direct-to-consumer market, so we felt it fair to invite them to compete with brands that have decades-long reputations that they defend with every new product.
Our conclusion: This upstart brand isn’t going to replace the premium brands or their products. There’s just too many demerits, from noticeable cosmetic flaws and underwhelming glass and controls, to think that Monstrum will join the fraternity of established brands. But that probably doesn’t matter to Monstrum. Their value proposition is offering decent optics at a very appealing price. They even throw in a very good unimount to the deal.
It’s hard to argue with that business model. We actually invited two Monstrum scopes to our LPVO test, this Banshee and a first-plane reticle called the Panzer. We are leading with the Banshee because it scored slightly higher than its brother, but this review will refer to both scopes.
The second-plane Banshee has some very appealing attributes, evidence that its designers know the market. The hash-style BDC reticle is tuned to the bullet drop of standard .223/.308 loads, making it an excellent AR-platform LPVO. The center-dot illumination is both bright and muted, and unlike other price-point scopes the dot doesn’t flare with incoherent light.
The Panzer’s first-plane reticle, a center dot inside a circle with 700-yard (with a 100-yard zero) holds, is more caliber-agnostic than the Banshee’s reticle.
We subjected both scopes to a freeze-thaw test, suspecting that they might not have industry-standard gaskets and seals. Sure enough, both scopes demonstrated internal-lens fogging.
While that’s an important deficiency, it’s not a deal-breaker for these value-oriented, entirely capable scopes that represent an important part of the optics market. We’re excited to see how Monstrum evolves to bring even more durable and capable optics to American shooters.
Best Hog Hunting Scope: Leupold VX-Freedom 1.5-4×20 Pig-Plex
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Report Card
Optical Performance: Good
Aiming System: Fair
Design: Fair
Price/Value: Very Good
$299
Key Features
Second-plane MOA-based “Pig Plex” reticle
1-inch tube
Parallax fixed at 150 yards
Capped turrets tuned to ¼ MOA click values
125 MOA total elevation adjustment
Pros
At under $300, an affordable LPVO
Tapered bold plex reticle is versatile
Ships with throw lever
At 9.6 ounces, extremely lightweight
Liberal mounting dimensions
Cons
No illumination
Cross inside circle reticle obscures small targets
Though this scope is clearly intended for hog hunting—the reticle’s name leaves no doubt about that, and the running boar on the windage turret cap confirms it—this is actually a very useful low-power scope for turkey hunting, rimfire plinking, and even crossbows.
I’ve had this scope mounted on a Browning BAR chambered-in hog-killing .308 Win., for years, and I’ve taken dozens of Texas pigs with the rig. But the scope has much wider utility, thanks to a non-illuminated reticle that splits the difference between offering close-enough precision aiming points and point-and-shoot rapid deployment.
The second-plane Pig-Plex reticle features a 4 MOA center circle for quick target acquisition on moving targets. If you have time and purpose, you can use the reticles’ twin BDC hashes for holds out to 12.6 MOA, and if you’re holding for wind or for running targets, there are windage hashes out 4.5 MOA on either side of the center cross. It should be noted that the second-plane reticle’s subtensions work only at the scope’s highest power.
The reticle’s holdover points are designed for use with a 200- or 300-yard zero, in which case they provide approximate holds out to 600 yards. If you use a 100-yard zero (more likely in a scope with this configuration), then the holds are good out to 500 yards.
We wish this scope had illumination, in order to expand its utility into after-hours situations, whether hog hunting or personal defense, that is a rising expectation of the LPVO platform. But even without an illuminated reticle, the Pig-Plex offers plenty of versatility.
Best 3-Gun Scope: Arken EP-8 1-8×28
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Report Card
Optical Performance: Fair
Aiming System: Good
Design: Good
Price/Value: Good
$339
Key Features
First-plane reticle
34mm tube
Japanese glass
¼ MOA turret click values
110 MOA total elevation and windage adjustment
Integral throw lever
Red illumination
Pros
Reticle useful for close- and long-range work
Daylight-bright illumination
Extremely affordable for 34mm, FFP scope
Ships with Flip-Its lens caps
Cons
Hash-ladder reticle construct is busy and confusing
Limited availability
Our testers still can’t understand how Arken is able to bring so much performance and feature-rich build to market for such an affordable price. For under $400, you get a big and solid 34mm tube and a versatile first-plane reticle that, at lower magnifications, engages close targets quickly, but at higher magnifications provides precision aiming points for distant targets.
We applauded this reticle when it showed up on EOTech’s first LPVO Vudu, and we’ve seen it employed in higher-priced scopes over the past few years. Arken calls their version the KL-Box; the outer circle features quadrilateral horns that help frame close targets. But the inverted horseshoe is a fast and close-enough aiming point for mid-distance targets at middling magnifications. At full magnification, 7 or 8X, the bullet drop references are adequate for those longer-distance targets. With its numeric references—the elevation steps out to 8, which presumably translates to 80 MOA—the expectation is that shooters start with a 200- or even 300-yard zero, unrealistic for a low-power optic. Instead, most shooters will zero this scope at 100 yards, which puts those holdovers out to 500 or 600 yards. That a very good range of utility.
We gave Arken a few demerits over their inability to get this appealing scope to market. The brand has been advertising its availability for months, but precious few shooters have them strapped to rifles.
Best Dangerous Game Scope: Tract Toric UHD 1-8×24
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Report Card
Optical Performance: Very Good
Aiming System: Good
Design: Good
Price/Value: Fair
$994
Key Features
Second-plane MOA-based reticle
10-step center-dot illumination
30mm tube
Capped platter-style turrets tuned to ½ MOA click values
Hash-style reticle
100 MOA (30 MRAD) elevation adjustment range
Distinctive graphite finish
Pros
Liberal mounting dimensions
Excellent optics
Velvety controls
At 20 ounces and 11 inches, a light, compact scope
Wide range of utility, from rimfire to big-bore rifles
Tool-less rezeroable turret
Cons
Reticle references are confusing
Limited precision capability
Turret indexing is hard to read
We know. At nearly $1,000, this stretches the definition of a “budget” LPVO. But we included this excellent scope in the roundup as evidence that that price gets you premium glass, a durable build, and the wide versatility of the LPVO platform, while simultaneously proving the limitations for some very specific shooting situations. The second-plane hash reticle has references on the vertical and horizontal stadia, which experienced shooters can use for rimfire plinking, for quick short-range drills, and for slow-fire shooting at distance. We tested an MOA version of this scope; it’s also available in MRAD.
But because the reticle has no holdoff references for wind adjustments at distance, and because its MOA references are useful at the highest power, this doesn’t bring much to the long-range precision game. That’s okay, because it’s intended to be a fast, simple scope that brings the best 1-power game of all our submissions and has the smoothest, most pleasing controls of the test.
The center-dot illumination is key to the Toric’s appeal. At the highest intensity, the dot (it looks to be about .5 MOA in diameter) offers a bright aiming point that draws your eye to the target. It’s especially quick and intuitive at 1-power, anchoring a huge, bright image that almost appears like you’re not looking through a scope, at all. The Tract’s controls are noteworthy. From the power-changing dial to the turrets and illumination adjustment, all moving parts have the same mellifluous precision.
The Toric scored right in the middle of the pack in terms of low-light performance and optical resolution. For a second-plane design, the reticle received decent marks, though testers questioned the milling hashes. The stadia has marks at 4, 8, and 10 MOA, with 40 MOA of elevation holds. The team thought a more intuitive demarcation would be to have either 5 or 2.5 MOA hashes in order to conform to a base-10 alignment. The other aiming-system quibble we had was the tiny, hard-to-read indexing on the low-profile turrets.
The Tract handled our precision and dynamic target transition drills with grace and talent. But the scope really came into its own during our close-range big-bore work. At 1X to 3X, the scope comes to the eye in a snap and the daylight-bright illumination finds the target like a guided laser. This rapid target acquisition talent, combined with a solid build and simple operation makes the Tract our choice for a dangerous-game rifle, when shots are expected to be both point-blank and at moderate distances.
Read Next: Best Long Range Rifle Scopes
Best Turkey Scope: Hawke Vantage IR Dot 1-4×20
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Report Card
Optical Performance: Fair
Aiming System: Poor
Design: Fair
Price/Value: Good
$239
Key Features
Second-plane “Turkey Dot” reticle
1-inch tube
5-stop red illumination and 5 green
Capped turrets tuned to ½ MOA click values
110 MOA total internal adjustment
Parallax fixed at 50 yards
Pros
Bright fiber-optic illumination system
At 11.7 ounces, very light
4-inch eye relief
Fast-acquisition reticle with hold-over hashes
Cons
Limited mounting dimensions
Limited magnification range
While Hawke has positioned this excellent scope as a turkey-specific optic, it actually has utility far beyond the spring gobbler season. The inverted-circle/center-dot illuminated reticle is configured for quick shots at mid-range targets, but the vertical stadia has hold-over hashes that can help shooters engage distant targets, too. The floating-post reticle is fast and the illumination makes center aiming points pop against a wide variety of backgrounds.
Specifically, the Turkey Dot IR reticle is built around a 2 MOA center dot surrounded by a horseshoe that measures 10 inches at 50 yards. That’s a nice bracket for a gobbler’s head, and one of the reasons this scope gets our nod for the best turkey LPVO in our roundup.
We’re pleased the Turkey Dot IR is covered by Hawke’s no-questions-asked warranty, because we noted some underwhelming mechanics. The turrets are mushy, and we detected some peripheral distortion in the glass. But for well under $250, and with capabilities that would be equally at home on a 350 Legend or a slug gun, this is a great choice for a turkey hunter looking for a dedicated optic for a tight-choked gobbler gun.
And if you want a little more magnification in a platform with more glass, consider Hawke’s excellent 2-7×32 AO Mil Dot, which retails for about $189 and would be at home on just about any rimfire plinker.
Best AR-Platform LPVO: Burris RT-6 1-6×24
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Report Card
Optical Performance: Fair
Aiming System: Good
Design: Fair
Price/Value: Very Good
$370
Key Features
Second-plane Ballistic 5X reticle
30mm tube
11-stop red illumination
Capped turrets tuned to ½ MOA click values
80 MOA total internal adjustment
Parallax fixed at 100 yards
Pros
Daylight-bright illumination system
Reticle tuned to ballistics of 5.56/.223 rounds
Trajectory compensations out to 600 yards
Tall, convertible throw lever
Ships with unimount
Ships with Pic-rail rings to mount red-dot optic
Short 10.1-inch length
Cons
Stingy eye relief at higher magnifications
Underwhelming glass
Positioned as a 3-Gun competition scope, Burris’s versatile RT-6 is a good fit for a rimfire, straight-wall carbine, or a turkey gun. But it’s at its best atop an AR-15, whether a competition rig or a truck gun. The scope’s reticle is tuned to the drops of a standard-velocity 5.56/.223, and on an AR it can transition from a close-quarters rapid-response scope to a capable longer-range plinker.
The heart of the RT-6 is Burris’s Ballistic 5X reticle that has an illuminated center dot surrounded by an inverted horseshoe. It’s a design that enables fast target acquisition at lower magnifications. Because it’s a second-plane reticle, the bullet-drop references are valid at 6X, the highest magnification. The vertical stadia has holds out to 600 yards, or nearly 14 MOA of elevation holdover.
The distance holds can best be described as “close-enough” references. Combined with nicely displayed windage holds, shooters can get close to targets beyond 400 yards, but you’ll want to spend some time doping your load and fine-tuning your muzzle velocity to match the scope’s elevation references.
As Burris advertises, this is a fast scope. We found that at 1X it was at its best engaging close- to medium-range targets on our point-and-shoot test designed to mimic the sort of snap shots African buffalo hunters might experience. I don’t know that I’d mount the Burris on a .500 Nitro Express, but it’s a great companion for just about any AR-15 on the market. And if you want even more close-range utility, the RT-6, which ships with a very good unimount, also ships with scope rings that feature Picatinny rails so shooters can mount an optional red-dot sight on top of their magnified scope.
Read Next: Best Rifle Scopes
Most Versatile LPVO: Primary Arms SLx 1-6×24
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Report Card
Optical Performance: Good
Aiming System: Good
Design: Fair
Price/Value: Very Good
$339
Key Features
Multiple configurations in SLx line
30mm tube
11-stop red illumination
Capped turrets tuned to .1 MIL click values
120 MOA total internal adjustment
Parallax fixed at 100 yards
Integrated dovetail throw lever
Pros
Daylight-bright illumination system
Reticle tuned to ballistics of 5.56/.223 rounds
4-inch eye relief
Wide variety of reticle types
Short 10.4-inch length
Night-vision compatible
Aggressively textured controls
Cons
Some optical aberrations
This isn’t a single scope. Instead, it’s a whole product line from a fairly new brand that includes LPVOs with second-plane reticles, first-plane reticles, some calibrated to specific calibers, others with aiming references that can accommodate any bullet and shooting situation. Because of the wide breadth of the product line, we’ll talk about commonalities shared by the various models.
The SLx in our test features a second-plane Gen IV illuminated ACSS Nova Fiber Wire reticle with excellent daylight-bright red illumination and references tuned to the drops of both 5.56/.308 chamberings. In other words, it’s designed as a companion to either AR-15s or AR-30s. It should be noted that the SLx product line has reticles tuned to the drops of .300 Blackout and .22 long rifle. The model is also available with first-plane reticles.
Retailing for under $350, with excellent customer service and warranty protection, this is a brand and a product line worth considering for just about any platform, whether an AR or not.
Best Entry-Level: Bushnell R5 1-6×24
Photo by Scott Einsmann
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Score Card
Optical Performance: Good
Mechanical Performance: Good
Design: Fair
Price/Value: Very Good
Key Features
30mm tube
Second-plane DD2-QA reticle
Capped re-zeroable turrets
Turrets tuned to .5 MOA clicks
60 MOA elevation adjustment
Fixed parallax
6-step red illumination
Pros
Off stops between illumination intensities
Re-zeroable turrets is nice touch
Segmented-circle reticle enables fast shooting
Cons
Mushy turrets
Needs throw lever
Illumination could be more intense
Bushnell’s new scope family brings a lot to the game for either a first-time LPVO shooter or a shooter looking to pick up an extra scope. The R5 has decent illumination, re-zeroable turrets, a capable reticle that combines quick target acquisition with good precision talents, and connectivity to a ballistic app.
Those are the good attributes. As you might guess, especially at this price, there are some demerits. The reticle is faint, and would be much more useful in the second-plane configuration with bolder references. The power-changing dial is tight and could benefit from a throw lever. The turrets are mushy. And the illumination needs a couple extra intensity steps.
With those critiques out of the way, the R5 brings quite a bit to the game for a price that will be well under $200 after it’s introduced later this year. Its designers clearly know what they’re doing; turrets are tuned to .5 MOA click values, perfect for the configuration, and the reticle combines both both-eyes-open fast engagement and slow-fire precision. The R5 did not experience the same internal fogging that the other budget scopes in our test did following our freeze-thaw test. Not bad for under $200.
Add to the mix Bushnell’s very good warranty, and the R5 represents an important gateway for more shooters to experience the versatility of the LPVO platform.
Sightmark Presidio 1-6×24
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Report Card
Optical Performance: Poor
Aiming System: Good
Design: Fair
Price/Value: Very Good
$299
Key Features
Second-plane CR1 MOA-based reticle
30mm tube
6-intensity red illumination
Parallax fixed at 100 yards
Capped turrets tuned to .5 MOA click values
140 MOA total elevation adjustment
Pros
At under $300, an affordable LPVO
Horseshoe/dot BDC reticle is versatile
Ships with throw lever and lens caps
Rezeroable turrets
Cons
Forgettable optics
Turret indexing is confusing
Precision capability is limited
This scope will get the job done, especially if the job is ringing steel out to about 300 yards with your AR, and then cleaning plates inside about 100 yards. The second-plane BDC reticle has just enough references to be useful without being distracting, and the illumination blazes at a nicely visible daylight brightness, though its lowest intensity is still too bright for low-light conditions.
But there are sizable jobs this scope won’t get done. Notably, that includes precision distance work. The reticle just doesn’t have enough references to make it effective much beyond that 300 mark. It also may give you a headache. The glass was among the least impressive in the field, finishing near the bottom of our low-light and resolution evaluations, and testers noted some pincushion optical aberration. The controls are also hard to turn.
But testers applauded the abundant value for the Sightmark’s price. For under $300 you get a very serviceable LPVO, with a magnification range that will handle everything from personal defense to predator hunting, packed in a scope that ran our dynamic shooting drills without pause. The 6-step illumination is serviceable and the low-profile rezeroable turrets are decent to dial, though we wish the indexing was more useful.
The Presidio is at home on a rimfire or even a turkey gun. That’s a lot of versatility and value for a fair price, and the main reason the Sightmark is our Great Buy LPVO scope.
Read Next: FFP vs SFP
How to Choose a Budget Low-Power Variable Rifle Scope
Because this is such a new and rising subset of sports optics, innovation defines the LPVO category. That dynamic alone makes this a buyers’ market. Do you want a do-it-all scope that can dominate a precision steel-target competition and then defend your homestead? Or do you want a simple, durable low-power scope that can toggle between your new 350 Legend lever gun and your turkey shotgun? This category has something for you.
Price-point buyers are wise to look out for a few attributes. First, an unilluminated reticle on a 1-to-something-power scope will frustrate you. You need the aid of a bright, adjustable illuminated aiming point both in low-light conditions and in full sunlight. Second, look for dual-purpose reticles. Here’s where the first-plane models have an advantage. They can transition from capable red-dot sights at the lowest magnifications to precision scopes at higher powers, boosting their value proposition in the process. That’s not to say second-plane reticles are useless. They are excellent choices for turkey and lever guns or for dangerous-game rifles where sure, swift, close-range shots are not only preferred, they may save your life.
For LPVOs under $500, you can expect relatively murky optics. Most brands compensate for that with illumination that makes the reticle pop in a wide variety of light conditions and backgrounds. Pay special attention to eye relief and eye-box comfort. Does the scope come to your eye easily and comfortably at 1- to 3-power? And can you get a wide view at higher magnifications? The best scopes deliver the image even if your eye isn’t fully square with the exit pupil.
Final Thoughts
Just as important as a precise reticle or a battle-hardened pedigree, budget LPVOs should have a very good warranty. That’s not to anticipate that your scope is going to fail, but it’s a good insurance policy to know that if a turret goes out of true or the magnification ring freezes up, you have the ability to get your scope repaired or replaced for either free or for a limited cost to you.
Best All-Around Budget LPVO: Sightmark Presidio 1-6×24
Best Hog Scope: Leupold VX-Freedom 1.5-4×20 Pig-Plex
Best Shotgun Scope: Bushnell Elite 4500 1-4×24
Best 3-Gun Scope: Arken EP-8 1-8×28
Best Dangerous Game Scope: Tract Toric UHD 1-8×24
Best Precision LPVO: Riton 5 TACTIX 1-10×24
Best Turkey Scope: Hawke Vantage IR Dot 1-4×20
Best AR-Platform LPVO: Burris RT-6 1-6×24
Best Versatile LPVO: Primary Arms SLx 1-6×24
Best 5.56 Scope: Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6×24
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