$400 budget scope for Howa 1500 .223

[POD89]

First of all,
Hello from Western Australia.
I have been silently observing this forum for a while now. Just sponging in the wisdom.
If anyone could enlighten me to the world of optics, any help at all would be appreciated.
I've just put in my application for my first centre fire. A Howa 1500 in .223

as far as scopes go. $400 is going to have to be my budget.
IF anyone here was in this position...what would you buy?

just some insight to what i'll be using it for....

I'll be using it for shooting foxes and bunnies mostly. Although I've recently started getting in to target shooting at longer ranges and calculating MOA adjustments.
I've been mucking around with my .22 which has a simple 4x32 scope with hand adjustable turrets.
( by this i mean the turrets that you can turn with your hand and are not inset in the scope requiring a small tool to operate. Forgive me, I do not know the correct term for this)
calculating drops from zero at 50m to-75m-100m-120m then making the necessary elevation adjustments. I even started calculating wind values and their effect at different distances.
For some reason. Especially for me not being a patient person, This kind of target shooting really intrigues me and is really addictive when you start to zero in and make some once considered difficult shots.

What I am getting at ( very slowly) Is i'd like a scope with a practical amount of magnification( doesn't need to be excessive) but could it have those "hand operated turret adjustments"( still don't know the correct terminology) ... where I could make changes in the field or even make some long target shots.

is it one of those " tell em' he's dreaming" moments...??
or is there a scope out there that could do all this with in my budget??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

regards

Pod

[AusTac]

Vortex Diamondback 4-12 Adjustable objective or something along those lines with your choice of reticle will get you going, i have it in my .22 and for the price its awesome, paid $350 last year from that big shop in Queensland

[Chronos]

I'm a convert, Nikon prostaff BDC reticule

Chronos.

[Supaduke]

For that budget , buying new, look at redfield,vortex and Nikon. Or keep your eyes peeled on the second hand market. You may be better off getting 3-9x40 of better quality than an el cheapo higher mag. That being said, Nikko Stirling make perfectly serviceable scopes , I have had a few and I believe they make very reasonable optics for the price

[Wylie27]

Bushnell AR 223 scope with BDC. I have the 3-12x40 on my weatherby 223 and paid 220 for it

[Strikey]

First of all,
Hello from Western Australia.
I have been silently observing this forum for a while now. Just sponging in the wisdom.
If anyone could enlighten me to the world of optics, any help at all would be appreciated.
I've just put in my application for my first centre fire. A Howa 1500 in .223

as far as scopes go. $400 is going to have to be my budget.
IF anyone here was in this position...what would you buy?

just some insight to what i'll be using it for....

I'll be using it for shooting foxes and bunnies mostly. Although I've recently started getting in to target shooting at longer ranges and calculating MOA adjustments.
I've been mucking around with my .22 which has a simple 4x32 scope with hand adjustable turrets.
( by this i mean the turrets that you can turn with your hand and are not inset in the scope requiring a small tool to operate. Forgive me, I do not know the correct term for this)
calculating drops from zero at 50m to-75m-100m-120m then making the necessary elevation adjustments. I even started calculating wind values and their effect at different distances.
For some reason. Especially for me not being a patient person, This kind of target shooting really intrigues me and is really addictive when you start to zero in and make some once considered difficult shots.

What I am getting at ( very slowly) Is i'd like a scope with a practical amount of magnification( doesn't need to be excessive) but could it have those "hand operated turret adjustments"( still don't know the correct terminology) ... where I could make changes in the field or even make some long target shots.

is it one of those " tell em' he's dreaming" moments...??
or is there a scope out there that could do all this with in my budget??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

regards

Pod

The turrets you refer to are target turrets which are resettable to zero, the problem with budget scopes when you continually adjust them is they will eventually fail, buy once, cry once when buying a scope for your intended purpose

[Mr.Seacucumber]

Vortex all day everyday, I have two now and I wouldnt buy anything else, life time no questions asked warranty is awesome

[brett1868]

Bushnell AR 223 scope with BDC. I have the 3-12x40 on my weatherby 223 and paid 220 for it

I'm with Wylie27 on this, I have the AR 223 fitted to my Howa Mini action 223 and Ruger 17 Hornet. Nice scopes, fit for the intended purpose and reasonably priced. If you're going to be constantly dialing in windage and elevation then my choice then would be the Vortex but make sure you buy from an authorised distributer.

[NukeBOMB88]

Bushnell AR 223 scope with BDC. I have the 3-12x40 on my weatherby 223 and paid 220 for it

Yeah I'll second that, it's the best scope for the money in my opinion

[Sydor]

I use Nikon Prostaff 2.5-10 on m Tikka .223. Never failed me on the range or at the field. Just make sure it is one rated for centrefire.

[POD89]

Thanks for the suggestions,
i'll get stuck into some more research and i'll let you know how it all goes.

thankyou for your time!

Pod

[happyhunter]

Have a look on the used gun websites. You might find a gem at the right price.

[southwest shooter]

Just bought a vortex crossfire ii 6-18×44 AO dead hold bdc , looks good.
bought this for my howa mini action 223 for spotlighting , going to the range to sight in on sunday I will tell you how it went.
cheap $379 to the door , a mate of mine swears buy them.

[Gwion]

Quite frankly, finding a scope with reliably consistent exposed/target turrets for that budget is going to be a bit of a challenge. You will likely find your adjustments will be too variable for consistent target work at range where you are dialling drop and windage.

For set and forget, there are heaps of good (acceptable) scopes in that price bracket; like the Vortex diamondback; I have two of them and started off f-class with one on my 223. Before long the limitations of the dialling system became painfully apparent. Still use it for set and forget zero on hunting rifle but have stepped up for target work. Honestly, you probably looking from around $700 (Vortex HST 3-15) and up for the dialling reliability you will want.

[POD89]

Hello again.
I ended up buying a Bushnell AR .223 3-12x40. i got it for $230 with a warranty.
...Bloody love a bargin....
Thanks for all the suggestions. Only picked up my HOWA the other day
mounted my new scope went out to the farm,.
ran it in and by the end of the session I was shooting 5 shot ragged holes at 100m.with 55grain OSA sierra gameking (spelling??) ammo.
haven't had a chance to stretch out the range yet.
Could not be more impressed with the rifle or the setup on it for the money i spent.
anyone looking for a first centrefire rifle and they do not want to bust the bank... HOWA.

THAT BEING SAID....

the scope is great,I love the but i have noticed where my budget has kicked me in the shins a little...
the turrets have a little bit of left to right play over the locking bolt and do not sit snug
the adjustments don't correlate exact 1/4 MOA at 100yds but its still bloody close..
focus is amazing and the zoom is more than i need so im not really complaining.

With the rifle, i opted for the heavy barrel and i don't regret it for a second. its great to follow shots when you fire with minimal recoil.
I have a Houge synthetic stock.. has anyone else noticed the rifles are really front heavy with the light stock.
and with a bipod mounted on the front sling lug it flexes the stock where it "floats" around the barrel.
has anyone else got a timber stock for their HOWA 1500? would you recommend it over the synthetic? and can you still remove the floor plate for the mag swap over?

regards
POD

[AusTac]

I had the laminate in 308 it was ok, you can still remove the bottom metal/floor plate was a bit rough but you get what you pay for in general i think most of the $ goes into the action, very good actions they are

[Supaduke]

I have a few boyds stocks on my howas. Very good for the money and removes the flex. They usually require some minor fitting, removing the occasional burr, easily done with a small file and sand paper.