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We are being invaded by squirrels. They are eating the bird food. Wife has declared war on the damn things.

I have four scopes. They range in age from 30 years old to “who the heck knows?” One came on the M1. It is a fixed four power. It is currently dismounted. The scope on the Rem. 700 is a beautiful Nikon scope, but that is not moving. The “varmint” scope that I picked up to go on a flat top AR-15 from the 1990s is a cheap one. There was another scope which I pulled off a donated .22.

I started with the donated scope. It was OK, but I did not like it. I switched to the varmint scope. That sort of worked. I had to put a 20MOA base under it and then managed to foobar things.

As I’ve said, I normally use iron sights. I’ve got red dots which are all co-registered with the backup up iron sights. And I have that Rem. 700 that was sighted in 30 years ago at 100 yards and just works.

What I ended up doing is messing things up badly. When the target is at the exact correct distance, then the varmint scope put round after round through the same hole exactly where I was aiming.

On the other hand, if the distance was anything other than that “correct” distance, the point of aim and point of impact were way off. All of this is because the scope is 2 inches above the bore.

Now, this scope has a very delicate and precise point of aim. It is a small, very small, dot in the center held there by two very fine crosshairs. The crosshairs are so fine it is difficult to see them. The center dot is very small too. And there is a muddiness to the image that bothers me.

I bought a cheap scope. Vortex Optics Crossfire II Second Focal Plane, 1-inch Tube Rifle scope.

First, it is much shorter than the other scopes. Second, the objective is 40 mm vs something smaller on the varmint scope. Third, it is freaking clear. It is only a 3-9×40, while the varmint was 8-32. I had the varmint at 8x, while I’m running the Vortex at 5x.

I purchased the “Dead-Hold BDC” This gives me hash marks on the crosshairs. This allows me to easily figure out my hold based on distance.

The turrets are cleaner and feel nicer to the touch.

And for those that suggested that bore sighting with that cheap-ass laser wouldn’t work well, the first rounds were on paper, 0.5 inches right of point of aim. The elevation was spot on. I made the adjustment for windage and then proceeded to put 10 rounds through a dime size hole.

The other big thing I noticed is the speed of target accusation. With the old scope, I would spot my target, shoulder the rifle, then spend time searching for the target.

With this new scope, I shoulder the rifle and everything just lines up. The target is in the center of the crosshairs.

If you have been considering a low-cost rifle scope, check the Vortex out. Make sure you get the right reticle for you.