The Best Budget AR-15 Scopes

Below is my list of the best budget AR-15 scopes. I list the best choices in terms of value, performance, design, and cost.

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1. Monstrum G3 1-6×24 Scope

What we liked:

• Durable Construction: The single-piece milled 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum body ensures robustness and longevity.
• Weather Resistance: Nitrogen sealing offers fog-proof and water-resistant capabilities.
• Quality Internals: Brass internals for windage and elevation adjustments provide a smooth and reliable operation.
• Aggressive Knurling: The tactile knurling on adjustment knobs aids in grip and precision.
• Clear Optics: Optical Quartz glass with Xeres multi-coating delivers excellent clarity and scratch resistance.
• First Focal Plane Reticle: The type-C reticle maintains consistent sizing across the magnification range, which is ideal for versatile shooting conditions.
• Tactile Turrets: The turrets offer a satisfying click and feature turret locks and zero-reset.

What we didn’t:

• Lens Caps Quality: The lens caps feel cheap and are not on par with the rest of the scope’s build quality.
• Illumination Brightness: The highest illumination setting may not be sufficient for extremely bright days, according to some users.
• Reticle Visibility: At 1X magnification, the reticle can be hard to see against dark backgrounds without illumination.
• No Auto-Off Feature: The lack of an auto-off feature for the illumination can lead to unnecessary battery drain.
• Magnification Lever: The absence of a throw lever for magnification adjustment is felt, especially for rapid changes in zoom.

After running the G3 for a few years, it maintains its place as a noteworthy contender in the sea of budget-friendly rifle scopes, a surprising gem amidst the otherwise average offerings from Monstrum.

Craftsmanship and Design

The G3’s chassis is carved from a single block of 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum, a material that has a bit of a storied history in aviation (the Wright brothers’ used it in the cylinder block and other engine parts of their famous 1903 flight).

The scope body is nitrogen-purged to ensure fog-proof performance and water resistance, which I can vouch for — using it to test ammo and ARs in every Oregon season I have never seen it fog or had an issue with the o-ring seals.

The brass internals for elevation and windage adjustments keep your holds in place and have a smooth, quality feel.

The aggressive knurling on the windage knobs and magnification adjustment ring is sufficient for adjustment in the field, but I would have preferred the inclusion of a throw lever for when things get wet.

If the build quality is selling the scope’s quality features, the lens caps are squarely economical, feeling flimsy and out of place against the otherwise robust construction.

Reticle and Adjustments

The G3’s type-C first focal plane reticle is decidedly simple and functional. The design uses a central circle for 100-yard targeting and additional markings for close-quarters engagement, and remains constant across the magnification spectrum, making for intuitive aiming throughout the magnification range.

The reticle’s illumination keeps the G3 useful in various lighting conditions, though you may be left wanting more illumination on bright summer afternoons.

The magnification ring operates with quality and smoothness that products at this price point don’t generally offer, and the turret’s tactile feedback and zero-reset functionality are a delight.

Optical Performance

The G3’s optical performance comes from the Optical Quartz glass and Xeres multi-coating, a nod to the innovative lens crafting of historical optics pioneers.

The clarity and scratch resistance are commendable, particularly at the 6X magnification, where details on solid, silhouette, zeroing targets, and grids are surprisingly clear for an optic in this price bracket.

Mounting and Usability

The inclusion of two scope ring mounts with thumbscrews is a thoughtful touch, allowing for quick detachment and reattachment, though a tool would be necessary to ensure a secure fit.

I don’t generally expect scope rings at this price point, and while not something particularly high-end, these are easy to mount and run.

The Monstrum G3 is not without its flaws, but it’s got the character and quality of a much pricier pedigree. Definitely a quality optic for any AR.

2. UTG 3-9×32 1″ BugBuster AR-15 Scope

What we liked:

• Price
• Range mil-dot reticle
• Dual reticle illumination
• Much shorter than many budget scopes
• Adjustable objective
• Lockable/resettable turrets
• Shock, fog, and rain proof

What we didn’t:

• Potential for misaligned reticule
• Large reticule can obscure aim

The UTG 3-9X32 1″ BugBuster Scope—along with nearly all of the other budget AR 15 scopes we tested—has benefited from incredible advancements in optical quality driven by the falling costs of precision manufacturing and optical technology.

For under $100, you can get an AR 15 rifle scope that damn near matches products that cost hundreds, but probably not thousands, more.

The BugBuster’s optics aren’t its only strength: This is an exceptionally durable scope that easily withstood the humid, rainy, and hostile environment of the Eastern Idaho Sawtooth Range and harsh sun during range shooting in the Beartooth Mountains in Montana.

The focus dials adjust consistently and across a wide range of depths, making it easy to find the focal sweet spots, no matter the distance. Light transmission was solid thanks to what they term an “Emerald Coating” on the tube, and it offered dual illumination with both red or green dot options which were easy to see.

With more than 2,600 reviews at the time of writing this high-quality budget scope maintains an incredible 4.3-star rating. While it doesn’t offer a lifetime warranty as you’d get with a premium scope, the BugBuster does offer a 2-year warranty which you can read here.

3. CVLife Optics Hunting Rifle Scope 6-24×50

What we liked:

• Solid build quality
• Turrets have solid audible clicks and return to zero

What we didn’t:

• Size can make it cumbersome
• Some buyers had trouble zeroing the scope
• Can fog up

CVLIFE Hunting Rifle Scopealmost half the price of the BugBuster.

Yes, this scope is almost 50% less than our top recommendation. It has a comparably wide field of view, however, it’s a much bigger unit and some customers have struggled to zero it in.

That said, it’s a very popular budget AR scope and one that has a lot of the features that we’re looking for such as decent long-range capabilities, an objective lens, and easy adjustments for windage & elevation.

4. Pinty 3-9×40 AR-15 Scope

What we liked:

• Rangefinder reticle makes distancing easy
• Fits standard 20mm picatinny rail
• Very clear right out of the box
• No parallax within 100 yard

What we didn’t:

• Quality control and final fit and finish are hit and miss
• Outside of 100 yards you might need to estimate the bullet drop

If you’re on an even tighter budget and are willing to see what kind of mileage you can get from a device with a 12% 1-star rating, you take a look at the Pinty 3-9X40 Red Green Rangefinder Scope, which is about 30% of the price of the BugBuster.

The units that have positive reviews get almost all the performance, with only a slight compromise in terms of maintenance (how often you have the adjust the turrets etc. to maintain accuracy).

5. Pinty 2.5-10×40 Tactical Scope

What we liked:

• Lightweight
• Very clear optics
• Dual illumination
• Laser for zeroing in
• Responsive customer service

What we didn’t:

• Quality control seems to be hit or miss
• Geared towards smaller calibers
• Challenging to get tight shot groups

This Pinty was among the smallest budget scopes we tested – coming in at just under 1.3 lbs.

Their 2.5-10×40 Scope & Laser Combo offered excellent clarity – and we thought this would make an excellent first scope for transitioning from iron sights and for close-range use due to the 2.5 low-end magnification.

It was the closest to a red dot sight of all our test scopes.

The first unit had an issue after about 30 rounds (the front lens was loose) but the manufacturer sent us a replacement straight away – so they proved to have responsive customer service. The new unit was fine and easy to mount on our 22LR and 556 AR. This scope has a nice laser which makes zeroing in a snap up to 100 yards. It worked well in our tests and held over more than 100 rounds.

Naturally, these budget scopes don’t have the build quality of higher-end models, but in exchange, this Pinty offers a solid value and a lot of the features you’d find in much more expensive models – just make sure you pick up some Loctite.

6. Bushnell Banner 3 9×40 Illuminated AR-15 Scope

What we liked:

• 6 inches of eye relief
• Very clear optics
• Excels in low light conditions
• Fog & waterproof

What we didn’t:

• Fickle to zero in
• Requires re-zeroing every 1,500 rounds
• Light crosshair is hard to see
• Long at 16”

While the list of premium brands available under the $100 price point is very limited – these lower-end products can struggle to be durable enough to survive hard knocks and higher caliber firearms without alignment issues.

We found the Bushnell Banner model to have a nice mix of features and positive ratings, plus it was the lightest scope we tested (less than a pound) and has the premium brand name that many people value.

This is a hunting scope, so it’s designed to excel in the low light conditions of early morning & dusk. It’s slightly more than the much for just a bit more (at just under $100) but it’s very functional if you don’t mind long eye relief, offers excellent optics, rugged waterproof and fog proof construction, and improves visibility in low light conditions markedly.

People setting up a new AR 15

When you’re setting up a new kit you should absolutely get as much gun as you can afford, which means if you’re working on a budget the accessories will need to be less than premium.

A budget scope gets you something more than iron sights or BUIS and allows you to get some rounds through your rifle, but are cheap enough that you don’t need to skimp on the area that matters the most – your firearm.

Young shooters

If you’ve got a son or daughter who wants to start shooting it’s best not to drop several hundred dollars on top-end kit. It’s the same reason you don’t buy your kids a $1,500 laptop – they’re tough on stuff. A $50 scope will give them the basics without risking too much. Once they’ve got a handle on how to treat & maintain a scope you’ll feel much better about upgrading their optics beyond a budget scope

Gifters

Absolutely no AR-15 enthusiast will frown at getting a new scope for the holidays. They look great once unwrapped and are a lot like a dish set – nobody knows what you paid for it! We have a full list of gifts for gun lovers if you’re looking for ideas.

One of the primary reasons people go for a budget AR scope is that building or buying an AR is already a stretch on the budget, so shelling out several hundred more dollars for an optic isn’t reasonable or even possible. With that said, we’re big supporters of the second amendment for any folks who want to participate, so you won’t be getting any budget shaming from us.

Get the optic you can afford to make the rifle perform more to your liking, and going cheaper on the optic allows you to save for more ammo.

Second, and some price snobs will very much disagree with us on this one, there are decent optics to be had at the $100 mark, or sometimes even below. In the past five years or so, the optics market has seen some real competition with brands that have cracked the code on making quality optics that are also budget-friendly.

Nowadays, getting a genuinely good optic for a reasonable price is more than possible. We’re delighted to see optics prices come down for gear that you can expect to perform well, and we’d put a lot of these on our rifles happily.

Tactical Sights

Optics designed to hit human or large animal-sized targets such as a whitetail at 1,000 yards are impractical for home defense purposes, where your shooting requirements will be measured in feet rather than yards. These are typically more scopes than sights, so you’ll find red dots, holographic sights, and reflex sights will generally be your best tactical options, but are the topic of another article.

Some of the scopes at this price range are aimed at a more tactical style of rifle, and they’re often focused on folks who are building a defensive rifle. In terms of features, they’re similar to the scopes that we’ve talked about so far, but often have some tactical design cues or a section of Picatinny rail should you want to mount a red dot onto your optic, which is certainly an option worth considering if you’re looking to build a rifle that can be used flexibly at different ranges.

Riflescopes

Riflescopes that allow for you to reach out and touch targets at 300, 500, and 1,000 yards require some technical advancements not available on other types of optics.

State-of-the-art lens coatings, waterproofing and fogproofing through nitrogen purged housings, advanced metallurgy and aircraft grade aluminums, parallax adjustments, various brightness settings, and specialized reticles including fiber optics, illuminated, mil-dot, and bullet drop compensation options with detailed hash marks, along with elevation adjustability — these days there’s an entire range of scopes for any shooting pursuit.

Fixed Magnifcation

At this price range, some of the most commonly seen scopes will be those that have fixed magnification. While these don’t have all of the tactical bells and whistles of some of the more expensive scopes out there, getting in some training time with a fixed-magnification optic can still yield a massive improvement in your distance shooting. Although these scopes are simple, they should not be underestimated and they can be an excellent tool if you’re willing to put some practice in at the range from time to time.

Variable Magnifcation

It is also possible to get scopes that are adjustable in terms of their magnification at this price range, both LPVO and first focal plane or FFP scopes that keep the reticle nice and crisp as you zoom in and out.

At this price range, though, your adjustable scope is not likely to have the best glass in the world, nor will it likely be the most durable piece of kit. If you’re willing to be careful with it, though, there are good scopes at this price range as well, and we’d be willing to try them out at the very least.

Lastly, some of these scopes, namely the more simple ones, are aimed at people who just want a cheap scope for plinking or hunting. I think that these scopes and be an excellent value proposition, especially for rifle builds that won’t be banged around much. You don’t necessarily need the most durable scope in the world if it’s going to spend a lot of its outdoor time in a deer blind, so saving some money on a scope for a rifle used in that capacity makes sense. I’m surprised at how much variety there is in cheaper optics these days, and I like to see that prices on optics are remaining relatively reasonable.

• Weight. When considering a scope at any budget, one thing that I think about first is the overall weight. While the difference in weight between scopes might not seem like a big deal when you’re shopping for them, it can turn into a hassle down the line. Consider that every once you put on the gun is an ounce you’ll have to carry with you when you’re walking to your hunting spot, and you, too, might start to be a bit weight conscious when it comes to the choice of scope.
• Optic Support. The footprint of the optic also matters a fair bit. Some optics are rather short and mount via Picatinny rail, which makes them relatively compact in terms of the overall size of the rifle. Others are a little bit longer and sometimes require mounts that are often included. To make the mounts work, you’ll need to make sure that your rifle has enough overall rail length and in the right spots to make sure that they will fit on the rifle. Longer optics tend to have higher magnification, but also take up more space on the gun.
• Reticle Type. Third, think about the reticle type fairly when making a scope buying decision. On a lot of these more budget scopes, you can expect to find a simple cross reticle, which is one of our preferred reticles. With a little bit of looking around, it’s also possible to find these scopes with different reticle optics that have bullet drop compensators and range estimators for various caliHowever, keep in mind that these may not be entirely accurate under different magnifications. In contrast, a simple cross should be consistent even with adjustable magnification levels.
• Adjustable Magnification. Finally, think about whether or not the magnification on the scope is adjustable. If I want to use the scope for a specific range that’s more or less predictable, I might well go with a fixed power scope to keep things affordable and simple. If, on the other hand, I and a rifle that’s a little more flexible, then a variable power optic is something that might make more sense, even if the optical clarity won’t be the best in the business.

These days, it’s more than possible to find a set of features that works well for you in a budget optic.

By the nature of this piece, we’re only looking at optics at or under $100, but even under that mark, there are some gradations.

• For around $40, you can find decent optics through sales, although these will be pretty basic in terms of features. Basic isn’t bad, though, and if you’re a person who isn’t fussy about a massive list of features, these can be great.
• At the $70 mark, many of these optics can be had at regular price, and they’ll perform reasonably well. We recommend going with a brand that has at least some sort of warranty, though, if something goes wrong.
• At the top of the price range we’re considering here, possible to get an adjustable scope with a decent warranty that matches the aesthetics of your gun. We’d also highly recommend keeping an eye on slightly more expensive optics sales: these often happen after things like SHOT Shot when new models get released.

A year-old model will likely work well for you, even if it doesn’t have the most packed set of features from the brand new models, and the discount can bring optics into your price range.

As much as I would love the put all these AR scopes to the test there are times when certain products or categories are a real challenge — be it availability, cost, or simply a lack of resources — we can get stymied going hands-on with all the potential candidates. Rather than present a never-ending list of all the budget AR scopes on the planet, we selected those which we felt best represent the price points you’re likely to encounter when shopping — giving you a solid representational list to serve as a jumping-off point for your own research (you are going to do you own research, right?)

To avoid disappointment or steering you in the wrong direction, we bolster our own experience with conversations with experts, comb through reviews on retailer sites & sales data, review industry publications, other blogs, and otherwise surface the best information available.

We aim for all thriller, no filler, as they say.

Here are all of our recommendations one last time. Be sure to check them out over on Amazon and read through the review and Q&A sections get a good sense of what they’ll offer you before adding your scope or any other accessory (like a grip or bipod).

If you’re in the market for optics check out our scope reviews, guide to the best rifle scopes, tips for selecting the best pistol red dot sight, selection of recommended rimfire scopes, and long-range scope guide.