Best Rifle Scope Under 100 and 150 – Best Budget Rifle Scope Picks!

When it comes to performance to price ratio, there are few scopes that are better than the UTG 3-9X 32 1″ bug buster scope. As its name suggests, this affordable riflescope boasts of a standard 1-inch tube.

Inside this 1-inch tube is an emerald coated lens that significantly improves the scope’s image clarity and brightness. If you have ever shopped in the under $100 price range, then you know that it is hard to find a scope with good illumination.

Thus, this Bugbuster scope with its dual feature illumination is a class above the competition. With the dual illumination, you can choose between red and green illumination.

With its dual illumination, you can mount this onto your AR 15 rifle. As such you get a quality AR 15 optics at a reasonable price.

There are many reasons why we picked the Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn multi-x reticle scope as our best budget scope. Top among them, the lens quality, magnification, and reticle.

Speaking of the reticle, it is a basic duplex reticle with no fancy stuff. This means no distractions. Its minimalistic design is its best feature, especially for the first time optic users.

The lenses on this scope are multi-coated, something that you rarely see in the price category. In fact, you may find hard to find multi-coated lenses in the below $200 price category.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that of all the scopes we tested this one had the best picture quality. And true to its name at low light it performed better than all the other models on our list.

Red dot sights that can be used on several different firearms typically tend to cost more than a few hundred dollars. Not the Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 though.

Measuring 2.5 inches long this is quite a small sight. Not everyone will appreciate the size, but the same cannot be said about its quality. Surprisingly this budget sight provides excellent clarity.

The sight’s 3MOA is well defined and has 11 intensity settings. You can decide to set it to 0 to 11, its’ brightest setting. You will not miss your target at 100 yards with this red dot sight mounted onto your rifle.

While it is cheap, it doesn’t seem to be made from cheap materials. It is able to withstand recoil from an AK 47 pretty well. And can also be used on a AR 15.

Big game optics are somewhat of a rarity in the budget optics market. Which is why we just had to include the Simmons 511039 scope on our list.

It has fully coated optics, which is to be expected for a scope in its price range. What makes it such an impressive scope is the hydro-shield coating. This helps maintain clear picture quality in all weather conditions.

The Truplec reticle is designed for easy acquisition of small targets. Meaning this scope can also be used for varmint control. It has a decent eye relief of 3.75 inches.

The large grooved zoom ring was a bit bulky in our opinion. However, it is easy to turn even with gloved hands, which is a plus. It also has a fast focus ring that we liked as it is easy to focus the reticle.

With this scope, you can hit targets at up to 200 yards, but that is as far as it goes. What impressed usabout this budget scope is its field of view. At 3X magnification, the field of view was a decent 31.4 feet at 100 yards. We also get impressed with the rimfire rings that this scope came with as they fit well with my rifles 3/8 inch rails.

In all honesty, the Simmons performed better than I expected.

However, it is not the kind of scope I would recommend for a seasoned pro. The reason being that this scope does not do well when mounted onto rifles with a heavy recoil.

Therefore, this is a scope I recommend to newbies and gun enthusiasts who are still familiarizing themselves with the art of using a rifle scope. It is extremely inexpensive and gets the job done.

The BARSKA 3-9X32 mm Riflescope is another inexpensive riflescope explicitly designed for rimfire rifles and .22 rifles. This riflescope is one of the best scopes for 17 hmr.

Weighing 11.5 ounces, this scope is lighter than the Simmons scope reviewed above. And despite its price tag, the scope was easy to zero in and its optical quality was surprisingly great.

In regards to its construction, the scope looks and feels very well made. From our analysis of the scope, it is capable of surviving years of occasional drops and knocks.

We have already stated that fully-coated lenses are rare at this price point. So it was great to see that this model features fully-coated lenses.

Another thing that makes us feel that this scope is worth more than its price tag is its nitrogen-filled tube. Thanks to the nitrogen, you will experience zero fogging.

While some hunters will go for the more expensive Nikon Prostaff for their .22 rifles, this BARSKA model is still an excellent option for beginners.

Especially those who do not have money to spend on a Nikon scope. Thus, while this is not the finest scope BARSKA has to offer, it is still a great scope for its price point.

We were impressed with the Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn Multi-X scope with 3.3-inch eye relief. And we were equally impressed with its twin with longer 6-inch eye relief.

Similar to its sibling, this Bushnell scope performed superbly in low light. The multicoated lenses delivered sharp images with excellent resolution at all zoom levels. If you are looking for the budget air rifle scopes under 100 dollars for your squirrels hunting air rifles, then it would be a great choice.

Considering that it has better eye relief than its twin brother, this riflescope proved to be a great optical aide.

At first glance, the CVLife Optics 6-24×50 doesn’t look like much. But after putting it to its paces we think we got ourselves a winner here. It proved to be one of the best cheap rifle scopes for deer hunting.

With a 6 to 24X magnification, this scope is ideal for long-range hunting. Furthermore, the 50 mm objective lens allows a decent amount of light to pass through.

This scope is bright and clear and maintains resolution across all zoom levels. I was impressed with the red and green illuminated Reticle that made it easy to view targets in low light.

This is one of the cheapest rifle scope one the market. Which raises the question: is it worth it, or should you spend some few more dollars for a high-end scope? Despite its price, this is surprisingly an excellent option for people on a tight budget.

While it is cheap, it does offer an illuminated reticle. And the best thing about it is that only the Reticle illuminates. As such, it is not overpowering when peering through the glass.

It features a magnification range of between 2 to 7x, which is pretty decent for short to medium target acquisition. You will have no problems getting accurate shots from 50 yards.

Back to the Reticle, it’s an etched black reticle. It is visible during the day and at night has a red or green illumination to help with visibility. There is also a rangefinder functionality built into it for quicker range estimation and holdover correction.

Another inexpensive rifle scope that is worth a look at is the Hiram 4-16x AO rifle scope. It might not be the most known name in the industry, but it’s a decent scope.

The first thing you will love about this scope is the magnification—a 4 to 16x magnification suited for medium to long-range target acquisition. This scope can also double as spotting scope at certain distances.

I have used this on a .223 caliber rifle, and it holds zero well. The scope maintains zero even after several shooting sessions.

But the icing on the cake was the red dot sight that comes installed atop the main scope tube. With this sight, you are essentially getting two sights for the price of one. The red dot sights help with quick target acquisition.

At first sight, this is quite a big scope. So is it worth it? When you consider the price and what you are getting, it is. It’s not the most famous brand name out there, but its worth purchasing.

The magnification is more than sufficient for medium to long-range sighting. The magnification zooms from 4x to 12x. The magnification is paired with a 50mm objective lens that does a great job of providing sufficient light.

One thing you will appreciate about this scope is the red/green dot sight installed atop of the riflescope tube. This comes in handy when you need to acquire targets quickly.

There is also a laser that is pretty accurate for such a budget model. And thanks to its inbuilt rail, you can easily mount it onto any 22mm rail.