16X is the new rule for next season. What scopes should a very budget conscious entry level shooter be looking at to get started?

ok for the shooter. I like the 1/2 mildot like Hawke uses. Shoot me an e-mail and I can give you a like to buy Hawke scopes at a great price if they want to spend a little extra. Don

16X is the new rule for next season. What scopes should a very budget conscious entry level shooter be looking at to get started?

Look for a true Mil-Dot scope with at least 1/2 mil-dot increments.
A lit-reticle is a good option to have.
I've had good luck with the Hawke scopes.

16X is the new rule for next season. What scopes should a very budget conscious entry level shooter be looking at to get started?

As a new shooter, I have looked around at what people use and what's available in various price points and feature points.

The UTG 4-16x56 seems to be a pretty good choice for Hunter. It isn't the brightest scope, but it has side focus, an illuminated reticle (I find this a big help on dark lanes or dark targets), a rugged if large and heavy chassis, a mildot reticle and ranges decently considering its price, which is $200 or less.

That's pretty hard to beat.

I do know that Scott Hull advocates some of the wire reticle UTGs, which I think are or were even cheaper, but I couldn't quote a model and I don't know if they are even still made.

16X is the new rule for next season. What scopes should a very budget conscious entry level shooter be looking at to get started?

How well a scope reads mirage.

Even if I WUZ shootin' at 12X, I'd want to see it.

I could see it at 12X in my old Bushy Elite 4200 at 12X.

How come you guys never talk about it?

K

16X is the new rule for next season. What scopes should a very budget conscious entry level shooter be looking at to get started?

I like the UTG scopes as a budget conscious solution. Actually, they are good Hunter Division scopes regardless of budget. I have a UTG 4-16x44 that I use on my 22lr silhouette rifle. I just moved it over to my Marauder rifle to try. I like the wire reticle configuration on UTG scopes as the mil-dots are closer to standard mil-dot dimensions.

After looking around, I decided to buy a Centerpoint 4-16x56 to try. The CP does has fewer mil-dots than the UTG scopes, but still more than a standard mil-dot scope. The etched glass reticle appears to be closer to standard than the the pseudo mil-dot etched UTG reticle. The CP reticle is not lighted, but I rarely use that feature. The 56mm is larger than the 44mm, so will likely requires high mounts.

I just ordered this one as it appeared to be a good price:

https://www.amazon.com/Crosman-LR416S1- ... B016AT9ORO

That I have handled, which isn't a huge number by any means, but 3 or 4, bear a lot of similarities (ie turrets, power mechanism, etc.) to UTG scopes. I would guess that UTG makes some or most of the Center Points, or they use a common Chinese manufacturer.

I'd be interested to see your review of that scope. The turrets, side focus and power "knob" all look pretty similar to the UTG 4-16x56, but the UTG has the illuminated reticle and the useless "lip" sunshade over the objective.

I compared the UTG 4-16x56 with the CP 4-16x56. And you described a couple of differences. The reticles are also different. Both are etched glass, but I won't buy an etched glass UTG "mil-dot" scope.

You won't buy an etched glass UTG mildot scope? Not trying to show my ignorance but always ready to hear another point of view. Thanks, Bill

The UTG etched glass reticle looks sort of like a 1/2 mil-dot reticle. But they are not. Where the first mil-dot should be in each quadrant, they use a hash mark, and skip every other mil-dot, replacing them with hash marks. That makes it more difficult to estimate the X.1, X.5, X.9 reference points. I'd rather not deal with that odd configuration when estimating holdovers and bracketing.

The UTG wire reticle uses full size dots at every location.