Firearm Scopes to Match Any Budget and Gun

Regardless of what kind of a firearm you hunt deer with each fall, one thing’s for sure: using a scope should increase your accuracy over regular old iron sights or a bead at the end of the muzzle. While rifle scopes are pretty common, especially for larger deer-size caliber centerfire rifles, most people don’t usually think about firearm scopes for shotguns or muzzleloaders. But hunting with a scope on them can be very effective for deer hunting too. Depending on what kind of gun you have or purchase, you may need to buy a scope separately. Even for some of the combination gun and scope deals, you might just want to upgrade to higher quality optics anyway. If you’ve been looking into different firearm scopes lately, here are five great examples that you could use for different situations.

Quality First

Some people cringe about spending too much on firearm scopes, especially when it approaches what you might have paid for the gun itself. But like spotting scopes, quality riflescopes aren’t cheap – plain and simple. You need to think of it as an investment over the entire life of the firearm, which will maximize your opportunities in the field and very likely make you a more successful hunter. Related to that, higher quality scopes generally also come with better quality glass and coatings. That’s important for allowing maximum light through the lenses and providing the brightest shot opportunities in the darkest conditions. The coatings also help protect the lenses and keep dust and dirt from interfering with your view.

For example, imagine you’re having a tough season on a new (and expensive) hunting lease. After a week of no opportunities and on the last day of the season, a mature hit-list buck finally steps out right before sunset. You quickly lift the gun only to realize you can’t find him in your scope because it is the cheap version you thought should work fine. If you had just gone for the higher quality (more expensive) deer rifle scope, you likely would have been able to take the shot in that scenario. Would that experience be worth another hundred bucks to you?

Riflescopes

Depending on where you hunt, it may or may not be legal to use a centerfire rifle during deer hunting season. Some states do not allow it out of safety concerns and some do not allow it in certain proximities to populated areas, opting instead to require shotguns or archery equipment. But where they are legal, there’s no doubt that rifles can be very accurate out to some impressive distances – maybe 400 yards on some western mule deer or elk hunts. To reach those distances adequately and clearly enough, you need a good rifle scope mounted on top. Riflescopes for long range hunts need to be able to magnify the image enough that you can truly reach out to your desired yardage without it looking like you’re staring at an ant (when the ant is actually a mature buck). Your firearm scopes should also have a large objective lens to capture as much light as possible to make low-light (dawn and dusk) shots possible. The best rifle scopes should have these qualities at a minimum.

The Endeavor RS IV 5-20x50 is a high magnification scope to really zoom out to some long distances. The 50 mm objective lens with Advanced MultiGuard® coatings is definitely big and clear enough to capture all the light and allow you to take the last-minute shots. The illuminated reticle helps even more when it comes to placing your shot exactly where you need to in dim conditions.

The Endeavor RS VII 1-7x44 is an awesome rifle scope with great clarity and light transmission due to the glass quality and construction. The magnification is only to about seven times, but that is still far more than your traditional non-scoped option. It too has an illuminated reticle to help you stay on target in low light conditions.

Shotgun Scopes

As mentioned above, most people don’t immediately think about putting firearm scopes on shotguns, with the possible exception of red dot rifle scopes on turkey guns. They might think about other hunting optics, but probably not scopes. For deer hunting, however, firearm scopes will help you immensely on a shotgun. Considering that a deer might walk by 100 yards out, which is about the maximum range for a shotgun anyway, you need to feel confident in taking that shot. Scopes for shotguns provide that confidence. If you live in an area where you need to hunt deer with a shotgun, here’s a good slug gun scope or two for you to consider.

The Endeavor RS IV 4-16x44 is a great option for a shotgun. It doesn’t magnify quite as much as the first rifle scope option, but it still offers a very respectable 16x magnification. The objective lens is also a tad smaller at 44 mm, which is still plenty for most low light conditions. It too has an illuminated reticle, yet this one also has a red dot in the middle to help you zero in.

The Endeavor RS IV 2-8x32 is very similar to the others in design and quality. It has an illuminated duplex reticle and can magnify to eight times normal view. At 32 mm, the objective lens of this firearm scope is good enough to show clearly in the lighting conditions for most legal hunting times.

Muzzleloader Scopes

Most people who hunt with a modern muzzleloader probably already have some kind of scope on it. Muzzleloaders can effectively fire at targets a little further than shotgun range, but not as much as a rifle, making it the perfect middle ground, right combination, and good candidate for a muzzleloader scope. 

The Endeavor RS IV 3-12x56 is a similar scope as the others, offering up to 12x magnification. But the biggest benefit for muzzleloader hunting is the huge 56 mm objective lens. Generally, most muzzleloader seasons occur after other seasons are done, which can put it in the depths of winter in many parts of the deer range. Winter offers very little light sometimes in certain conditions, which is why the huge 56 mm objective lens can be your friend.

No matter how you go deer hunting and which firearm you decide to use, there is a firearm scope for you.