Hello fellas -
I'm looking for a small-ish scope to put on my 10/22 (after 17hm2 conversion). It's going to be used to take out rock chucks and crows. I would say the average shot would be between 70-120yds, with the occasional hail mary to 150. My criteria is mainly driven by size. I don't want a 2 pound scope on a 5 pound rifle, so I would like to stick to an objective lens 30-35mm, and max magnification 7x and above.
I need to keep it low cost, like max $180ish, not because of monetary issues, I just can't justify putting an LR/T on a plinker. It already killed me to re-barrel and re-stock it. Okay so I've narrowed down my choices to the following that I think may fit the bill:
Burris Fullfield 2-7 x 35mm w/ballistic plex - about $170 shipped
Burris Timberline 3-9 x 32mm w/ballistic plex - about $135 shipped
Nikon Pro Staff 2-7 x 32mm w/nikoplex reticle (meh) - about $125 shipped (advertised as a shotgun scope)
Vortex Diamondback 2-7 x 35mm w/dead-hold reticle - about $200 shipped
These are about as low in quality as I'm willing to go. I've read user reviews on all of these and everyone seems happy with them. I'm not an optics snob so it's not going to take much to impress me, but I would like the best I can afford. I'm really leaning toward the burris timberline - for the price, magnification, and reticle - or the Vortex, because I know they are awesome quality, no questions asked warranty, and I like the reticle.
What would you guys get? Did I overlook any others out there? Thanks!