I just can't afford the high-end stuff right now, and I need a scope for a hunting trip. I tried to find one of the new Simmons Master Series scopes, (good experiences with Simmons) but nobody's carrying 'em yet. Anyone had any experience with the mid-low grade Bushnells?

I just bought a Bushnell Banner 3.5-10x36 AO. It seems to be decent and I got it for just over 100 including shipping.

Are you thinking of something for your 45/70? If so, don't go cheap.

Yeah, it's for the Marlin. I wish I could afford a better brand. This particular scope was only $89 at Midway, though. At least if it goes up the river, it didn't cost much.

6-9x40? You mean 3-9x40?

I used to have a Trophy, sold it as part of a package when I sold the rifle it was on. Very good quality for the price, in my opinion.

I also like Simmons. Natchez currently has some really good deals on refurbished demos and unsold models from last year. Check this out:

http://natchezss.com/curflier/t6.html

Enlarge those two pages, good stuff there. If you want to spend around $90, I suggest you consider that Whitetail Expedition 1.5-6x32 they have on sale. It's new/unsold, not a refurbished demo. I have a WE, and the clarity of the optics is amazing for the price. Do you really need high magnification to hunt with a 45-70? You're not going to shoot it at long ranges, are you? I'm sure 6x would be plenty. The low 1.5x would make it fast and easy to find your target, and if you crank it all the way up to 6x, you'll still have an exit pupil of over 5mm, so you still have a bright picture even at the top end, unlike some higher powered scopes that get too dim at the top end to be useful. And it's more compact and lightweight than a bigger, more powerful scope. Would be a good choice for a 45-70.

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<span style=\'font-size:10pt;line-height:100%\'>ARMA</span>

oops! 3x9-40 is what I meant. I never even thought about Natchez, thanks for the link! I'll put that in the "bookmark" list for later. I already ordered the scope from Midway.

As far as the magnification goes, I can never get enough. I don't plan on taking any shots past 150 yards MAX, but I like the idea of being able to pick out the hair on the animal that I want to split. It also means I don't have to use a spotting scope at the shooting range, (not that you need that much magnification for .45 caliber holes).

I tried transplanting the Simmons 4.5-14x44 WA/AO ATV from my FAL, but it was just TOO big.

3-9x40 seems to be the smallest scope I can get that will still do what I want it to do. Plus, it needs to be silver to match the Guide Gun.

tlrpunk - you know, I had a very inexpensive scope (Simmons 3-9x40) on my Marlin 1894 in 44 mag for awhile and it held up ok. I'd say it's recoil was similar to your 45/70. So...what you might want to do is get something for 30 or 40 bucks and save your money for what you really want to put on it later.

Have you looked at the scout scope setups. That would look awesome on your gun.

Thanks for the advice, rugmar. I've got an XS Lever Scout mount that I installed, then took it off. I bought it just to try it out, even though I've never cared for the look of the scout scopes. And I'd still need to buy another open sight set-up, (ghost ring or aperature) if the scope ever went south. With the standard mount and some Leupold QRW rings, I can go from scoped to factory open sights in seconds. I always like to have a plan "B".

I understand completely. I will eventually add the XS ghost rings to both of my Marlins in case of scope failure.