Vortex Crossfire HD 2-7x32

The Crossfire HD 2-7x32 is the low-magnification end of Vortex's budget hunting line, and it is the scope Smith & Wesson picked to factory-mount on the Model 1854 Scoped Combo packages. A 2-7x range on a 32mm objective is the correct answer for a lever gun: 2x is wide enough to take a running hog inside 50 yards, 7x is enough magnification for a deliberate shot at the far end of what .30-30 or .45-70 will do, and the small objective keeps the scope low over the bore so it clears a lever-action's ejection path and iron sights.

At 11.2 inches and 15.7 ounces it is noticeably shorter and lighter than the 3-9x50 scopes that dominate the same price bracket, which matters on a 37-inch carbine where a long scope crowds the eyepiece into the shooter's face. The illuminated Dead-Hold 2A BDC (MOA) reticle is the meaningful upgrade over the non-illuminated V-Plex versions of the same scope: a 2A post-and-crosshair with holdover marks and a lit center dot for low light, for $30 over the plain model.

The whole line rides Vortex's VIP unlimited, unconditional, transferable lifetime warranty, which is the real reason budget Vortex glass keeps selling against optically similar competition. Buy it when the rifle is a lever gun, a .22, or a light bolt carbine and the shots are inside 200 yards. Step up to a Viper HD or a Leupold VX-Freedom when the glass itself has to perform in the last five minutes of legal light.