The CVLIFE Optics Hunting Rifle Scope 6-24×50 is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a budget-friendly scope to throw on a lower recoil rifle. The CVLIFE scope mounts very easily and comes with high rise rings for an AR platform. Sight picture is amazingly clear for this price point. When the parallax was adjusted properly, I was able to see thermals easily.
The wide 50mm objective lens is adjustable and provides a bright field of view in lower light situations. This scope is certainly built with the avid small game hunter in mind. There are 10 total settings for brightness, including 5 for each color of red or green. These are dim enough to use on a night hunt for coyote or bright enough to see on a bright summer day. The battery life is nothing amazing, and there is no auto-off feature to help preserve it.
Included with the CVLIFE scope, you will receive the picatinny scope mounts, a clear protective lens cover, the battery and a cleaning kit with a lens cloth. Be careful not to clean your lenses too much, as this will cause micro abrasions in the lens coating making it appear foggy and dark even when it’s clean. Never use products like Windex on a scope because it will harm the seals that keep everything nicely purged for you.
The 6-24×50 CVLIFE scope seems designed for small caliber varmint hunting. With the 6x magnification, the CVLIFE scope works great for squirrels with my 22lr. I also put this scope on my .223 Remington and have no issue out to 400 yards.
The 50mm objective lens gathers enough light to help out during those dawn and dusk hours. The tube is coated aluminum. The nitrogen purge makes this scope fog, water, and shock resistant, though probably not to the extent of their more expensive competitors.
For being such a budget-friendly optic, the CVLIFE scope includes a lot of quality pieces. The lenses are coated for light transmission as well as scratch resistance. The nitrogen is great for fogging, and the only issue I’ve found is condensation when you go from out in the cold to inside with a nice warm wood stove. My higher-end optics do that as well, so we can’t take away too many points here.
The glass is surprisingly clear for the price point. I was able to read thermals at the range, although there was some aberration at the higher magnifications — not generally a trait of higher end scopes.
While this is not the scope you want to put on your .300 Win Mag to ring steel at 1700 yards. However, my lady was able to ring steel repeatedly at over 200 yards with my Marlin 22LR and some CCI standard velocity.
The reticle in this scope has mil hash marks for elevation holds as well as wind, however they do not seem to be accurate at the highest zoom setting like it should be. These are basically reference points for follow up shots. At the bottom of the reticle there is a range estimator for 18 inch wide targets.
Due to it being a second focal plane scope, these marks are only accurate at a certain magnification which is not marked on the dial and is not full zoom when compared to higher end scopes it seems to match around 18x. The illumination has 5 settings for each color with 2 off markers so you can be one click away from high or low brightness.
With the 50mm objective lens and the 1” tube diameter, you can get sufficient lighting even at the higher magnification settings.
The turrets on this scope are capped and have a nice audible click. They feel very solid and are easy to adjust without worry of bumping them due to the caps. The scope has held zero very well even after hundreds of rounds fired through both of my rifles.
The adjustments are made in 1/8 moa increments, which allow you to fine tune your rifle’s zero location. There is plenty of range for adjustment, although I found that they don’t track very well. I zeroed the rifle at 100 yards at the center of a 5 diamond target.
Using only the dials, I moved my point of impact around the target and returned it to zero. While being within an inch, it was not back to where I had zeroed, even though the dials both said it was. If you plan on dialing up for shots instead of using hold overs, there may be a better route for you to go.
The CVLIFE scope also includes an adjustable objective lens, but not a side parallax. You have to make quite the reach to adjust while shooting. Turns out fine for ringing steel or punching holes in paper, but not exactly the best when we’re talking about fast target changes at different ranges if you like to dial for elevation and hold for wind.
I was looking for a scope for the aforementioned .223 and couldn’t help but order one for the price. I loved the optic so much that I purchased a second one for my Marlin 22lr. These scopes have no issue reaching out to the 400yd max at the local range.
A big reason for my initial purchase was the number of 5 star ratings on Amazon. Any scope over 4 stars with more than 1000 reviews has to be worth a look, especially at this price point. As with any budget scope, there are some lower reviews as well. However, many of them seemed to be expecting a much higher-end scope like Vortex or Leupold, which just isn’t realistic when you’re spending less than $50 on glass.
The CVLIFE 6-24x50mm scope is a great, budget-friendly option for the beginning long range shooter. No, it won’t let you reliably dial out to 1000 yards on your 6.5, and it most likely won’t take the recoil.
However, 230 yards with my 22lr and over 400 yards with my .223. With both rifles using hold over, it was very reliable and functioned great every time. Adjustments work pretty well, but don’t trust them with constant dialing. Zero it and forget about it.
Yes, there are scopes out there with clearer glass and a better return with the dials. There are scopes with better this or just the right that. And you can pay dearly to have the best of every option you could want. But to have something in this price range that functions for a day is amazing. Mine have lasted at least 2 years of what I’d like to call above average use.
Yes, you’ll be better off with a better scope. ALWAYS spend the most you can on the scope for your rifle. But if you’re looking for a budget option, I haven’t found a better one yet for under $100.
You can pick up the 6-24x version here, or the 4-16x version here. Let us know what you thought of your budget scopes down in the options. If we see enough of one make we might take a look at that one next.
© 2023 Wilcox Outdoors - Alante Web Design
