8 Best Prism Scopes in 2024 — Reviews & Top Picks

Last Updated on Jan 03 2024

If you’re new to the world of shooting or haven’t been in the market for a while, you might not know what a prism scope is. These unique scopes have multiple advantages over traditional scopes if you get the right one.

We developed this comprehensive guide to walk you through the best prism scopes out there.

If you’re still not sure what you’re looking at, check out the buyer’s guide that will tell you everything that you need to know!

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites (2024 Update)

	Image	Product	Details
Best Overall		UUQ Prism Triple Illuminated Reticle Rifle Scope	Three reticle brightness Fully coated lens 1-year warranty	CHECK PRICE
Best Value		Beileshi Triple Illuminated Rapid Range Reticle Scope	Affordable Good magnification 3 reticle colors	CHECK PRICE
Premium Choice		Burris 300217 Tactical Prism Sight	10 illumination Picatinny mount Lifetime warranty	CHECK PRICE
		Monstrum S330P 3X Prism Scope	Great magnification 1-year warranty illuminated reticle	CHECK PRICE
		Sniper 4X32 CB Prism Scope	Affordable Good magnification Picatinny mount	CHECK PRICE

The 8 Best Prism Scope 

1. UUQ Prism Triple Illuminated Reticle Rifle Scope- Best Overall

If you’re looking for a prism scope that combines affordability and performance, look no further than this scope. It utilizes a fully coated anti-reflective lens that eliminates glare and makes it easier to use. Furthermore, it has 4x magnification, comes with a 1-year warranty, and has three different reticle brightness levels that you can cycle through.

The only drawback to this prism scope is its size. While one of the most significant advantages of a prism scope is its smaller size, this scope is on the larger side. But for the price and performance, you’re not going to find a better deal.

2. Beileshi Triple Illuminated Rapid Range Reticle Scope — Best Value

If you’re looking for the best prism scope for the money, check out the Beileshi Triple Illuminated Rapid Range Reticle Scope. Not only is it an affordably priced scope, but you also get three different reticle brightness levels to choose from, and the 4x magnification is incredibly useful.

Additionally, you get three different reticle colors to choose from, which makes it extremely useful in various conditions. Just know that while this is an excellent scope for the money, it doesn’t come with a warranty, so if something does happen to it, you’ll be out of luck.

3. Burris 300217 Tactical Prism Sight — Premium Choice

If you’re not worried about how much your new prism scope costs, then this Burris sight is an outstanding choice. While it’s more expensive, you get 10 different illumination settings, and it’s extremely easy to make windage and elevation adjustments.

Furthermore, it has excellent clarity and brightness, and the 3x magnification is an excellent choice for mid-range shooting applications. While you might be spending more up front, it comes with a lifetime warranty, so it’ll be the last sight that you need to purchase.

4. Monstrum S330P 3X Prism Scope

If you’re looking for an affordable prism scope that delivers high-quality performance without breaking the bank, the Monstrum S330P 3X Prism Scope is a small sight with a great 3x magnification range.

Moreover, it has a 1-year warranty and has an illuminated reticle that makes it easy to use even in low-light situations. But while it’s a great option, it’s expensive and doesn’t have exceptional performance or additional features.

5. Sniper 4X32 CB Prism Scope

A great choice if you’re looking for a prism scope for your rifle is this Sniper scope. It has an excellent 4x magnification range and three different brightness settings to choose from for different conditions.

But while it’s available at an affordable price, it doesn’t have optimal clarity, and you only get one reticle option to choose from. It’s good, but not the best choice out there.

6. Vortex Optics Spitfire 1x Prism Scope

While Vortex Optics makes great scopes, this one only comes with a 1x magnification setting and doesn’t have unlimited eye relief. So, while it has amazing brightness and clarity and comes with a lifetime warranty, it just doesn’t compare to a Vortex Optics red dot sight.

This is a fine scope, but it’s not ideal for many applications.

7. THEA Prism 4×32 Triple Illuminated Rapid Range Reticle Rifle Scope

The THEA Prism illuminated scopeis a lower-priced scope that fails to deliver on all its promises. While it’s easy to mount and has a good magnification setting at 4x, it doesn’t offer the best clarity and wears out over time. The more you use it, the faster it will wear out. So, while this scope comes with a 1-year warranty, don’t expect it to last much longer than that.

This scope does give you three different reticle colors to choose from, and it’s easy to mount on both dovetail- and weaver-style rails.

8. TACFUN Prismatic Series 4X32MM Scope

This TACFUN Prismatic Series scope has good light transmission, has three different illumination colors for the reticle, and offers a 4x magnification, but that’s where the perks stop.

It’s too expensive for what you get, and when you turn on the illumination, the glare can obstruct your view. Making matters worse, while it advertises 3.5″ of eye relief, you’ll be lucky to get 1.5″ because of the scope’s awkward construction. While you can expect shorter eye relief with a prism scope, this is still extremely sharp.

Buyer’s Guide – Finding the Best Prism Scope

Whether you’re new to prism scopes or just want more knowledge before you make a purchase, we’ve got you covered.

What Is a Prism Scope?

Before you dive too far into the advantages and disadvantages of a prism scope, it’s helpful to know what a prism scope is. Instead of using lenses to magnify the object that you’re looking at, a prism scope uses a prism to direct light and magnify objects.

While this might not sound like much, it does offer unique advantages that traditional scopes simply can’t match.

Prism Scope Advantages

You might be wondering why you might opt for a prism scope over a traditional scope or a red dot sight. The truth is that it depends on what you’re using it for, but prism scopes do offer advantages.

For starters, they’re generally small and compact, like red dot sights. However, they provide you with magnification, making it easier to shoot targets that are farther away.

Moreover, they provide a high-quality image and give you a laser sight picture, except you get this image with magnification. In the end, prism scopes give you the simplicity of a red dot sight and a few of the advantages of a traditional scope.

These might not sound like huge benefits, but there are situations in which a prism scope exactly what you need:

Prism Scope Disadvantages

While prism scopes have multiple advantages over red dot and traditional scopes, they’re far from perfect. For starters, they only come with one magnification setting. So, while you can cycle through different magnification levels with a traditional scope, if you have a prism scope, you only get one setting.

Additionally, that setting usually has a maximum magnification of about 5x. So, if you’re looking for a long-range scope, you don’t want a prism scope. More importantly, most prism scopes have extremely harsh eye relief. If you’re shooting a weapon with significant recoil, you’re not going to want a prism scope.

When Do You Want a Prism Scope?

Ideally, you want a prism scope when you need to combine the quick target acquisition and simplicity of a red dot but want a little more range. This makes prism scopes ideal for novice shooters or those who desire a more laidback experience when they head out.

If you’re shooting mid-range targets, it’s hard to beat what a prism scope has to offer. They give you both an etched and an illuminated reticle, so they’re also ideal in extremely bright and low-light situations.

What to Look For in a Prism Scope

If you’re looking for a new prism scope, there are a few things that you want to make sure it has. Otherwise, you’ll be settling for the disadvantage of a prism scope without reaping any of the rewards.

For starters, check that the scope has multiple brightness levels and ideally, different illumination colors. While these might not sound like huge perks, they ensure that you can use your scope in any conditions, which is one of the advantages of a prism scope over a red dot sight.

From there, you need to ensure that you’re getting the magnification level that you want. For prism scopes, we recommend either 3x or 4x magnification. This will noticeably extend your effective range compared to a traditional red dot sight. Any less, and you’re dealing with sharp eye relief for no reason; any more, and you’re not going to be able to hit closer-range targets effectively.

Finally, when you’re looking at a scope, you should check out the warranty. This is the manufacturer’s guarantee that they’re sending you a quality product. While a lifetime warranty is best, you’ll usually have to spend significantly more to get it.

If you’re on a budget, a scope that comes with a 1-year warranty is a nice middle ground. You’ll have plenty of time to ensure that you didn’t get a dud, but you don’t have to spend nearly as much money as you would if you bought a top-end product.

Mounting Your Prism Scope

Before you make any purchases, verify that your new scope will fit your rifle. The most common rail mounts are dovetail, Picatinny, and weaver, but there are other options out there.

What Is Eye Relief?

Eye relief refers to the distance that you need between the scope and your eye to see through it effectively. The more eye relief you have, the farther you can see. This is an important measurement because if you don’t have enough distance when you pull the trigger, the recoil will send the scope straight into your face.

Moreover, the more eye relief you have, the more comfortable you can get when shooting your weapon and the farther up on your rifle you can mount your scope. Both these features can make it more comfortable to use your weapon, which is extremely critical if you plan on looking through your scope for extended periods of time.

Zeroing Your Scope

It doesn’t matter if you get the most expensive scope on the market or the cheapest, if you don’t take the time to sight it in, you’re not going to hit a thing. That’s why it’s so important to sight your scope correctly.

What Is Parallax?

Parallax refers to the distortion that your scope causes when you look through it. This distortion occurs because as the light bends to become magnified, the edges get distorted. Riflescopes can adjust for this parallax to a degree.

However, the higher the magnification, the more parallax you’ll get. Since manufacturers adjust for parallax, this is usually only a problem for closer distances. So, the higher the magnification, the farther away you’ll need to look for a parallax-free view.

Many scopes have parallax adjusted for 100 yards, so as long as you’re shooting targets around that range, you won’t run into any problems.

Why Brightness Matters

Whether you’re talking about your reticle or the scope itself, you can’t shoot what you can’t see. That’s why brightness is so important and where prism scopes excel. They have both etched and illuminated reticles, which allow you to see in both low-light and very bright conditions.

Finally, you need to see through the scope too, which is where the quality of scope comes into play. While you’re magnifying the image that you’re looking at, you’re only bringing in light from the refined area. That means you’re actually bringing in less light, even though you’re magnifying it.

The better quality the scope, the better it can maximize the amount of light that it can bring in. The scopes on this list all have decent to excellent brightness.

Conclusion

Now that you know more about prism scopes, it’s easier to decide if these are the sights that you’re looking for. While they’re far from perfect, they certainly have their advantages.

Hopefully, you now have the confidence to find the best prism scope and head out to the range with confidence. If you’re picking a sight off of this list, we’re sure you won’t be disappointed.

Featured Image Credit; Piqsels