What would be a good bargain basement medium to long range scope for a bolt gun? What  Vari power? Objective size? Just getting some info together on the lower end of the price scale.........

I don't want a pissing match to develop, or a "get what you pay for" lecture...just a straight answer

Swift brand, lifetime warranty. As for size, your budget will determine that. 6x24 gives a good range, variable can be either 40 or 50mm. Obviously you'll go bigger rings with the 50mm bell.

Check SWFA for some options as well.

Good luck!

I think it will be hard for you to beat the Bushnell 3200 Elite Scopes for the money.. Glass comes from the same factory as Zeiss and Swarovski.. You can pick up a 3x9 for less then 200.00

The Simmons 8-point, Bushnell Banner, and Tasco Pronghorn type (price range) scopes will leave you pissed off at some point, IN MY OPINION. They may work for a while, and when you least expect it will suffer the "wondering zero" or a crosshair that shifts. I've tried all that junk.

I consider these bargain basement, with many variations:
The Leopold Rifleman series and Nikon Prostaff series is as cheap as I would ever go again.
Good warranties, pretty clear and bright for the money, and never had a problem with either series.
And I will add, cheap enough at ----shall I say the bad word and get flamed----WALMART
3-9x40 is a good all arounder.

I bought a Simmons Whitetail Classic 4.5X-14X with A/O.    It was a used scope at the pawn shop.  He takes them off of hunting rifles before he sells the guns.  I got it cheap, and thought it might work on my 10/22.  It has been a fantastic scope for the money.  I think they are only about 110-120 new.  You might check them out.

look for a quality used scope. i just got a burris fullfield 3x9 for $75 in like new condition.

I've actually had pretty good luck with BSA scopes. Least wise on lower power rifles with moderate round count.

OK   In order of preference and quality, what are the best of the lower end scopes?

For the buck, the Bushnell Elite 3200 10x Mildot is outstanding. That having been said, I have a Tasco 3-9x40 Mildot on my bench that I'll sell you for $25 shipped. Worked great. I finally coughed up the money for a bigass Leupy Mark 4. IM if interested.

Quoted: For the buck, the Bushnell Elite 3200 10x Mildot is outstanding. That having been said, I have a Tasco 3-9x40 Mildot on my bench that I'll sell you for $25 shipped. Worked great. I finally coughed up the money for a bigass Leupy Mark 4. IM if interested.

I still vote for the 3200.. But you can't beat that Tasco deal...

Quoted: OK   In order of preference and quality, what are the best of the lower end scopes?

Define what you mean with a price range, like $30-50, 50-70 or whatever. Because some makers "lower end scopes" are a lot more expensive than others.
You can get the lowest end series of Simmons, Bushnell and Tasco for about 40-60 bucks at Wallyworld. The lowest end of Nikons, Burris and Leopold run between 100-200 bucks (Nikon 4x at $99 is the lowest) . The high end Bushnells, Tasco's and Simmons run in this range also, like said above the Bushnell 3200 is good as is the Simmons AETEC's (saw them recently for 129). You can get a hell of a lot more scope by investing a small additional amount to what you would spend on a 50 buck one.
The used route can be a good way to go as said above also.

www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=746570

Jump on this one soon! Its a 6.5x20 AO simmons whitetail classic for only $100. It has great reviews and I have one on an 30-06 and has been very good so far. Only about 40rds down range with it so far.