What scope for a .22

Acer-m14 · Aug 20, 2017

if you raise the scope so you can shoot the irons under it your cheek weld to the stock will be off .. could be a issue .. fix is a adjustable comb on the stock when using the scope .. drop it for iron ..
scope for a 22 .. just about anything on the market will hold up .. i put the original scope fixed 4x for my moss 152 back on it .. thats a 1960's gun ..

nortatoga · Aug 21, 2017

Look into the Nikon Prostaff Target EFR 3-9 x40 AO. very popular scope for 22's at my Club! I have 2 of them myself. If just for hunting the BDC scopes are a good choice but I think the Precision reticle is better suited for target shooting and would work well for hunting also.

nortatoga · Aug 21, 2017

Saltwater60 said:
Thanks that's the Nikon I was looking at a while back. Looks good to me.

It's a good choice!!

I'm thinking about getting another one!!

Fenucho · Aug 21, 2017

Don't get sucked into the game.
Any $50 3x9 scope on a .22 will do the job for hunting.
For Criss Sake, what are you shooting fifty yards max.
I have $50 air-gun scopes with side parallax adjustments on all my hunting 22's including the airguns.

https://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-Tro...1503330768&sr=1-2&keywords=bushnell+scope+3x9

With rings $65 done!

FLA45fan · Aug 21, 2017

I run a couple of Ruger M77s, a .22 WMR in syn/ss and a Hawkeye Compact in .308, (retail over $900 list) and they both wear Nikon Prostaffs. That Rimfire BDC works great, highly recommended! Great for hunting.
Just for giggles, what gun is it going on?

Steve H · Aug 21, 2017

I'm pleased with the one rimfire Nikon Prostaff that I have. The BDC reticle is not useful to me but it's easy to ignore if desired. I would stay away from "see under" rings. Once you have a scope on you'll never want to use the open sights, aluminum rings are not sturdy and, as mentioned above, they'll raise the scope too high. Get a set of standard steel rings. Just my two pfennigs worth.

redtail · Aug 21, 2017

I have the 40mm on my .22 , I want to see the whiskers on the squirrel.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000JJL8VW/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1M48NKLUDR2Q4&colid=2RUAAKQK5N43S

Kent Goldings · Aug 21, 2017

Get the Nikon Prostaff Rimfire 3-9x40. You won't regret it.

knuts · Aug 23, 2017

I got the vortex crossfire 2 rimfire 2-7x32. ive been going back and forth on which to get between nikon prostaff 3-9x40, but decided to go with vortex cause im a vortex fanboy lol.

https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Optic...qid=1503505367&sr=8-1&keywords=vortex+rimfire

meketrefe · Aug 23, 2017

This topic comes up quite often.
Please consider this...
- Do you want to set the scope for a known distance perhaps withing 50 yards and perhaps be fixed in terms of magnification that means
always the same distance and/or same size of target?
- Since the trajectory of 22LR is quite pronounced, do you want something that can be used to easily adjust both in terms of magnification
and windage/elevation?
- Even at a fixed distance lets say 100 yards do you want the adjustment to be intuitive and efficient lets say in a windy day?
- If you want something adjustable do you want something that is easy to adjust and return to other zero positions?
- Alternatively do you want to be able to do that very quickly and efficiently w/o fiddling with hard to adjust turrets or plain reticles
like the popular plex. This might be ok for calibers with a long point blank range but maybe not for a 22 moving within 200 yards.
Same limitations for the simple red dots that lack of correction or magnification makes them even harder and too coarse to adjust
shots efficiently.

Do you want to teach some ballistics or simply set it at a fixed distance and just shoot?

That is why I suggested something with long eye relief, some sort of magnification and with nice turrets or a stadia in a uniform unit of measure.

Remember that even if you change guns a nice scope will stay with you. Selling guns with scopes is loosing money on the optics unless
they are garbage that is what many retailers do with the combos. I mean a few exceptions with some of the budget ones like nikon
but not many.

It is better to think about the above and what features are wanted and then look at few choices based on that.

Snappo · Aug 23, 2017

Saltwater60 said:
I'm looking for a scope to shoot some squirells, rabbits and other small game. I'm looking to spend about $150-$200. I know next to nothing about scopes. I have read good things about vortex and Nikon for .22's. I just thought I'd ask. I really don't want to go over $200, but if you have a better one for $210 I'm not going to go crazy over $10.00.
Nikon PROSTAFF® Rimfire II Riflescope : Cabela's

Nikon P-Rimfire Riflescope : Cabela's

Vortex® Diamondback Rimfire Riflescope : Cabela's

I have mentioned before; but I have been actually selling glass for the exclusive reason of replacing whatever it was with Nikon glass. I am their biggest fan. I shoot Nikon for cameras as well (D7200, D300, D80x). They do a wonderful job. I cannot be sure that the Nikor plant grinds the glass for scopes and camera lenses in the same location; but the quality of the scopes would indicate they use the same technologies at a minimum. So far I have the Prostaff series and the Monarch series. If you are for any reason dissapointed with Nikon when you go visit them at Gander Mountain or wherever; I also have had wonderful luck with Leupold. While the MR/T and LR/T's I use are clearly overkill for 22LR; the Series II rifleman ones with that gold ring on the front are extremely nice too.

Meketrefe brings up a great point. Your scopes very often outlast the ownership of a specific rifle. So what you own will go with you forever. I have seen Prostaff's for as low as $100 in 3-9x by 40 with a 1" tube. They are gas filled, watertight, and will last forever outdoors while hunting and whatnot. I will say one thing as you compare a Leupold Rifleman to a Nikon Prostaff - in the Rifleman series the turrets are fairly flush to the tube. The Nikon will have a tall turret that is easy to grab and doesn't require an allen wrench or screwdriver. I think Nikon has left that old way of doing things behind. Once you have those return-to-zero turrets like Nikon or the more expensive Leupolds; you may not ever want to go back to that old way of doing things with a dime or an allen.

Snappo · Aug 23, 2017

meketrefe said:
That is why I suggested something with long eye relief, some sort of magnification and with nice turrets or a stadia in a uniform unit of measure.

I always thought all scopes (irrespective of manufacturer) were supposed to have an eye relief of 3" to 4". I figured it was just something to do with how light is handled through a tube when being refracted. Is that not the case?

meketrefe · Aug 23, 2017

Snappo said:
I always thought all scopes (irrespective of manufacturer) were supposed to have an eye relief of 3" to 4". I figured it was just something to do with how light is handled through a tube when being refracted. Is that not the case?

No, this changes a lot depending on design.

Also the advertised values are many times misleading because eye relief changes from person to person and with magnification.
After one is done adjusting the ocular piece to one's vision this might change slightly. It is like the filters and crisp or colors.
Humans we have different eyes so what must be a good filter for one eye might be horrible for another. we all see colors and
capture light differently. That is why it is bet to try optics first doing some basic tests with different light and against different
backgrounds and also checking the desired features.

This is a common mistake because we like our own scopes and that is the first ones we recommend.

Even good quality scopes will also see variances in eye relief between different magnification settings. No cheap scope is going to
offer the resolution of a decent one. Some might not even stay true after adjustment. That means that might not return to
the original position after adjustments back and forth. This doesn't mean that all budget scopes are bad but there is a lot of
garbage out there.

I would say even the basic nikons and zeiss are decent although they are not going to put the top of the line glass and features
on those ones. Redfield (revolution model) uses the same glass as the leupold V3 and they are also made in the USA.
vortex makes great scopes but do not expect japanese glass in the entry models like the rimfire or crossfire. However for
a chinese scope they are pretty decent and always have a backing from vortex service. Some decent entry level Bushnells,
Burris and Leupolds too. Weaver makes some nice ones. The midway exclusive 3-9 is made with japanese tube and glass that is amazing for $300. no parallax no nothing else but a 2nd focal plane mil dot that one can use as a straight x9 marine sniper but still use as a hunting scope in lower magnification. This has the army dots and not marine oblong but it is a very good quality exclusive with the same tactical turrets and feel the $1K ffp has.

Old tascos used to have limited features but decent jap. glass but now they are into the "super sniper" airsoft lines along
with Barska, BSA, simmons, etc...

I suggested some means for easy adjustment for the 22LR due to the nature of its trajectory and in order to increase
the effectiveness and versatility for the shooter. Something one doesn't need to worry about to shoot lets say a 22 swift
or a 300 winmag withing 300 yards.

I hope makes sense.

Snappo · Aug 23, 2017

Saltwater60 said:
I think I'll go with the Nikon. I'll check them out at cables since gander mountain has none left. I wanted to check them out Saturday, but they were so freaking busy.

I want an easy to use scope mainly for target shooting, but some hunting here and there. Also I'm not a big buy and sell guns kind of guy. I keep them and I agree that if I sold the gun I'd probably keep the optic since it's not worth selling them. I like the idea of being able to change the power on the fly for hunting.

Before plunking down cash - maybe take a ride to Herb Philipsons. They have a ton of Nikons. Gander has no Nikons left? Is it the bankruptcy - they aren't re-stocking?

nortatoga · Aug 24, 2017

@Saltwater60 I just ordered another Nikon Target EFR scope from Optics Planet normal $189.95 today only $163.00 JFYI!!

JaguarJaguarGolf · Aug 24, 2017

This is the most important subject we will ever discuss. Thank you. (Really. No BS) I haven't been happy with a .22 LR, .22Mag, or .17 rimfire scope in years.

nortatoga · Aug 24, 2017

Also Optics Planet is free shipping!

meketrefe · Aug 24, 2017

I think the good thing is that we can discuss models and brands but we can also review some basic points
that might help others better determine what they need and most importantly why.

From this morning when we discussed a "cheap" scope in another thread...

This is all pretty fundamental having tried many formulas and also considering others experiences shared on this and other forums in the past.

I personally think there is a huge appeal for a scope that has some sort of stadia design so one doesn't have to fiddle with turrets and due to the nature
of the round and variety of loads and speeds from the stingers to the subsonic. A simple mil dot will allow someone to quickly adapt to different loads
and ranges by simply memorizing the holdover points in that reticle. Same can be achieved with some sort of BDC visually but it is harder to actually
translate an estimated value since the BDCS are not in a unit of meausure like mil or moa reticles.

Think about it, it is really very simple. Even for airguns is a huge help vs a plex for this type of trajectories.

Just to help you see how this simple approach will actually be very helpful this is a ballistic chart of a 40gr minimag shot from a 10/22.
Estimated 10mph wind and 555ft asl over sea level so more or less for orientation this will show how a meaningful and practical way of adjustment
that with something simple that works will help the shooter put the bullets where they belong.

100yard zero.

This is also why I do a 100 yards zero vs 50 yards zero. Look at the mean values in the trajectory if a shot is needed at 100 or even 125 or 150 yards.
And one can make good contact and pop small game as far as 300 yards with it but anything above 200 yards becomes very erratic.

50 yards zero (More variance so less versatile IMO)

Kent Goldings · Aug 24, 2017

My Ruger 10/22 Green Mountain Sporter has a Nikon 3-9x40 Prostaff Rimfire BDC.

Everytime I shoot it, I can't help smiling.

Snappo · Aug 25, 2017

meketrefe said:

With 20 feet of drop at 300 yards and moving at under 400 feet per second; I think I'd worry more about being hit by a thrown rock. Will it even break your skin with 10 ft/lb of energy?

meketrefe · Aug 25, 2017

Snappo said:
With 20 feet of drop at 300 yards and moving at under 400 feet per second; I think I'd worry more about being hit by a thrown rock. Will it even break your skin with 10 ft/lb of energy?

Oh yes. Still will penetrate deep enouhg
To kill animals and an adult human.
You want the rock.

Acer-m14 · Aug 25, 2017

my problem with a scope is i need reading glasses , with out them i get the radical crisp n clear and target is fuzzy ... to get the target clear the radical is fuzzy .. i got one cheep i think its a tasco i can adjust the eye side for the radical and the objective side for the target both ends of the scope allow focus

meketrefe · Aug 25, 2017

@Snappo ..found someone who tested the minimags...

Snappo · Aug 25, 2017

meketrefe said:
@Snappo ..found someone who tested the minimags...

I'm blown away. Those ordnance gelatin blocks are supposed to be equivalent to organ tissue. There is no way I would have ever considered a 22LR to be lethal beyond 200 yards max. One one of the shots the shock cavity beyond the wound channel expanded to an area that looked like 3 inches or so. Granted the ribs block the heart/lung cavity; but if that round went through a heart that animal should die fairly quickly.

What scope for a .22

.950 JDJ

.950 JDJ

20×102mm Vulcan

.338 Win Mag

.950 JDJ

.338 Win Mag

9mm

.950 JDJ

6.5 Creedmoor

.40 S&W

.308 Win

.950 JDJ

.357 mag

.45 acp

.450/400 Nitro Ex

6.5 Creedmoor

6.5 Creedmoor

.450/400 Nitro Ex

.950 JDJ

6.5 Creedmoor

.338 Win Mag

6.5 Creedmoor

.338 Win Mag

.450/400 Nitro Ex

.357 mag

6.5 Creedmoor

.450/400 Nitro Ex

20×102mm Vulcan

.450/400 Nitro Ex

6.5 Creedmoor