Questions about scoping a 22LR

GolfR · Nov 3, 2016

GoGoGadget said:
^^^This.

I run a fixed 16x SWFA scope on my CZ 455 PT and shoot 200yds with subsonic target ammo all day long. Even the same brand of ammo can have a very different POI from box to box..

Do you need a 20 MOA rail or rings to shoot at this distance? I looked at picking one up for my 10/22 but I don't know how far I would need to shoot before it would be necessary.

GoGoGadget · Nov 3, 2016

Actually, I don't. That particular scope has a crazy range reticle adjustment which is one of the reasons that I bought it.... I keep it zero'd at 100 and still have enough adjustment to quickly zero at 200.

GunnerGunz · Nov 4, 2016

FYI Cabelas has the Vortex Crossfire II for $129.00 + $5.00 shipping. May be overkill for a 22 but would work very well for 25 to 100 yards. I have found some of the less expensive 22 scopes have ok clarity but the Crossfire is excellent for that price. I use this scope on my 22-250 and does great out to 200 yards (can't say past that because my range only goes to 200).

Bountied · Nov 4, 2016

GolfR said:
Do you need a 20 MOA rail or rings to shoot at this distance? I looked at picking one up for my 10/22 but I don't know how far I would need to shoot before it would be necessary.

No you don't need a 20MOA rail. If you can get about 5.8MRAD or 19.8MOA in your turret you'll be OK. I run a 4-16X on my CZ 455 and it has plenty of elevation for 200yds.

SpatialD · Nov 4, 2016

Again, much appreciate each and every reply.

I'm going to take a moment to bow to the wisdom of this forums members and admit a little extra zoom couldn't hurt. Was at the brick-n-mortar today to look at scopes and one of the other scope buying customers overheard me asking about that Tasco 1.5-4.5x32 and offered me a deal on a used one he had in his truck. The optics looked really good. The only negative was a somewhat ugly cosmetic scratch. He was asking $25 but let it go for $20 after unmounting it.

Having had chance now to really gauge the utility of this magnification I can say it does leave me a little wanting. If it were mounted on a CF or ML rifle the quarry would most likely be medium to large sized game where max zoom would not be required for vitals acquisition. Taking into account I want this mainly for pest and squirrel/rabbit the sweet spot will be considerably smaller and at distance 4.5x definitely does not allow for the granularity desired. 4.5x out to 50yds looks doable but beyond that I think accuracy would be severely compromised.

Since all my shooting will most likely be done using bulk ammo (Win & Fed) in either 36HP or 40RN expectation would be 6"-8" drop @ 100yds and 10"-15" drop @ 120yds. Considering this I really can't see me being comfortable contemplating clean kill shots beyond 75yds. Even so, it still seems a 2-7 or 3-9 would allow for a bit more precision with static prey in the 45-75yrd range.

Considering what appears to be clear and crisp optics along with solid build of the used Tasco I just bought I'm happy to have it mounted on a camp rifle or simply as a backup scope. Now, based on the plethora of great suggestions and insight offered, I need to do some comparison research and choose a decent quality rimfire scope that will call the FV-SR home.

Sticky · Nov 4, 2016

I have 3 .22 rifles that all wear 3-9 scopes, a cheap Tasco, which is actually a nice scope, a Nikon and a Leupold. My FVSR is wearing the Leupold, my other MkII wears the Tasco and my MP 15-22 wears the Nikon. I really like the 3-9 option for a 22 that will shoot at decent distances.

I do have an old 22 that wears a straight 4x, but I rarely shoot it anymore, not because of the scope, but I like the other rifles better..

Uncle Duke · Nov 4, 2016

Op, you've got a nice rifle that's capable of very good accuracy. Long story made shorter, do yourself a favor. Put the best scope on it that you can afford.

I've come full circle in my thinking with rimfires over the years. Took me a long time to do that too. Used to be "its just a .22". But I'll tell you what I've found over the years.

I'll hunt deer with a centerfire for a few days, or a couple of weeks, or if I'm really lucky maybe a few weeks. And I'll hunt squirrel with a rimfire for 5 months. Wanna plink some cans at ANY time of the year? Maybe shoot some empty shotgun hulls at 50 yards? Maybe even try your luck at 100? Wanna gun you can shoot all day, for what amounts at the end of the day to beer money?

Time came to show me that I was likely to grab my "just a .22" far more often than I've grabbed any other rifle I've ever owned. You're likely to put many times the number of rounds through your "just a .22" rifle, as you'll put through any future centerfire.

The other piece is this. The most precise rifle ever made can't consistently hit what you as the guy on the trigger can't clearly and consistently see. For whatever your purpose, buy as much optical clarity as you can. Good luck!

GoGoGadget · Nov 4, 2016

^^^wisdom.

Pinecone · Nov 5, 2016

GoGoGadget said:
Even the same brand of ammo can have a very different POI from box to box..

This is why serious small bore shooters test ammo, and when they find the lot their rifle likes, they buy large quantities of that lot number.

SpatialD · Nov 6, 2016

Thanks to all for the additional great advice!

I'm the one always trying to go old-school in the face of proper advances but, with that said, I do slowly come around. I'm now part of the choir -- Will be on the lookout for a solid 3-9. The Tasco will be mounted in the interim while I'll keep an eye out for possible deals this holiday season. Hopefully some deep discounts or manufacturer rebates will surface for quality optics.

Thought this was pretty impressive long range 22lr rabbit shooting >>> https://youtu.be/1FGpC0HzXAQ

SpatialD · Nov 7, 2016

Looking to solicit an opinion or two on the Weaver Grand Slam 3-12x42mm for $200.

Yes, it's a bit more magnification on the top end than I was expecting to require but it does come with the lower end magnification I targeted while being housed in an identically sized package as the average 3-9? The more I think about it the more 12x could be useful for pre-hunt sight-in negating need for a spotting scope or excessive paper-walks and, in all honesty, occasional informal target shooting.

I'm also under the impression that quality scopes are expected to last a generation (at least the shooting years I have remaining) so a decent flexible use optic might find home on a few different rifles over the years. Would the Weaver Grand Slam 3-12x42mm qualify as a lifetime scope?

Only thing I see not quite to my preference is the reticle. Still think I'd prefer the EB-X over the Dual-X since it would offer some ability to gauge hold-over. Unfortunately the EB-X is double the current Dual-X sale price.

dreadpirate · Nov 7, 2016

For a 22LR, I would recommend a scope with an adjustable objective (AO) unless you are getting a 4X or a 2-7X scope, in which case that won't matter. AO allows you to correct for parallax error and will let you shoot as close as 25 yards. I have a Vortex Crossfire II 4 - 12x40mm AO Riflescope on a Marlin 60

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00794LINS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1pe

dreadpirate · Nov 7, 2016

SpatialD said:
Looking to solicit an opinion or two on the Weaver Grand Slam 3-12x42mm for $200.

Yes, it's a bit more magnification on the top end than I was expecting to require but it does come with the lower end magnification I targeted while being housed in an identically sized package as the average 3-9? The more I think about it the more 12x could be useful for pre-hunt sight-in negating need for a spotting scope or excessive paper-walks and, in all honesty, occasional informal target shooting.

I'm also under the impression that quality scopes are expected to last a generation (at least the shooting years I have remaining) so a decent flexible use optic might find home on a few different rifles over the years. Would the Weaver Grand Slam 3-12x42mm qualify as a lifetime scope?

Only thing I see not quite to my preference is the reticle. Still think I'd prefer the EB-X over the Dual-X since it would offer some ability to gauge hold-over. Unfortunately the EB-X is double the current Dual-X sale price.

If you are getting a 12X scope - than I really recommend you get one with an AO. That Weaver scope will probably have it's parallax set to 100 yards, meaning you can't really shoot inside of 100 yards w/o some parallax error.

Bountied · Nov 8, 2016

dreadpirate said:
If you are getting a 12X scope - than I really recommend you get one with an AO. That Weaver scope will probably have it's parallax set to 100 yards, meaning you can't really shoot inside of 100 yards w/o some parallax error.

Here we go again... if you want a hunting rifle get a 2-7, 3-9, 4X without AO. if you want a target rifle get a 4-16X with AO. It really depends on what you are doing with the rifle. It's just like guns, you can't have one gun do everything, just like you can't really get an all in one scope for every situation. My squirrel rig has a 4X with 50yd parallax and a duplex reticle with capped turrets.. My target .22 is a 4-16X side focus with exposed turrets and a mil-dot reticle.

This really comes down to personal preference, budget, and application.

You could get QD rings on multiple scopes so you have a scope for all applications?

Larry David · Dec 6, 2016

I mounted a Cabelas 2-7x32 scope on my Henry 22LR. Good glass, good reticle. Looks great on my rifle.

photoracer · Dec 8, 2016

Best bang for the buck would be a BSA Sweet 22 scope in 2-7x32. They also make it in 3-9x40 and 6-18x40. They come with bullet drop compensation turrets covering 36-38-40g loads. Not designed for match velocity but HV like Mini-mags and such. Only the 6-18x cost over $100, the others can be had for less than $60 depending on the age as they superseded some of the older 3 turrets models to one that had all the scales on a single turrets. While I have a 6-18x40 I find that the 3-9x40 I have is generally fine for everything. Otherwise for more money the BSA 4-14x44 Mil-Mil MRAD FFR scope is considered by many to be the best scope you can get for a rimfire, especially an AR-22 (Only available from Midway and its $250 on sale every year for about a third of the year). There are plenty of other decent rimfire scopes from others also. I am just mentioning the ones I have used and others have recommended.

Pinecone · Dec 9, 2016

The BSA 4-14X Tactical from Midway is a great scope. Even more so at the sale price. It seems that the exact same scope is also sold as a Primary Arms and a Mueller brand. At least the specs on all 3 are exactly the same.

SpatialD · Dec 13, 2016

Really appreciate all the replies with great suggestions. Got a bit sidetracked the past few weeks.

In the meanwhile I decided to go the test route -- Purchased a very inexpensive ($24 on sale) Simmons 3-9x32 22MAG simply to get a feel for the magnification. I'm finding 3-9 to be a very usable range. For up-close critter chasing it looks like it'll likely sit at or around minimum zoom but do find higher magnifications to be enjoyable for static shooting. While this scope is definitely satisfactory, and would probably hold up to the minimal rigors of a 22LR, the Savage will some day have a higher quality scope mounted while this Simmons will be relegated to the old Daisy 880.

They recently had some great sales on Vortex, Burris and store branded in this range that I probably should have jumped on but the Simmons will definitely bide me time to bite, as long as it doesn't fault.

GMG66 · Apr 20, 2018

Hey guys, just joined md shooters and it looks like I've come to the right forum for my question. I just got back into target shooting and have always been an iron sight kinda guy but getting older isn't helping my accuracy. Just purchased a Marlin model 60 and would appreciate a little input on a good inexpensive scope. Any good information would be appreciated.

Mark75H · Apr 20, 2018

The BSA Sweet 22 is a good place to start. Its a couple steps above the quality its price suggests. I think you have to go about double the price of a BSA Sweet 22 to get something significantly better.

Questions about scoping a 22LR

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