Thread: What determans the proper pairing of scope to rifle?

What determans the proper pairing of scope to rifle?
How do I choose 'the best choice' for my bolt action 22LR Target rifle?
56 year old eyes.
I plan to shoot at the range and maybe competition.

Find what you like. Look and find what works for you. I like Leupold(local) and great warranty and also Nikon, which has excellent glass!

I like a nice,cheap scope on my 22s.But I don't do much hunting with them.
If I do they are in the truck keeping warm and dry until the grouse/rabbit is seen.
But you really have to look through the cheap ones.The parallax? can be terrible.Some the outside edge is way out of focus,making the 10-20 ft field of view,really only half as much.
But that's my 22s

If you have a very nice hunting rifle,then you should spend as much or more on the scope.On the wet side you need a good waterproof scope,obviously One that is rugged enough to take some hits and the abuse from the caliber you are shooting.

Then you go to the distance you will be shooting.Long range needs more power for our old eyes.Close in just needs to be clear.

I like the clearness and the brightness of the Nikons
Not to mention they are cheaper than Leupolds

You should choose optics based on the intended usage.
That said,i prefer USO,Nightforce and Premier where you will get clear glass,quality CS at a reasonable price backed by a warranty.
I prefer scopes that allow me to see my hits out to 400-500 yds,and you will not get that with the lower end stuff being peddled.
I myself use bi focals,it makes quality optics that much more important and with my love of LR shooting i find it necessary.
R$K

The buyer

I answered your question on the other board, but I will post the same answer here.



Well you need to put some things in order to determine that.

Cost
Quality
Tube diameter
Objective diameter
Reticle
Features

Based on what kind of shooting you will be doing. Once you have these in order then you can make choices.

Example on one of my new $400 rifles I am looking for a scope right now. While I would love to have a http://www.usoptics.com/product.php?partnumber=SN4-150 I am not willing to spend $1300 on one. I have decided I am willing to spend up to $300. I want some kind of ranging reticle so that limits my choices even more. I have come up with about 5 that will work. Now I am trying to decide which one of those I want weighing cost vs quality.

Yet on one of my AR's and one of my M1A's I have each wear one of, 4-14x50 30mm SF Tactical Scope Standard MP-8 Dot Reticule and I would have no problem throwing down for one again if I need that kind of scope. I have an Armalite AR-30 in .300 Win Mag that will be wearing, 6-24x50 35mm SF Tactical Scope Illuminated MP-8 Dot Reticule sometime this year.

For $30 I put a Bushnell 22 rimfire scope on my 10/22. It works just like it should for 25-75 yards. On my larger calibers I typically go with Burris FFII scopes. I think they are pretty good value for the money.

Thing is, with 22LR I'm not really shooting and great distances where I need to consider ballistics. So, fancy reticles and expensive glass is kind of wasted on that caliber. I would think $200 would be a lot of scope for a 22LR round.

That's just me though. I've seen pretty expensive scopes on AR-15 22's.

I can't speak to competition shooting though. My 22's are for squirrel hunting.

As a general rule of thumb I feel serious use scopes should cost, at minimum, the same as the rifle and more typically 2 even 3 times as much as the rifle. There is no substitute for fine glass.

Introduction to High-End Long-Range Rifle Scopes

While you may not be looking for a long range rifle scope, many of the concepts still apply, especially if you intend to compete.

A popular scope .22lr that won't break the bank is the Mueller APV. They usually run $115-$130 and have good clarity and (the much needed on a .22) paralax adjustment down to 15yds .
You could spend over $1k on a US optics, Nightforce, or even $500+ on Leupold but for a .22lr you won't be shooting at the distance that those really shine (if you were building a 500+yd gun those would be great choices though).

spelling

Originally Posted by RockKrawler

You should choose optics based on the intended usage.
That said,i prefer USO,Nightforce and Premier where you will get clear glass,quality CS at a reasonable price backed by a warranty.
I prefer scopes that allow me to see my hits out to 400-500 yds,and you will not get that with the lower end stuff being peddled.
I myself use bi focals,it makes quality optics that much more important and with my love of LR shooting i find it necessary.
R$K

I have on order a Savage MKII BRJ 22LR target rifle.
I plan to use it as a bench and range rifle.
Maybe even try some competiton.
I have 56 year old eyes. I think the maximum range for this type of shooting and rifle
is around 200 yards. (don't quote me on this).

Originally Posted by DoubleTapDrew

A popular scope .22lr that won't break the bank is the Mueller APV. They usually run $115-$130 and have good clarity and (the much needed on a .22) paralax adjustment down to 15yds .
You could spend over $1k on a US optics, Nightforce, or even $500+ on Leupold but for a .22lr you won't be shooting at the distance that those really shine (if you were building a 500+yd gun those would be great choices though).

This is going on a bolt action 22LR to be used as a bench/range rifle.
Savage MKII BRJ
I'm 56. Maybe some local competition
It was suggested to me to check out this more powerfull scope as well.
LINK>>Mueller 8.5-25x50 Eraticator Riflescope

I am a bushnell fan. Their scopes have a great value and pretty decent glass. Not the best, but good enough if not better than most for 100-200yds. I also am warming up pretty fast to Vortex. They also seem to have a great value for the money.
One of the biggest thing to consider is the magnification given your eye sight. I have pretty good eyesight, so I can do pretty well with lower mag scopes. For 100-200yds, I would go with at least a 4-12x if you are just bench shooting for groups. More mag can be better, but on the cheap glass, once you start getting into the higher magnifications you get more distortion and some times you start to lose light transmission. That said, a bushnell 3200 series scope with adjustable parallax would be great. I had a trophy 5-15x and it was a fantabulous scope for the money. I think they could be had new for under a hundred bucks and it had a parallax adj on the objective. It held up great on my 30-06 hunting rifle. If you have some sort of large sporting goods store in the area, go in and check out some of the scopes side by side. This way you can see if they distort or have issues with light at the higher magnification. Really, there is no sense in spending more than $300 on a scope for a 22 IMO. If you had a gun and wanted to shoot 400yds or more, then I would put down some cash on some good glass.

The Muller AVP's have a hugh following on the RFC boards.

For what you are doing it sounds like a 4-14x or even the 8-25x model you are looking at might be good.

On my "target" .22, Ruger 77/22 with silencer I have a BSA Sweet 2-7x32 and it is great on that gun. I bought it as an inexpensive "for now" scope but it has been on there for over 5 years and has survived my abuse (not just use). It spends lots of time outdoors and riding on my ATV under some harsh conditions.

I shoot varmints out to about 150 yards with it. I shoot out to 300 yards (the length of my back yard range) on water bottles and my 6"x8" gong.



The AR is wearing one of the IOR 4-14x that I linked above.

This is going on a bolt action 22LR to be used as a bench/range rifle.
Savage MKII BRJ
I'm 56. Maybe some local competition
It was suggested to me to check out this more powerfull scope as well.
LINK>>Mueller 8.5-25x50 Eraticator Riflescope

I'd just go with the APV if you choose a mueller. I have standard height rings on my 10/22 and the APV with it's 40mm objective barely clears the barrel (as in, it actually drops down into the fluting at 12 o'clock). That other scope has a 50mm objective, so you'll have to go with taller rings and will have more offset at the short ranges .22lr are shot at. Plus 8.5x is pretty high power for rimfire, let alone 25x.

Originally Posted by DoubleTapDrew

I'd just go with the APV if you choose a mueller. I have standard height rings on my 10/22 and the APV with it's 40mm objective barely clears the barrel (as in, it actually drops down into the fluting at 12 o'clock). That other scope has a 50mm objective, so you'll have to go with taller rings and will have more offset at the short ranges .22lr are shot at. Plus 8.5x is pretty high power for rimfire, let alone 25x.

Does it not depend on your own Vision, as to what power you can use?
At 100 yards my eyesite starts coming up 'short'.

A lot of times light transmission can be the culprit with old eyes. A 50mm objective and/or a 30mm tube may help too.

Magnification is only part of the picture,... Pun intended!

Originally Posted by James1300

Does not not depend on your own Vision, as to what power you can use?
At 100yqrds my eyesite starts coming up 'short'.

If you think that is the problem I suggest you go in and see if you can look though some scopes and see what you think.

QUALITY glass will make more of a difference the magnification. You can get away with poor/inexpensive glass at lower powers. Once you start trying to up the power the flaws become more noticeable making it harder to see.......

If you were in my neck of the woods I would gladly let you see my stuff.

All these factors are good and play a role; Cost, Use, Optics and whatever else is a factor.

Just like finding the correct glasses or Binoculars you need to consider what’s called “Eye Relief”
Otherwise if you spot your trophy and hold on it waiting for the right shot… you can have eye issues, focusing and double vision. Any local optics shop or sporting store should know how to find your eye relief, then go shopping.

Originally Posted by Jamie6.5

A lot of times light transmission can be the culprit with old eyes. A 50mm objective and/or a 30mm tube may help too.

Magnification is only part of the picture,... Pun intended!

So what your say'in is, "Bigger is better'? Lol!
The 50mm objective is great for low light shooting.
30mm VS 1"? I did'nt consider the differance there.