Somebody explain rimfire optics to me

[economist]

I have always wanted a nice accurate 10/22, and am finally getting around to putting one together. I've got a basic Ruger carbine in the safe and plan to replace just about everything other than the receiver with Kidd parts. I am looking around for a decent stock. Then it's optics time.

Having never bought a "rimfire" scope, I headed over to a popular forum for ideas. I am about to conclude that rimfire scopes are mostly just cheap scopes that people buy because they don't want to spend a lot of money on an optic for a .22 (and I understand that). But, some of these 10/22s are not cheap -- we're talking over $1K easy before optics on a lot of these. At the same time, there seems to be an obsession with ridiculously long sun shades in rimfire land. You've got these little .22 rifle with scopes 2/3 the length of the barrel.

I must be missing something, but I am thinking I should just buy a scope that does what I want, and ignore any scope specifically marketed for rimfires. My current thinking is that I should go with this Leupold 6x42 FX-3.

Help me out here. What am I missing?

 

[swampy]

As far as rimfire scopes go you don't typically need anything to shoot out to 600 yards. You don't need anything durable enough to handle large caliber magnum punishment. You don't really want anything too large or heavy. As long as you have clear optics and quality construction you should be good. I had a chance to handle and look through one of the new Redfield scopes. It is only around $130 and made in Oregon. Leopold now owns the Redfield name. It has a lifetime warranty and seems to be a pretty decent item and far above the normal rimfire scope. A 2-7 or 3-9 is pleny of scope for a .22. My opinion is a fixed power scope is okay on a slug gun or black powder. I like a variable for rifles.

 

[economist]

As far as rimfire scopes go you don't typically need anything to shoot out to 600 yards. You don't need anything durable enough to handle large caliber magnum punishment. You don't really want anything too large or heavy. As long as you have clear optics and quality construction you should be good. I had a chance to handle and look through one of the new Redfield scopes. It is only around $130 and made in Oregon. Leopold now owns the Redfield name. It has a lifetime warranty and seems to be a pretty decent item and far above the normal rimfire scope. A 2-7 or 3-9 is pleny of scope for a .22. My opinion is a fixed power scope is okay on a slug gun or black powder. I like a variable for rifles.

That makes sense. A rimfire scope can be less robust to recoil, so folks save some money there. As for fixed vs. variable, my thinking is that I can only see shooting a .22lr rifle over a range of maybe 15-100 yards, and the vast majority of it would be 25-50 yards. At that range, 6x is overkill, but a nice power for punching paper. For a centerfire rifle, I do like variable power for reasons you mention.

 

[wolf223]

Bell & Carlson makes nice stocks for the 10/22. i have a Hogue on mine.

as for optics. you da man! $$$$ i think one of your scopes cost more than any gun i have.

 

[Coyote33]

There are "regular" rifle scopes, then there are modified versions of these specifically for rimfires, with the optics adjusted for the bullet drop. Then there are also the skinny "rimfire" scopes, which are smaller than the regular scopes. Also keep in mind air rifle scopes. Those have to deal with REVERSE recoil, which does weird things to the glass, popping it in a different direction than normal recoil.

Myself, I'd prefer a fixed 3x, but I don't recall ever seeing such a thing. I think I will be getting either a BSA or Simmons fixed 4x. I have no problem with the stock 10/22 stock.

 

[economist]

Bell & Carlson makes nice stocks for the 10/22. i have a Hogue on mine.

as for optics. you da man! $$$$ i think one of your scopes cost more than any gun i have.

. My camera habit has given me an odd view on optics. A great SLR lens can run more than any rifle I've got.

 

[whatluck]

. My camera habit has given me an odd view on optics. A great SLR lens can run more than any rifle I've got.

Yup. And a lot of people have more money into their optic than the gun it's mounted to.

 

[wacky_doug]

I'm definitely a fan of high-quality optics, coming from my SLR photo habits. But for a 22, it's hard to justify. This is the Nikon scope I bought for my 22.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/picture-7-nikon-riflescope-prostaff-3-9x40.html

Cheaper and lower quality than the Leupold you listed, but still not bad for the price.

 

[economist]

Thanks guys. I'm not looking to throw money away here, and I get why folks economize on rimfire optics. What threw me off was seeing what seemed to be budget scopes on $1,000 rifles. I thought there might be some technical reason to favor these scopes on a rimfire.

I still don't get the sunshade fetish.

 

[yanici]

Since you'll be shooting anywhere from 25 yards to 100 yards or so, it is important to have a scope with an adjustable objective lens. That keeps the parallax problem out of the picture. A lot of scopes have a fixed 100 yard parallax, some have 50.

 

[economist]

Since you'll be shooting anywhere from 25 yards to 100 yards or so, it is important to have a scope with an adjustable objective lens. That keeps the parallax problem out of the picture. A lot of scopes have a fixed 100 yard parallax, some have 50.

Good point. That's one of the reasons I picked the scope linked above.

 

[mac1911]

you see cheaper scopes on the tricked out 10/22s cause we ran out of money!

To my surprise alot of the less expensive brands do well for 22 plinking to around 50 yards.
I have a few gamos from my air rifles that really work well, have held up to light abuse and hold 0.

 

[yanici]

My Savage .22 bolt wears a Hawke VarmintII 6-24X44 with an adjustable AO. They come in side focus now but same thing. Rock solid and the clicks are repeatable. The price has gone uo a bit since I bought but not too bad. Their CS is oustanding too.

With the 6-24 power setting I can see my target holes at 100 yards and don't need a spotting scope.
http://www.hawkeoptics.com/us/riflescopes/varmint_sf/index.php

 

[bpm990d]

Leupold makes an EFR (Extended Focus Range) AO scope that allows the parallax to be set at something like 30 feet. They are popular for conventional smallbore because you can shoot them indoors at 50 feet during the winter.

B

 

[atmay]

Bell & Carlson makes nice stocks for the 10/22.

I used to have a B&C Anschutz stock on my 10/22. It was a very nice stock.


For a scope, the Mueller APV is a very popular choice for the 10/22. Coincidentally, I have one for sale, with rings, which had been sitting on my 10/22 for a year or so.

 

[pyro451]

Since you'll be shooting anywhere from 25 yards to 100 yards or so, it is important to have a scope with an adjustable objective lens. That keeps the parallax problem out of the picture. A lot of scopes have a fixed 100 yard parallax, some have 50.

+1 for AO glass on a rimfire. You can adjust down to 10 or 15 yards for use on the indoor range and out to infinity for outdoor use. Leupold has a few that would fit the bill nicely in the sub $600 range (street prices). I am in the market for one to replace the last remaining optic that cost less than the "base rifle" in my collection.

 

[economist]

OK guys, can I get more specific recommendations on AO scopes? I did some reading about EFR scopes from Leupold and have looked at some options. I think my original choice (link in the first post, a 6x42 AO scope) might be the way to go, particularly given the good insights here on the benefit of AO over the range of distance one might be using for a rimfire.

So, if you have a favorite option in this area, I would like to see it. To catch up, my thinking on 6x42 was that 6x is way more than I need for practical use on a .22, and while it may not allow me to get the kind of tight target image you can have with something like 20x, it wouldn't hold me back all that much either. I'm not planning on competition here, and I do want to keep this gun practical (you know, for when the SHTF and I need to eat squirrels or something).

And, thanks for the Bell and Carlson stock ideas. I am thinking their target / varmint model is perfect for that I am trying to do.

 

[yanici]

Thing is, you can always crank the scope down to 6X anytime you want to even with one that will crank up to 20X. It's no big deal.

 

[economist]

Thing is, you can always crank the scope down to 6X anytime you want to even with one that will crank up to 20X. It's no big deal.

True. I'll look around to see what the trade-off is in cost and weight.

 

[economist]

Anybody see a problem with this Leupold? It's 3-9x33, very light at 11 ounces, and has the extended focus range (so focuses from 10 meters to infinity.

 

[PaulD]

I have a Bushnell Banner on my 10/22 that came with the gun. Don't get one. It sucks.

 

[Broc]

most gun shops sell the "sweet 22" scopes. they are around $100 or less. and they work fine. I use one in my 10/22 and it works perfect. its stays zeroed in, even after 1000 shots. They are light, not too big and cheap.

for my other rifles i use Nikon scopes.

edit: if you want to check it out, bring a brick of .22LR and i will let you try the scope.

 

[ShadeWPI]

You pretty much have it right.

Rim fire scopes for .22LR and .17HMR rounds are small, light, inexpensive versions of their center-fire counter parts. They don't need to absorb the heavy recoil of a heavy magnium hunting load, they don't need to provide 16x magnification and clear images out to 1000 yards.

They typically have closer focal distances, shorter eye relief, lower powers and lower costs. Most I've seen are 1-4X and some have bullet drop compensation for their chosen round. If you aren't looking for the drop compensation, a standard 1-4x center fire scope will work fine, but will likely be heavier and more expensive. Also, watch minimum focal distance on center fire scopes, some don't like to focus under 50 yards

 

[PatMcD]

A "walking-around-shooting-at-random-crap" scope should probably be a smallish fixed or low-powered variable. My own has a Weaver 2-10X. The fixed 6X you mention is a good one too.
A target scope should be a High-X fixed or variable in the 6-24 or higher range.

Bench gunners use those sun shades to keep mirage from their barrels out of their sight. I think a lot of idiots use them now because they think they look cool.
You really need adjustable objective when you get into the higher powers.

 

[Broc]

make sure that your 10/22 has iron sights. I find it a lot more fun to use iron sights than a scope. but thats just me.

 

[GunGrey]

A "walking-around-shooting-at-random-crap" scope should probably be a smallish fixed or low-powered variable. My own has a Weaver 2-10X. The fixed 6X you mention is a good one too.
A target scope should be a High-X fixed or variable in the 6-24 or higher range.

Bench gunners use those sun shades to keep mirage from their barrels out of their sight. I think a lot of idiots use them now because they think they look cool.
You really need adjustable objective when you get into the higher powers.

i gotta admit they do kinda look cool on a rimfire, helps make them look like their bigger brothers sometimes

 

[wacky_doug]

Here's a great read on choosing a rifle scope. Economist, you probably know this stuff already, but perhaps others here might find it useful.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/how-to-choose-riflescope.html

 

[economist]

Here's a great read on choosing a rifle scope. Economist, you probably know this stuff already, but perhaps others here might find it useful.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/how-to-choose-riflescope.html

That's a good link. One thing I was reminded of in this thread was the importance of parallax at close range / high magnification. Scope manufacturers are not great about being clear on this. For example, Leupold's website is pretty decent about providing technical specs and dimensions for their scopes, but in only a few cases do they say anything about parallax. Even for their longer range scopes with parallax adjustment they generally don't state the minimum effective setting. I have a 6.5-20x50 LR/T with side parallax adjustment that is coming off an AR that I plan to sell. I had planned on selling the scope too, but maybe I'll go nuts and just stick it on the .22. I will see how it works at close range and report back.

 

[wacky_doug]

I have a 6.5-20x50 LR/T with side parallax adjustment that is coming off an AR that I plan to sell. I had planned on selling the scope too, but maybe I'll go nuts and just stick it on the .22. I will see how it works at close range and report back.

Ha! We're gonna need to see the pics of this scope on your 10/22.

 

[yanici]

These Leupolds focus to ten yards. http://www.straightshooters.com/navagationpages/allleupoldscopes.html

These Hawkes too (check to be sure): http://www.straightshooters.com/navagationpages/allhawkescopes.html

These Bushnell: http://www.straightshooters.com/navagationpages/allbushnellscopes.html

These should easily stand up to a .22 cal rimfire. The airgun people are big into AO scopes.