New Scope Recommendation

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Billy Sparks

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I recently purchased a Kimber rimfire to play with as with a lot of varmit rifles it did not have iron sights. Now comes the problem I know very little about scopes. I need some recommendations on a good, not too expensive scope. The caliber I am using is a .17.
 
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Wild Bill Bucks

New member
Since re-coil on a .17 is virtually non-exsistent, about any good scope that is within your price range will work. I would suggest however that you look for a scope with the finest center cross hairs you can find. The .17 makes a VERY small hole and will be difficult to get a pin point shot with, if your crosshairs are to thick.
Simmons makes a good scope for the price, as well as some others, so spend what you can and get the best you can afford. Scopes like anything else, is pretty much a "You get what you pay for deal", so try to stay away from the ultra cheap stuff.(as a rule)
 
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Art Eatman

Staff in Memoriam
Go over to THR and holler at Justin. Whatever Leupold he has on his .17 was working real good on a prairie dog hunt, last Saturday. He was getting hits out to 200 yards or so.

:), Art
 
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esldude

New member
I would suggest whichever of these three that appeals to you the most.

Nikon 6.5-20x Monarch
Weaver Grand Slam 6.5-20x
Bushnell Elite 4200 6-20x or 4-16x

All are cheaper than a Leupold, and better optically.
The Monarch has an AO that adjusts down to 50 yards.
The Grand Slam AO adjusts down to 15 yards.
Elite adjusts down to 10 yards.

The Elite 4200 is a rather longer than usual scope.
Some don't like the Weaver looks (though I see nothing wrong with it). The Nikon is the prettiest I suppose.

You can get the Weaver with a varmint duplex with a smaller center section. The Monarch can be had with a fine plain cross hair. And the Elite 4200 can be had with a target dot or mil-dot.

www.theopticzone.com is a good place to purchase with good service and prices. My only connection is being a satisfied customer.
 
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esldude

New member
Wildalaska,

Put any of three side by side with the Lupie. Then the snickers will be about the guy who got snookered for paying more and getting less.

I have done such, and it simply is so.

"The truth? You can't handle the truth!"

Especially funny comment for someone having your signature tacked on at the bottom.
 
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meanoldman

New member
I have to side with Wild on this. Used them all even buy Burris depending on the rifle cause I'm a cheap bastid but the leopold is a better scope.

David
 
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TrooperSon

New member
I can vouch for the Nikon Monarch

Recently bought a 6.5-20x44 from www.theopticzone.com for $415. If there is a better price for this scope out there, I could not find it. The folks at The Optic Zone were great to deal with.

Mine is mounted on a Remington 700 VLS 22-250. 2nd time out was able to get dime sized 5 shot groups at 100 yards. I'm very happy with the Nikon. I can easily see the 22 cal holes at 100 yards through the scope.

I also looked at Zeiss Conquest 6.5-20x50. Very very nice scope. However the price is about $300 more than the Nikon and I did not feel that it was $300 better, nor would that extra money translate into material performance gains.

What ever you choose, TheOpticZone has most of them for you to browse and read about.

Good luck.
 
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maas

New member
wild alaska took the words out of my mouth 4x leupold. i know a guy that bought a savage 17. at first he had a cheep scope on it now he's buying a leupold.
 
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Wildalaska

Moderator
Put any of three side by side with the Lupie. Then the snickers will be about the guy who got snookered for paying more and getting less.
Click to expand...

Yep, nothing beats the quality of knock off glass and Phillipine/Chinese assembly :)

Pay less, get less
I see we are back to ego needs again: Well I own one so its the best yadda yadda

And before you raise it, please note that we can, if we chose, sell off brands...and profit margins are waay higher than leupold

WildthepurveyoroftruthAlaska
 
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mikejonestkd

New member
lots of good choices and a few great ones

You could do very well with almost any reasonable quality scope.

Your origional question mentioned lower cost so it is very reasonable to assume that you are not interested in mounting a $500+ scope on the rifle.

Nothing against the top of the line leupold, swarvoski, burris, or Zeiss but there are many great scopes for much less money- you won't notice the difference with a rimfire rifle on the range or in the woods on a casual saturday hunting squirels.

If you spend your whole day looking through the scope then you MIGHT notice a difference between a $300 scope and a $600 scope, or if you drop your rifle off a cliff a cheaper one might break on the first bounce, and the more expensive one would break on the second bounce...as long as it has a lifetime warranty you are still covered. ( I wish )

Nikon, Bushnell, Weaver, and simmons make good glass for not alot of money. Don't go for their budget lines, buy the best glass that works for you and your wallet.

Sometimes more is just more, and a waste of money.

A counter person at a gun shop once spent 30 minutes trying to tell me that a Leupold VXIII was the ONLY decent scope to hang on my new $180 .22 rifle. He didn't get the sale.
 
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Scorch

New member
A $900 scope on a $180 rifle? I bet he didn't get the sale! But, the Kimber is a $600 rifle, and a very nice one at that.

Whichever scope you choose, it should be a good quality scope. I own a Remington 541T with a Leupold 4X on it, and some people rag me about putting a $300 scope on a 22. Until they see me shoot the first time.

Cheaper scopes may work fine, but the optical clarity and crispness of focus can only be gotten through high quality optics. It is not the glass that costs money, it is the coating, mounting, alignment and matching of the lenses that cost more and make a superior quality scope.

Having said that, it is possible to go overboard. No need for a $1000 scope on a 100 yard rifle. A Leupold is a nice scope (I would put a 4X or a 2.5X-8X on it). If you have issues buying a $350 scope, buy a Simmons Aetec or Weaver or Redfield (all made by Meade Instruments) for about $200. They are a good scope for the money. Just remember, the less you spend, the less you get. Will you be happy with a $80 scope? Only you know the answer, but you weren't happy with a $100 rifle.
 
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esldude

New member
Wildalaska is just too funny. So ironic one laughs out loud. He must construct the straw man of Philipine/Chinese manufacture to sooth his ego. And it appears his ego at stake here. So sorry, but none of those scopes I mention were made in those places.

So just to make it clear, Leupold makes very good, but currently overpriced scopes. Maybe they aren't overpriced for the excellent, deserved reputation on their warranty if that is one of the most important things. But all the other choices I offered have lifetime warranties. And all are optically better than any comparably priced Leupold, and some on up to higher prices. So sorry wildalaska. I would explain how good the warranty has been on the several scopes I own. But I haven't used the warranty on any of them.

I sometimes wonder if Leupold owners imagine they need to send them in for comfort knowing their glass has been checked out at the factory. Or if they just give more trouble. They surely seem to go back much more often than any other brand.

I don't much bother with Leupold die hards. If they cannot see the evidence in front of their eyes that more and more are seeing, then fine, it is a free country. But I think they doth protest too much.
 
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tINY

New member


I have looked through a lot of good scopes. The Leopold are nice, but their coating process gives a yellow cast to the image that I don't like. I guess it works up north with all that snow (kinda like Blue Blockers on your scope).

Put that with the 20-30% extra you pay for the name over a comparible scope and I don't like buying them.

Back to the original post - make sure that the parralax adjusts down to at least 50 yards - maybe less. Unless you never shoot your rimfire at short ranges.



-tINY

 
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BusGunner007

New member
The Optic Zone is good and treated me nicely with a good price.
NIKON is good and they've served me well.
Weaver makes a V-24 that would be good and focuses up close.
Leupold is good for many reasons, and a 4X would be nice and light, too.
Those three brands are where I'd concentrate.

REAL tough decisons to make.
Go to a show or shop and look through whatever they have.
Don't go cheap whatever you do!
 
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maas

New member
i got a screamer deal on my .338 bar because the guy who owned it before me said it couldnt hit the side of a barn. turns out he had bought a bsa scope and the crosshairs would go out of ajustment due to recoil. i guess my point is you get what you pay for.
 
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hksigwalther

New member
Put any of three side by side with the Lupie. Then the snickers will be about the guy who got snookered for paying more and getting less.

I have done such, and it simply is so.
Click to expand...

Which grade Leupolds were you looking through?


I'm not as one sided as WA or esl, but I do have to say, the Leupolds, at least the VariX-III/VX-IIIs are well worth the price. Having started with Leupolds (VariX-IIs) from the start, I was a little biased towards that brand for a short while. In the past 7-8 years, however, I decided to try out others to see what they have to offer. There are some makes and models out there that do do an adequate job for a lesser price but for quality, I do have to say the Leupolds still beat them. (For scopes costing less.)

My conclusions at this time are the Chinese products are still (over 6 years of trying them off and on) exceptionally poor. They've improved optics somewhat but mechanically still crappy. I've got a couple made in the Philippines that are better and have not had any problem with them (Nikon, Simmons). Optically (resolution) not as good as my regular Leupold IIIs but seem mechanically sound. My current favorite equal, IMO, to the Leupolds in form and function is Sightron's SIII 6-24X50. One sits atop a CZ452 Varmint in .17 HMR and another will (by this weekend) sit atop a Cooper LVT in .17 HMR.

A $900 scope on a $180 rifle? I bet he didn't get the sale!
Click to expand...

For me, I don't let dollar signs determine the pairing of my equipment. The criteria I use is performance. If I have a rifle (say a CZ 452 Varmint in .22 lr) that will shoot exceptional groups (regularly less than 0.50" @ 50 yds), I will put a good scope (Leupold Mark IV 6.5-20X50) on it.
 
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