Rifle Scopes .22LR scope?

B

BenY 2013

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 23, 2012
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SW Arkansas
#1
So I am considering a new .22 scope. Here are my needs.

Below 50mm objective.
Mil/Mil with some type of hold over reticle.
Lots of elevation adjustment(enough to get the .22 to 400yds).
Exposed turrets.
Adjustable objective or side focus(focusing down to AT LEAST 50yds).


I have a SWFA 12x and I personally do not like the turrets. I've looked at some of the Vortex options, the new HS-T is pretty nice. I have even looked at the USO ST-10, pricey but meets my needs. I may end up going that route, I'd prefer more than 10x if possible. So what are my other options? I appreciate it!

Ben
 
#2
Where will you sight it?

Sighted at 100yds with a 2" scope height you will need 48moa to see 300yds alone if I did my math correctly. So a 20moa base is a given and you might need to take some more metal off the base even then to get to 300. Even high velocity ammo will most likely drop below 700fps at 400 and with the subsonic wall at around 125yds your accuracy will suffer. Also, with a 30moa base, I think 50yds is out, no? I'll be watching to see if this is feasible.
 
#5
Cncjerry said:
Where will you sight it?

Sighted at 100yds with a 2" scope height you will need 48moa to see 300yds alone if I did my math correctly. So a 20moa base is a given and you might need to take some more metal off the base even then to get to 300. Even high velocity ammo will most likely drop below 700fps at 400 and with the subsonic wall at around 125yds your accuracy will suffer. Also, with a 30moa base, I think 50yds is out, no? I'll be watching to see if this is feasible.
Click to expand...

That's why you shoot standard velocity which is subsonic. Check out the rimfire section, there've been several of these threads. You're going to want a 30/40 MOA base, and personally I would take a Bushnell HD or Sightron. Both should have something to fit your bill.
 
#6
BSA tactical 4-14 mil/mil FFP. SWFA 3-15 mil/mil FFP.

The BSA is a much better value and well worth the money. I have 3 of them, they work much better than I had hoped before purchasing.

SWFA 3-15 I'm not as impressed with for the money only because of the eyebox and reticle. "March 3-24" here I come.
 
#7
The way I see it I shoot my .22 more than any other rifle I own, so I want the best glass that I can afford, and trust me I wouldn't be able to get a USO at the moment unless the stars aligned perfectly!

I have looked at some of the Bushnell scopes but can't seem to find how much elevation they have!

Really BSA better than SWFA? I think that's a first..

Ben
 
#8
Had a Luppy 3-9X40 MK 2 on my CZ and it worked ok, ran across a 3.5-15X50 NF NPR1 and mounted it, what an improvement! Kill rate on Blackbirds went way up, even out to 155yd, several in a row at this range. Haven't shot much past 200 with it since mounting the NF, but when shooting 350 yd. with the Luppy I was using the reticle to get enough elevation even with a 20 moa base. The highspeed turrets help when dialing for distance with a 22LR.
 
#9
Thanks for the info, however Nightforce would for sure be out of my price range! I'd also like to stay under 50mm objective.

I looked at the Bushnell LRS 3-12x44 with the G2 reticle. I like it alot! I like the wind holds on the reticle, only concern is how well it will focus at lower ranges.

Ben
 
#11
I put a Leupold VX-R 4-12x40mm with the Ballistic Firedot reticle on my Ruger 10/22 VLEH target rifle last weekend, but I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet. I think it will work out well for critters and paper out to 100 yards, minimum.
 
#14
BenY 2013 said:
The way I see it I shoot my .22 more than any other rifle I own, so I want the best glass that I can afford, and trust me I wouldn't be able to get a USO at the moment unless the stars aligned perfectly!

I have looked at some of the Bushnell scopes but can't seem to find how much elevation they have!

Really BSA better than SWFA? I think that's a first.

Ben
Click to expand...

The glass is better on the SWFA but I like the reticle on the BSA more. The BSA has a better eyebox. 6 mils of travel per turn on the BSA but the SWFA has more travel. Both have good warranties. 6M/SWFA vs 10Y/BSA on the parallax. $700 vs $250 and they compare much closer than one would think.

I would shoot my BSA in a 22 tactical match no problem.

The last 22 match I was at they put match sticks at 25Y. The scope I had mounted on my MPR at the time had 50Y parallax and even with the parallax and mag all the way down those match sticks were hard to make out well. After that I got pissed off and sold a bunch of scopes with 50Y parallax and swore I wouldn't buy another scope that didn't focus to at least 10Y.

A March 3-24 will probably be my next scope purchase.
 
#15
I typed-up a note last night and I guess it didn't come thru and apologize if it does later with different examples but the gist is the same.

I don't understand (and please read this as my ignorance, not that I am saying it can't be done) how you can dial-in both 50 and 400yds with a .22. I am interested as I have a .22lr with a lother walther barrel and it holds pretty decent groups out to 100yds and it would be somewhat funny to outshoot some of the guys up to 400yds. All in good fun.

According to my math, if we went subsonic as stated by RideHPD, above, to avoid the transonic accuracy issues, you would need about 90moa of range in a scope to hit both 50 and 400yds. For the ballistics I used a muzzle of 950fps, a BC of .125 and 40gr bullet which worked out to a total drop of 432" translated into 81 moa up at 400yds and 8.8moa down at 50yds sighted at 100yds with a 2" scope offset. Adding these together approximates 90moa total range. You can move this around by using various base drops (I use a 20 moa drop on my 300 win mag) but you still need the range, no? For instance, a 40moa base would need the scope to be set to +40 and even with a 60 moa scope, you would only have -20 moa, subtracted from the 40 moa base would mean you are still Up 20. Up 20 moa with the sighting assumption of 100yds, means you are now at about 155yds. I guess you can use the dots on the scope as well, unless the scope range takes that into account?

Can someone clear this up? Can you have a 350yd zero to zero range with a standard .22? Are there scopes out there with 90 moa range? More than once I purchased a rifle/scope and ran out of elevation one way or the other.
 
#16
Cncjerry said:
I typed-up a note last night and I guess it didn't come thru and apologize if it does later with different examples but the gist is the same.

I don't understand (and please read this as my ignorance, not that I am saying it can't be done) how you can dial-in both 50 and 400yds with a .22. I am interested as I have a .22lr with a lother walther barrel and it holds pretty decent groups out to 100yds and it would be somewhat funny to outshoot some of the guys up to 400yds. All in good fun.

According to my math, if we went subsonic as stated by RideHPD, above, to avoid the transonic accuracy issues, you would need about 90moa of range in a scope to hit both 50 and 400yds. For the ballistics I used a muzzle of 950fps, a BC of .125 and 40gr bullet which worked out to a total drop of 432" translated into 81 moa up at 400yds and 8.8moa down at 50yds sighted at 100yds with a 2" scope offset. Adding these together approximates 90moa total range. You can move this around by using various base drops (I use a 20 moa drop on my 300 win mag) but you still need the range, no? For instance, a 40moa base would need the scope to be set to +40 and even with a 60 moa scope, you would only have -20 moa, subtracted from the 40 moa base would mean you are still Up 20. Up 20 moa with the sighting assumption of 100yds, means you are now at about 155yds. I guess you can use the dots on the scope as well, unless the scope range takes that into account?

Can someone clear this up? Can you have a 350yd zero to zero range with a standard .22? Are there scopes out there with 90 moa range? More than once I purchased a rifle/scope and ran out of elevation one way or the other.
Click to expand...

Most 22 shooters interested in shooting out to 400Y are using accurate standard velocity ammo that goes approx 1050fps. A canted rail is a good idea. If you happen to have a scope with a lot of travel like the SWFA's mentioned there is enough elevation for a 400Y shot. Of course if you live at high altitude like I do that helps as well. You can always holdover for the rest of the solution with the reticle if need be.

My zero is at 50Y and currently don't have a angled base on my Fortner. I was hitting a steel at 414Y last week with a little holdover, 1.5 mils IIRC, that's with the travel topped out. I was using a SWFA 3-15. The firing solution calls for 21.9 mils "about 75.5 moa" at a DA of 8500. The biggest problem with shooting at those distances is the poor vertical even with medium quality match ammo, so I really don't enjoy shooting that far with a 22. The only reason I shot at 414Y that day was I was out of ammo for the centerfire and tried it for the heck of it.
 
#18
At 1050fps, it still would need 68.4 high and 6.4 down sighted at 100yds as in the prior example. So total range would be 74.8. Is there a scope with 75moa range?
 
#19
steve123 said:
Most 22 shooters interested in shooting out to 400Y are using accurate standard velocity ammo that goes approx 1050fps. A canted rail is a good idea. If you happen to have a scope with a lot of travel like the SWFA's mentioned there is enough elevation for a 400Y shot. Of course if you live at high altitude like I do that helps as well. You can always holdover for the rest of the solution with the reticle if need be.

My zero is at 50Y and currently don't have a angled base on my Fortner. I was hitting a steel at 414Y last week with a little holdover, 1.5 mils IIRC, that's with the travel topped out. I was using a SWFA 3-15. The firing solution calls for 21.9 mils "about 75.5 moa" at a DA of 8500. The biggest problem with shooting at those distances is the poor vertical even with medium quality match ammo, so I really don't enjoy shooting that far with a 22. The only reason I shot at 414Y that day was I was out of ammo for the centerfire and tried it for the heck of it.
Click to expand...

This. Bushy ERS has 90 MOA + whatever the reticle gives you.

80 MOA ET Sightron:
Sightron Riflescopes SIII Series SIIISS624X50LRFFPMOA

44 mm OBJ
mildot ret/.1 MRAD turrets
120 MOA travel
target turrets
10Y min focus (big plus for me, I like being able to dryfire indoors, and will allow you to focus in close)
$844
Sightron Riflescopes SIII Series SIIISS3.510X44LRMD-CM
 
#20
Cncjerry said:
At 1050fps, it still would need 68.4 high and 6.4 down sighted at 100yds as in the prior example. So total range would be 74.8. Is there a scope with 75moa range?
Click to expand...

BSA Tactical mentioned has 26.5 mils travel - 91 moa.

SWFA 3-15 has 36 mils - 123 moa. Probably the rest of the SWFA SS scopes have that much travel.

There are quite a few more brands with enough elevation, usually lower magnification scopes with 30mm tubes.
 
#23
Still my favorite pick for a .22lr scope, by far, is the SS 3-15x42. Tons of adjustment range (36 mils), great reticle with 10 mils of holdover. Focuses clear down to 6 meters. On the top end enough magnification for target shooting, and on the low end great for close shots. IMO, one of the most versatile scopes on the market.
 
#24
steve123 said:
BSA Tactical mentioned has 26.5 mils travel - 91 moa.

SWFA 3-15 has 36 mils - 123 moa. Probably the rest of the SWFA SS scopes have that much travel.

There are quite a few more brands with enough elevation, usually lower magnification scopes with 30mm tubes.
Click to expand...

There ya go, OP has a solution. I wonder what the rifle angle is to hit 400yds?
 
#26
Take a look at Mueller scopes. I purchased a 8-32 for use on my 10/22 target rifle. I only have a regular base, no 20 moa and have run out of adjustment at 150 yards. I really like the scope, the glass is clear and it comes back to zero after adjustments. What has really sold me on the scope is the very fine crosshair. Give a good look.
 
#28
I've been considering robbing my Weaver GS Tactical from my FV-SR for another rifle thus needing a replacement. SWFA SS was an option but I like the flexibility of a variable fir hunting. I was thinking hard about the BSA mil/mil from Midway but an older Sweet 17 was so awful I was hesitant to try another BSA.

Based on this thread, I might need to reconsider that.

Are they really pretty decent?
 
#29
BenY 2013 said:
Thanks for the info, however Nightforce would for sure be out of my price range! I'd also like to stay under 50mm objective.

I looked at the Bushnell LRS 3-12x44 with the G2 reticle. I like it alot! I like the wind holds on the reticle, only concern is how well it will focus at lower ranges.

Ben
Click to expand...

I have the Bushnell 3.5-21 and it focuses to 50 yards. Havent tried at less than that. Have it mounted to my Savage .22 bolt.
 
#30
DOA said:
I have the Bushnell 3.5-21 and it focuses to 50 yards. Havent tried at less than that. Have it mounted to my Savage .22 bolt.
Click to expand...

I'd love the 3.5-21, but I am really really looking at the 3-12, do you still have it on the gun? Would you mind looking and seeing how close it will focus to? Thanks

Ben
 
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