Rifle Scopes More mag or less for young shooter?

[Geno C.]

I'm building my 7 year old a 22-250 AI for his first longer range gun. He wants to start shooting at some the these little shoots with me. He has only ever shot his 22 at 100yrds so far and his gun has a 3-9 scope on it that he keeps at 3x. We're buying a scope for him that I hope will last him quite a while.

My question is, do I get him a higher mag scope like a 22 or 32x or something more along the lines or a 10 or 15x? I've never taught someone so young to shoot at longer ranges so anyone who has taught or teaches kids to shoot, which would be better?

Any thoughts are appreciated

 

[bkw1911]

Lower mag. The biggest thing he's gotta learn is target acquisition and that'll be hard to learn on a high mag scope. A lot of the new shooters we get can't ever find the targets before time runs out especially if your shooting multiple at different distances. I shoot a 3-18 and only on maybe one stage a match when we shoot paper do I wish I had more than 18. 22-250ai with some 80-90gr bullets sounds like a perfect rifle for him though.

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[samnev]

I think an ideal scope would be the Bushnell Elite FFP 3.5-21X50 with the reticle of your choice. He would have the option of keeping it a 3.5X then use more magnification as he gets use to it. In my days of target shooting at longer ranges I eventually move up from a 3-9X40 to a NF NXS 5.5-22X50 now to an NF NXS 8-32X56. But the Bushnell Elite I mentioned is a great started scope much better than a Vortex Viper PST FFP.

 

[Geno C.]

For really young eyes do you think FFP is the best choice?

 

[billyburl2]

FFP is the only way to go, especially for young shooter who might not understand that he needs to change his wind hold if his mag is changed... Everything remains constant on a FFP scope, a mil will always be a mil on the reticle and knobs.

 

[Geno C.]

I understand the consistancy part of FFP but my thinking would be it might be harder to pick up the reticle as it gets pretty small when dialed down.

 

[bkw1911]

I understand the consistancy part of FFP but my thinking would be it might be harder to pick up the reticle as it gets pretty small when dialed down.

I think it all depends on who's eyes we're talking about. a lot of younger kids probably have better eyes than most on this forum and could pick up a small reticle very easily. ffp I think would be good because he's most likely not shooting on the 3-5x magnification but he's finding targets at that power, so having the reticle out of the way would be a good thing. Then once he acquires it, zoom in a little and bang. soon enough he won't have to go to the low powers to find targets and he can keep it at 10x min and the reticle is usually pretty clear on any ffp by 10x.

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[DT1]

I'm sure your son is very smart and is obviously more mature than most 7yr olds, but worrying about a good scope and the differences between first and second plane might be qualities that would be lost on him right now. Maybe spend the $ on ammo and range time and get the good scope down the road?

Your son is fortunate to have a father to teach him to shoot! Happy Fathers Day!

 

[Geno C.]

Thank you.

Having the reticle out of the way for finding targets is a good point. I hadn't thought about it that way.

He is smarter than your average 7 year old and quite mature for his age when it comes to shooting. He does love screwin around and video games just as much as the next kid though. He probably could care less which plane his reticle is. I'm just looking at which might be better for teaching and learning. I'd like to give him every advantage starting out that he can handle.

As for ammo we're good there too. He reloads with me. I figure that gives his a better understanding of how things work and makes him even more proud of himself when he can say he makes the ammo he shoots

 

[Geno C.]

I've never had a vortex so maybe I'll have to drop by their place and check them out.

 

[BGE541]

Lower mag, high clarity. Just shot my first match with the KAHLES K312 with the MSR reticle and if i can spot splash at a mile with it (on a 6mm) that speaks volumes...

 

[Chiller]

mag is NOT your friend. It will work your brain over when you see the wobble. It will make mirage seem that much more. It is NOT a silver bullet.

 

[WB300]

Geno...

I'm the same boat with my 7 year old also. He can shoot the irons on the .22 lr with in a soft ball at 50 yards no problem. I tried to start him on a youth model .243 in prep for upcoming deer season... Two steps backward. Here are a couple things I learned:

Chiller is right. Higher mag is not your friend. Their eyes are much better than ours. They can center a fine cross-hair on low mag no problem. Higher mag will make their positioning behind the scope more critical and magnify movement, and if your kid has a short attention span like mine, he will get aggravated real quick. Make the stock (cheek riser) fit him so he developes positon memory and doesn't have to screw around with modifying shoulder and head placement for proper eye relief. The higher mag will also bring out mirage quicker. If your son understands how to deal with it, no problem.

I also tried a 3-9x and had to go with something that allowed me dial out parallax. My son didn't understand "consistent sight picture" like i do. When we started practicing at 100+ yards, his parallax issues magnified his misses and he got down on himself. Then again, if your son understands sight alignment and sight picture, then a non adjustable parallax scope will also make him work harder to achieve consistency.

I don't know how a 22-250 recoils, but the jump from .22 lr to .243 was too much for my son. The increase in noise and recoil made him develope a nasty flinch quickly. I have since gone to a .223, and even reduced loads on my .308 with a suppressor to help with getting used to noise and recoil. I have also put a scope on a .22lr that allows me to adjust parallax in hopes that we can learn positioning behind a scope.

Right now we are keeping things within 100 yards and hitting big fat balloons. He has fun. I have started making the balloons smaller, and he is still nailing them. Next I will move them farther out and make them even smaller.

He sounds like he is progressing faster than my boy. You know your kid better than we do. His actions will dictate how fast you train him. But I would definitely get a scope with adjustable objective or side parallax if he is going to be shooting longer distances. Wouldn't you want one??? As far as FFP or SFP, I can't really comment as I have only shot SFP.

Nothing wrong with a higher mag range on the scope, but I would make sure the low end is no more than 3x to 4x (ie 3-12, 3-15, 4-16, 4-20...etc). Cranking up to 22x or higher can be used as a spotter so to say, but definitely teach him to shoot on the lowest power possible.

Baby steps.... and lots of patience. Be sure to post pics.

Enjoy every minute of it.

Bill

 

[Geno C.]

I no higher powered scopes are not a magic bullet. If they were I would have a lot fewer misses.

I considered a 6mm of some kind for him but opted for a 22 cal just for the reasons you stated. I didn't want to have him start flinching or get scared of it. I also order a TBAC 30ps for him too. He loves shooting supressed!

I have noticed that he prefers to keep his 22 on the lowest power shooting at 100yrds. I suppose it looks like that will hold true carter out as well. I plan on butchering a stock to fit him I have an adjustable but plate and I'll make a cheek riser too. We've been stressing getting comfortable behind the gun before shooting and starting with natural point of aim and building a solid comfortable position.

Thanks for the input guys. This has pretty much confirmed what we have been doing. Looks like we will keep at it at lower ranges.