Need scope recommendations 15-25yd precision

[Old Man with Gun]

I help teach and work with two groups on a regular basis. Civil Air patrol shooting precision from a bench at 50 feet and Project Appleseed three position sling shooting at 25 meters.

I get a lot of people showing with scopes that are not parallax adjustable and a blurry mess at these ranges. I have several rifles with excellent scopes like the Leupold 6.5-20x40mm EFR, but my scopes are out of production and over budget for many of my students.

I'd like to be able to recomend some scopes at various budgets from $200 to $800 that fit the bill. Must be current production, parallax adjustable down to 15 yards or less and have max magnification between 9x and 24x.

ADDED: Keep in mind these are going on fairly small rifles like 10/22s and rimfire bolt guns for kids, so monster scopes with big objectives create problems.

Please list scope model and about what they sell for so I can compile a list to share. Thank you all in advance!

 

[MajorD]

Several athlon and vortex models in that price range and are both pretty solid choices ( affordab but alas made in china like so many other things)

 

[Old Man with Gun]

Several athlon and vortex models in that price range and are both pretty solid choices ( affordab but alas made in china like so many other things)

I noticed that to, but i do not have any experience with the low end scopes, hoping to find some people with actual experience.

 

[Topstrap]

Check out the Arken line. Very impressive.

Topstrap

 

[tuckybill]

Bushnell Banner 4x12 made in Korea. 120 bucks

 

[Manning5R]

Most, but not all, Athlons will focus down to roughly 10 meters. Some will go closer, some don't quite get there. I have zero experience with their cheapest line, Neos, as I avoid the cheapest of any manufacturer's lines. But the Talos, Argos and Midas lines are worth the price paid.

 

[dcamper]

This might be something to look at; it's what I use on a pellet rifle.​

UTG 3-12X44 30mm Compact Scope, AO, 36-color Mil-dot, Rings , Black​

Brand: UTG
4.5 out of 5 stars 2,578 ratings

| 368 answered questions
$159.65$159.65

 

[jps2486]

Arkens only focus down to 25 yd. Not too many Athlons, or Vortex or Leupolds focus down to 10 yards either. Check the specs. You want to shop for top quality airgun scopes that focus down to 10 yards. There are many out there: Aztec, MTC, Optisan, Athlon Midas Tac, Element, Sightron, Hawke, UTG, some Vortex. The price range on these can be anywhere between $150 to $1200. These scopes can be obtained from Trenier Outdoors, Optics Planet, SWFA, SPAW, Utah Airguns, Walmart, Amazon, and others, You gotta shop around to get the best price. My recommendation is the Athlon Midas-Tac 6-24X50. I've bought some for $497 during black Friday, but they are running around $580 and up now.

 

[Old Man with Gun]

Thank you all. I found on Europtic you can select minimum parallax <15yds as a filter, and that was a huge help. That and the help I got here let me put a list together.

 

[Old Man with Gun]

It also turns out my favorite scope is available in a new model.

VX-3HD 6.5-20x40 EFR CDS-T Fine Duplex

The VX®-3HD 6.5-20x40mm delivers legendary performance in an incredibly tough and lightweight package. It's the perfect workhorse for taking mid to long-range shots from the firing line.

www.leupold.com

 

[Peahi2]

I help teach and work with two groups on a regular basis. Civil Air patrol shooting precision from a bench at 50 feet and Project Appleseed three position sling shooting at 25 meters.

I get a lot of people showing with scopes that are not parallax adjustable and a blurry mess at these ranges. I have several rifles with excellent scopes like the Leupold 6.5-20x40mm EFR, but my scopes are out of production and over budget for many of my students.

I'd like to be able to recomend some scopes at various budgets from $200 to $800 that fit the bill. Must be current production, parallax adjustable down to 15 yards or less and have max magnification between 9x and 24x.

ADDED: Keep in mind these are going on fairly small rifles like 10/22s and rimfire bolt guns for kids, so monster scopes with big objectives create problems.

Please list scope model and about what they sell for so I can compile a list to share. Thank you all in advance!

You won't need that high of magnification for appleseed, so it should broaden your range of scopes.

To be honest with you, I looked high and low for scopes like you are, and its harder than one would think. I even got another 10/22 recently, and was on such a search. I wanted the holy grail, FFP, small and light and clear. I wanted night force nx8 1-8 size that did it all. LOL. I ended up with a vortex PST 3-15 at a killer price from Europtic. The glass is clear, the reticle is good, and good features.

I did one appleseed with this:

Helos BTR 1-4.5x24. Readily available at discounted prices (see camerlandny - Doug). It was great, no complaints.

I also shot with an acog...I know, I know...but it was very capable, and the glass was clear. I had a TA33. I'm not sure what the parallax is, but I shot it good enough to earn a patch. It is built to last and a newbie probably ain't gonna break it, and it can be over from gun to gun. You do need to tape over the fiber optic on top bc otherwise the reticle is way way too bright.

There is also the U.S. Optics TS-12X 3-12x. I never got around to buying one, but I think it fits the bill. Its a little bigger though that the other two I mentioned.

 

[redbullitt]

Ive had good luck with hawke for this application on airguns and 22s shot inside 50. You can focus to less than 10 yards easily, perfect for airgun. They come in duplex and mil dots, but usually .25 inch adjustments.

They are affordable and mine focus properly for up close guns reliably. The swfa fixed scopes will focus up close as well. They have a variable that works well too. Have it on a 22 and couldnt be happier.

Athlon can be workable as well ive seen, but i have not used many.

 

[Basher]

It’s not full of flashy bells and whistles, but the SWFA SS line focuses down quite a ways. The 3-15x42 will focus down to 6m so it may be worth a look, though I would only buy one used or on sale as I don’t think they’re worth $700 anymore. But they’re a “regular” sized scope (30mm main tube, 42mm objective lens) and are on the lighter side compared to many other optics in their price range these days.

 

[pineoak]

Thank you for your work with CAP!

 

[Buckhead]

Sightron S-TAC FFP 3-16X42, MSRP is $659.99 but the street price is usually a bit cheaper.

 

[NewsShooter]

It also turns out my favorite scope is available in a new model.

VX-3HD 6.5-20x40 EFR CDS-T Fine Duplex

The VX®-3HD 6.5-20x40mm delivers legendary performance in an incredibly tough and lightweight package. It's the perfect workhorse for taking mid to long-range shots from the firing line.

www.leupold.com

At that price I'd get the Athlon Midas Tac in a 4-16. I much prefer the reticle and I'd bet the glass is better too. Not many leupold's I'd own these days. Sightron would be a good choice too.

 

[Old Man with Gun]

I've got what I need, but I'll share some more info.

For Appleseed a 3-9x is better for most people. I like the 6.5-20x, but shooting standing with 6.5x is shaky and some don't do well with it. I like it, but I can shoot distinguished, so not as shaky as some.

Many, shooters are kids so large heavy scopes that push the balance forward are problematic, 10/22s even with extended bases can be hard to fit long scopes. I like FFP for some uses, but not here, on high magnification the reticle is too thick and on low, hard to find. I like a fine duplex SFP best. For that reason I perfer the leupold EFR 3-9x33 best. The leupold EFR 6.5-20x40 is great for some shooters, but not all.

For 50ft benchrest precision like the Civil Air Patrol, my recommendation flips. Being able to aim with 20x magnification is a game changer. Cadets routinely get far higher scores with one of my rifles than with a comparable rifle running 9x or 12x. Here is a case where a very fine crosshair is even more important. I've seen reticles that completely hide the center ring.

 

[Buckhead]

Sightron S-TAC FFP 3-16X42, MSRP is $659.99 but the street price is usually a bit cheaper.

Also available in SFP, a couple hundred $$ cheaper.

 

[Old Man with Gun]

Also available in SFP, a couple hundred $$ cheaper.

I like Sightron, dont have that model, but others. Good glass for the price!

 

[GreenGO Juan]

I have a cheap little simmons scope for a .22 that I have on Gammo springer pellet rifle I got at walmart. Its held up to 3-4k shots and holds zero fine. Springer pellet guns are actually pretty hard on scopes. Its good for 10-50 yards. It was like $30-40, cant remember. For teaching kids some basics its cheap and effective.

Here it is. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Simmons-...iflescope-W-Rings-Matte-Finish-1-Tube/6340058

 

[skyrep]

SWFA SS 12x42 MIL​

MIL-Quad Reticle | .10 Mil Clicks | 30 mm Tube

 

[Tortuga]

If I were building up rifles to coach youth groups, I would reach out to a couple of company reps and see what they could do to help. The Bushnell Match Pro 6-24x50 would be a good option (10yrd parallax) and who knows, they may like what you are up to and help out.

 

[nockhunter]

This should work, or if you can find the older discontinued VX2 version.

VX-Freedom 3-9x33 EFR Fine Duplex

Whether it's for training or just for fun, there's something about shooting rimfire or air rifle that puts a smile on your face, and our VX®-Freedom® 3-9x33mm EFR is purpose-built to get the most out of either one.

www.leupold.com

Mike
P.S. I had the VX2 version that I sold a few years ago, it was a great scope