NRL22 Optics

[chrisward3]

Hoping someone can point me in the direction of some reasonable (<$500) optics for a NRL22 build. Im currently sharing my S&B PM2 5-25 which, while super clear and reliable...is a bit overkill.

Things I'm looking for:

- zoom range anywhere between 3-15x (3-12, 4-14, 4-16, etc...)
- mil-mil
- target turrets
- reliable/repeatable adjustments
- parallax adjustable to <25yds
- under $500 (give or take)
- I'm in Canada, so not all options are readily available

I have other preferences (reticles, FFP, etc...) but realize that the price point im looking at precludes some of the features, or there'll be less quality overall as they try to squeeze all the shiny features in.

Im good with SFP (and even MOA-MOA) if it means better glass and reliable adjustments.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

[steve123]

I used to share that same scope a bunch on my 22's and air rifles.

I'd try to get into a Athlon Helos BTR, it's MAP price is more than $500 but you should be able to land one if you call around to various Athlon dealers. Next down would be the Argos BTR line.

 

[PBWalsh]

Athlon Talos BTR 4-14, mil/mil, FFP, Christmas tree reticle, illumination, good warranty, unsure of turret quality, $300 at dr-optics.com.

If you’re ok with fixed, look at the SWFA 10x42mm, mil/mil, good glass, very repeatable turrets, $300.

That’d be my two top choices, in fact I’ll probably orther the Athlon just to see if I like the reticle style. I’ve owned the above SWFA and found it excellent for the price tag. Also, both can be modified to have a zero stop. Dr-Optics sells a kit for the Athlon and TimK on here sell a kit for the SWFA.

Can’t really go wrong with either.

 

[702lineman]

swfa 10x or a primary arms 4-14 ffp. while neither is a s&b by a long shot, they both get the job done for under 300 us dollars.

 

[300ATT]

I suspect some might snicker at this suggestion: Consider a Cabela's Covenant SFP or FFP ($150-$300). A friend was at the range running one on his RPR in 6.5 Creedmore. When I saw how repeatable it was as well as the reticle I decided to give it a try.

The Cabela's Coventant scopes come in 4-16x or 6-24x SFP and FFP, MOA or MIL and are on sale for $159 - $250 depending on model. They make an FFP version but in IMHO the 16x SFP model is a better fit for .22LR matches inside of 200 yards.

No seriously I was pleasantly surprised - this from a guy that owns 4 S&B's a Premier 3-15x, Mark 6, Nightforce,3 Swarovski, 2 Acogs, 5 IOR ... To be honest, I was expecting to return the scope shortly after I mounted it, not so.

I purchased the 4-16x SFP model for $99.00 with gift card and tested it out to 200 yards. These scopes have a great reticle (Horus light) for holdovers and holding windage and include external elevation and windage knobs. If there is a zero stop I have yet to find it ...

The scope proved to be repeatable in box tests with ELEY match in my Sako 94S Finfire Range at 50 and 100 yards and always returned to zero shooting 1/2" dots at 50 yds 2" dots at 100 and 3" dots at 200 yards (0, 6.25 MOA up and 24.5 MOA up). The scope will focus at 25 yards and the reticle subtensions at 16X (SFP scope) were right on and matched the corresponding displacement that was dialed for windage or elevation. The knobs actually matched the reticle at 16x - what a surprise.

The glass is not an S&B but works fine out to 200 yards or better yet 100 in an NRL .22 match. If you can get past the fact that it is not S&B glass, try it out with a 25 MOA rail and go have fun. I believe that it will work well out to 400+ yards. If you decide you have to have an S&B no worries, Cabela's gives you a 90 day no questions asked money back guarantee.

If any decide to go this route, definitely wring (test) the scope and don't ass-u-me that it tracks correctly. The one I purchased works well enough that it will not be the issue in a NRL .22 match.

 

[metal2meat]

I tried a SWFA SS 3-15x FFP at my first NRL match. My eyes aren't what they used to be, a 20x scope would have been just right. The SS focused down to 25yds and was overall pretty good for the game. The scope tracks great and I think they have some good Black Friday deals.

 

[quickdraw]

Athlon Argos BTR for $369 or go up to the Helos BTR which has better turrets for $569. Both scopes are full featured: 6-24x50mm, FFP, Mil/mil, side parallax down to 7 yards, illuminated, Christmas tree reticle. Pay a tad extra and order the sunshield. Either will serve you well.

 

[dgheriani]

Another Canuck here, I'm running an Athlon Talos BTR 4-14 on my Mk II .22. Got a good deal on one from Red Star Targets when they first started bringing them in. The glass is meh, but hey, it's a cheap scope. The elevation adjustments are decent, mine has a lil over 1% error but the windage is not so great, then again, I never dial wind. The reticle is great though. I've used it out to 300 yards and it's fine for a rimfire.

 

[308pirate]

Things I'm looking for:
- zoom range anywhere between 3-15x (3-12, 4-14, 4-16, etc...)
- mil-mil
- target turrets
- reliable/repeatable adjustments
- parallax adjustable to <25yds
- under $500 (give or take)

The SWFA 3-15X42 meets all except the price. If you hurry they might still be on sale at SWFA for a little over $550. Normally they are $699. It will focus down to 6 yards (and I have confirmed it), which very, very few scopes will do from what I've seen.

 

[308pirate]

I suspect some might snicker at this suggestion: Consider a Cabela's Covenant SFP or FFP ($150-$300). A friend was at the range running one on his RPR in 6.5 Creedmore. When I saw how repeatable it was as well as the reticle I decided to give it a try.

The Cabela's Coventant scopes come in 4-16x or 6-24x SFP and FFP, MOA or MIL and are on sale for $159 - $250 depending on model. They make an FFP version but in IMHO the 16x SFP model is a better fit for .22LR matches inside of 200 yards.

Nice find....

 

[D_TROS]

The SWFA 3-15X42 meets all except the price. If you hurry they might still be on sale at SWFA for a little over $550. Normally they are $699. It will focus down to 6 yards (and I have confirmed it), which very, very few scopes will do from what I've seen.

Or no scopes do this. lol. 6 yds is kinda amazing, at least for air rifle. Didn't know this, might have to get one...

I would recommend a SWFA 12x with the mil quad rect. amazing little $299 scope.

Id recommend SWFA over Athlon all day long.
If oyu couldn't get the 3-15 above, you could lurk the classifieds and maybe also get lucky on an older Bushnell 3.5-21 which is a huge step up for around $800 or even the new Burris XTR2 that has no illumination. Those are dirt cheap for whats offered. Both of those will have a ton of internal elevation.

I also have an old Zeiss 4-14 that was $500 I think. Glass is amazing. 1" tube sucks, but with the 20 moa base, it has a mech zero stop (rock bottom) and can dial to 300 yards using the whole scope. And is very repeatable.

Most important thing, get at least a 20 moa base. It will allow you to dial to 200+ these NRL matches shoot out to. Ton of fun.

Good luck!
DT

 

[STS45]

Or no scopes do this. lol. 6 yds is kinda amazing, at least for air rifle. Didn't know this, might have to get one...

I would recommend a SWFA 12x with the mil quad rect. amazing little $299 scope.

Id recommend SWFA over Athlon all day long.
If oyu couldn't get the 3-15 above, you could lurk the classifieds and maybe also get lucky on an older Bushnell 3.5-21 which is a huge step up for around $800 or even the new Burris XTR2 that has no illumination. Those are dirt cheap for whats offered. Both of those will have a ton of internal elevation.

I also have an old Zeiss 4-14 that was $500 I think. Glass is amazing. 1" tube sucks, but with the 20 moa base, it has a mech zero stop (rock bottom) and can dial to 300 yards using the whole scope. And is very repeatable.

Most important thing, get at least a 20 moa base. It will allow you to dial to 200+ these NRL matches shoot out to. Ton of fun.

Good luck!
DT

What can you dial down the parallax to on the Bushnell and the Burris?

 

[PBWalsh]

@D_TROS

Going to purchase either a 10x SWFA or an Athlos Talos for a rimfire. Why do you personally favor SWFA over Athlon.

I’ve had two SWFAs previously and they were excellent for the price. Thinking about going Athlon just to see if I like that style of reticle.

Just curious to hear your thoughts on the two.

 

[D_TROS]

What can you dial down the parallax to on the Bushnell and the Burris?

I think 50 yds on both. I don't own the Bushnell anymore as I got one with 5 mil knobs and that's like banging head on wall. The XTR2 goes down to 50 yds.

@D_TROS

Going to purchase either a 10x SWFA or an Athlos Talos for a rimfire. Why do you personally favor SWFA over Athlon.

I’ve had two SWFAs previously and they were excellent for the price. Thinking about going Athlon just to see if I like that style of reticle.

Just curious to hear your thoughts on the two.

Track record. Even Killswitch's test showed some irregularities on the Athlon tracking. Swfa has a near flawless record.


If you go the Athlon way be sure to give a review...

Regards,
DT

 

[D_TROS]

Just texted my friend that has the Talos, and I quote, "Im worried about its tracking. Seems to loose its zero."
Ya he spell gud. lol.

Lots of people run off on how good the glass is...Ill take tracking 10 times out of 10. My gut don't like it is all.


DT

 

[PBWalsh]

I may try it anyways seeing as how I’m trying to see if I like the Christmas tree style reticles BEFORE dropping 1k+ on a nice optic.

When I get it, I’ll be sure to put up an initial review. Don’t really have acess to a calibrated testing board like Killswitch or Frank has, but I’ll do by best to comment on it.

Like you, I already know the SWFA is very reliable and may end up going to their fixed 10x HD for my main rifle if I can live with a fixed power.

 

[steve123]

@D_TROS

Going to purchase either a 10x SWFA or an Athlos Talos for a rimfire. Why do you personally favor SWFA over Athlon.

I’ve had two SWFAs previously and they were excellent for the price. Thinking about going Athlon just to see if I like that style of reticle.

Just curious to hear your thoughts on the two.

I've owned a half dozen SWFA's, the old fixed power and the FFP 3-15. They have there own faults just like any other scope Co.

First off, the glass in them is below Athlon glass, the SWFA glass is milky looking and getting blurry going towards the edge. Going forward, the reticles are what they are, so not bad but not great either. The Milquad I can't get excited about at all and not very good if it's windy and you have to holdover and off. Although Mine have worked fine and seem to track well, I've read of plenty of failures right here on the Hide and moreso the 3-15. As well, the 3-15 my friend has, has some sort of tracking problem because we cannot get his dope to line up. Also, when parallax is at infinity the image is not focused past 700Y, which is likely due to the 6M close focus, BTW that 6M focus is my favorite feature, other than the 125moa of travel. I sold all except one 3-15.

I'll say it again, I won state in Field Target air rifle with the 6-24 Argos BTR, overall last year and my division this year. That can't be done with a scope that doesn't track. I've shot long range out to 1122Y with the Talos and got first round hits at various distances, 550Y, 675Y, 812Y and 1122Y. That won't happen without a good tracking scope. I have other stories with these scopes pertaining to new long range shooters with first round hits.

That being said these less expensive Athlon scopes are what they are too. The clicks could line up better, some controls could be less stiff but other than that I love these scopes because of their features and good glass.

With Athlon you get fantastic tree reticles for holdovers and holdoffs, close focus which is ideal for the 25Y spinners, and great glass for the price. If you happen to get one that isn't working right you just send it back for one that does.

Personally I'd go straight to the Ares BTR 4.5-27x50, that's a ton of scope for the money, and if you shop around they can be had for a "street price" less than MAP.

It's worth mentioning that most scopes don't track perfectly, even amongst expensive scopes. That is what the tracking offset feature is for in your ballistic program. I haven't needed to use that feature yet with my Athlon scopes but I don't use them for ELR and rarely need to dial past 10 mils.

 

[jLorenzo]

I suspect some might snicker at this suggestion: Consider a Cabela's Covenant SFP or FFP ($150-$300). A friend was at the range running one on his RPR in 6.5 Creedmore. When I saw how repeatable it was as well as the reticle I decided to give it a try.

The Cabela's Coventant scopes come in 4-16x or 6-24x SFP and FFP, MOA or MIL and are on sale for $159 - $250 depending on model. They make an FFP version but in IMHO the 16x SFP model is a better fit for .22LR matches inside of 200 yards.

No seriously I was pleasantly surprised - this from a guy that owns 4 S&B's a Premier 3-15x, Mark 6, Nightforce,3 Swarovski, 2 Acogs, 5 IOR ... To be honest, I was expecting to return the scope shortly after I mounted it, not so.

I purchased the 4-16x SFP model for $99.00 with gift card and tested it out to 200 yards. These scopes have a great reticle (Horus light) for holdovers and holding windage and include external elevation and windage knobs. If there is a zero stop I have yet to find it ...

The scope proved to be repeatable in box tests with ELEY match in my Sako 94S Finfire Range at 50 and 100 yards and always returned to zero shooting 1/2" dots at 50 yds 2" dots at 100 and 3" dots at 200 yards (0, 6.25 MOA up and 24.5 MOA up). The scope will focus at 25 yards and the reticle subtensions at 16X (SFP scope) were right on and matched the corresponding displacement that was dialed for windage or elevation. The knobs actually matched the reticle at 16x - what a surprise.

The glass is not an S&B but works fine out to 200 yards or better yet 100 in an NRL .22 match. If you can get past the fact that it is not S&B glass, try it out with a 25 MOA rail and go have fun. I believe that it will work well out to 400+ yards. If you decide you have to have an S&B no worries, Cabela's gives you a 90 day no questions asked money back guarantee.

If any decide to go this route, definitely wring (test) the scope and don't ass-u-me that it tracks correctly. The one I purchased works well enough that it will not be the issue in a NRL .22 match.

I actually like that reticle alot. All the one I found on their website say that they have 1/4 minute turrets though and that "SFP ensures accurate reticle subtension" this kind of stuff worries me, would want to make sure I got the Mil version and knew if it was SFP or Ffp.

 

[mojavejim]

What can you dial down the parallax to on the Bushnell and the Burris?

I'm using a 3-12 Bushnell Tactical Elite w/G2 ret & the parallax goes below 10 meters, Tracks good, so so glass but the 5 mill turrets suck & no zero stop but that's not really a problem with 15 moa rail & 20moa Badger mount it's less than a rev to the bottom.

 

[300ATT]

I actually like that reticle alot. All the one I found on their website say that they have 1/4 minute turrets though and that "SFP ensures accurate reticle subtension" this kind of stuff worries me, would want to make sure I got the Mil version and knew if it was SFP or Ffp.

The Cabela's Covenant is not a high-end scope but has a great set of features normally limited to High-end scopes. It will definitely work well for .22 NRL matches. They make SFP and FFP, Mil/Mil and MOA/MOA scopes. I purchased the 4-16 SFP and it works well. SFP only ensures accurate reticle subtension a one power (usually max power) on an SFP scope. I would not read too much into that marketing error as Cabela's is famous in CO for encouraging brand new shooters to buy 300 Weatherby Magnums/ 300 RUM "because thats what you need to shoot an Elk". Buy the scope, run it through is paces, box test it hard, take out to distance 200+, see if it will return to zero, if it doesn't work the way you want just return within 90 days - same as cash.

 

[jLorenzo]

The Cabela's Covenant is not a high-end scope but has a great set of features normally limited to High-end scopes. It will definitely work well for .22 NRL matches. They make SFP and FFP, Mil/Mil and MOA/MOA scopes. I purchased the 4-16 SFP and it works well. SFP only ensures accurate reticle subtension a one power (usually max power) on an SFP scope. I would not read too much into that marketing error as Cabela's is famous in CO for encouraging brand new shooters to buy 300 Weatherby Magnums/ 300 RUM "because thats what you need to shoot an Elk". Buy the scope, run it through is paces, box test it hard, take out to distance 200+, see if it will return to zero, if it doesn't work the way you want just return within 90 days - same as cash.

I use holds most of the time anyways, so as long as I can get it zeroed. I'm good. For the money seems like it would be a nice .22 scope, extra scope laying around. Is the glass usable at max power? I'll check em put next time I'm at Cabelas.

 

[300ATT]

I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to see .22 bullet holes at 200 yards. I believe the glass is god enough and the reticle lines up nicely with elevation and windage dialed in. The scope tracks, has a nice reticle and can't be beat for the money ...

 

[300ATT]

... but it is not an S&B or nightforce or Khales or razor ... I do have friends shooting them on top of ruger precision's in 6.5 creed and they are happy. I have other friends that are building Vudoo's and will put an S&B on top ... to each their own ...

 

[neeltburn]

I have been running a GEN II PST 5X25 MIL/MIL for the NRL22 Series. I suggest a FFP MIL/MIL scope with a parallax adjustment that goes down to 25 yards. I have learned to use the reticle more and adjust parallax gets you more hits than dialing each target. Just my 0.2

 

[300ATT]

neeltburn what magnification do you run in matches?

 

[Rob01]

I ran a 3-18x Razor II at a match this past weekend and had no issues seeing targets or making hits.

 

[NOMAD]

For NRL22. You can get away with a lot less scope. We do run The Vortex 3-18 non ours for NRL22 and the ELR .22 matches going to 300 yards with the occasional bonus targets further.

 

[Manh3]

What about the sightron sIII lineup?

 

[neeltburn]

neeltburn what magnification do you run in matches?

Low side maybe 12x max side 20x as a general rule. paralax adjustment is far more important than a high power score.

 

[300ATT]

Agreed.

 

[steve123]

During the NRL November match, on the paper turkey target at 100Y, with my S&B on max/20x, I couldn't see exactly where I was hitting except the first shot which was in the white which I barely made out. Fortunately I corrected after the first shot in the white so the next four were 9's and 10's but if I hadn't of seen that first shot I might have gotten a lesser score.

Granted my eyes aren't too good anymore but if I had had my wife's March 5-40x56 I'd seen all those shots.

That "better to have and not need than need and not have" thing.

 

[todd]

Another Canuck here, I'm running an Athlon Talos BTR 4-14 on my Mk II .22. Got a good deal on one from Red Star Targets when they first started bringing them in. The glass is meh, but hey, it's a cheap scope. The elevation adjustments are decent, mine has a lil over 1% error but the windage is not so great, then again, I never dial wind. The reticle is great though. I've used it out to 300 yards and it's fine for a rimfire.

I might pick one up. As long as the reticle is accurate, because I hold over 80% of the time anyway. FFP, Mil/Mil, Christmas tree reticle, what's not to like? I don't need to see .22 bullet holes because it's on steel. Thanks.