Rifle Scopes Small Varmint Scope(s)

[eleaf]

I'm trying make the "short list" of scopes for consideration to go on my new 17 Remington. Primarily it will be used to shoot paper out to 300. It will also be used to shoot ground hogs in the east which are generally 200 yards and in. It may also, at some point in time, be used to shoot at PDogs out west (though a Tac 20 may get the nod on that job). It may also be used as a calling gun for coyote in the east which are generally 200 yards and in.

As a note, I generally like higher magnifications when shooting paper.

What magnification might one use on those 300-500 yards PDog shots out west? I imagine that to even see those little boogers one would have to have pretty high magnification.

Right now I'm looking at (in no particular order):

Falcon Menace 4-14x44 FFP MIL/MIL
Bushnell Elite 4200 3-12x42 FFP MIL/MIL
Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24x50 FFP MIL/MIL
Bushnell Elite 6500 2.5-16x42 MIL/MOA
Super Sniper 3-9x FFP MIL/MIL
Nikon Buckmasters 4-16x MIL/MOA

I imagine that the SS 3-9x is not the best option if I were to go out west to pdog towns (though I have been looking for an excuse to buy this scope). Just not high enough. It also seems that 6x on the low end of the 6-24x is too much for shooting at most anything here in the east as tracking faster game might be tough.

At this point, I'm not looking to spend more than $799 (the price of the new Bushnell 6-24x50 FFP).

Thanks

 

[RBell24]

Re: Small Varmint Scope(s)

check online (ebay is a good place) for a a zeiss 6.5-20x50. Got a brand new one off ebay once for $714 shipped. I like it better than the swaro's

 

[razor100]

Re: Small Varmint Scope(s)

pdogging at 200 yards is a lot more about the reticle than the magnification i dont think a 3-9x would handicap you too much unless you had a thick or busy cluttered reticle. with the mirage coming off the prarie it would be nice to turn it down during the worst of the midday hours the mirage will wash out your image at 20x. currently fielding a fixed leupold m8 12x for my pdog shooting and i find it about perfect. Might want to check out GO GO VARMINT GO forum for more info. threading a 17 remington out to 500 yards is a dicey affair with the wind but any prarie dog 300 yards and in should be dead even using a 3-9x.

 

[eleaf]

Re: Small Varmint Scope(s)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: razor100</div><div class="ubbcode-body">pdogging at 200 yards is a lot more about the reticle than the magnification i dont think a 3-9x would handicap you too much unless you had a thick or busy cluttered reticle. with the mirage coming off the prarie it would be nice to turn it down during the worst of the midday hours the mirage will wash out your image at 20x. currently fielding a fixed leupold m8 12x for my pdog shooting and i find it about perfect. Might want to check out GO GO VARMINT GO forum for more info. threading a 17 remington out to 500 yards is a dicey affair with the wind but any prarie dog 300 yards and in should be dead even using a 3-9x. </div></div>

I had other dilemmas when choosing the scope as well.

One is that I have various rifles with various scopes that all work differently, and I wanted to start changing that. It simply makes things easier on me as a shooter to not have multiple systems going on different rifles at the same time.

I would love to get a NF to match my .308, but NF money wasn't in the cards for this rifle, so I looked for the next best thing: matching reticle/turrets and target/tactical turrets, so I finally decided on a Falcon Menace 4-14x44 FFP MIL/MIL. I feel like 14x is enough to do whatever I need to do with this rifle, and the MIL/MIL aspect is mighty nice, whether it be for dialing in or using holdovers.

I was also considering the new Bushnell Elite 4200 3-12x FFP MIL/MIL scope, but opted to spend far less money ($400 v $700). I currently have one on my AR 15 target/varmint gun and I dig it, so took the plunge for another.

 

[sscoyote]

Re: Small Varmint Scope(s)

Here's my 17 cal. PD'r. 17 Fireball XP-100 handgun with Nikon 6-18x mil-dot set at 18x where the dot is basically a 1/2" affair and dot to dot spacing becomes 2.4 IPHY. Turret elevation/reticle windage. Have made some 1st shot connections to ~500 yds. in <10 mph winds with the lowly (BC-wise) and cheap(er) 25 Hornady HP @ 3400 mv.--

 

[sscoyote]

Re: Small Varmint Scope(s)

I wouldn't hesitate to go with a 4.5-14x Nikon BM mil-dot also as the dot will be ~.1 IPHY larger at 14x, and dot to dot subtension becomes 3.12 IPHY at 14x (mil is cald. for 12x in Nikons).

 

[Prairie Dog Dundee]

Re: Small Varmint Scope(s)

The Super Sniper 3-9 is a great scope I just put one on a M1A NM. It could be used on Prairie Dogs out to 500 yards but the reticle would be a bit thick. Look at the Vortex Viper 6.5-20X42. I just got one of these and am pleased with it.
I've shot literly thousands of Prairie Dogs and I seldom use more than 16X even when I use variables with 20x available. For me 14-16X is a good balance between magnification and field of view. Some hunting buddies crank their scops to max magnification unless mariage is an issue.

 

[steve123]

Re: Small Varmint Scope(s)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sscoyote</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here's my 17 cal. PD'r. 17 Fireball XP-100 handgun with Nikon 6-18x mil-dot set at 18x where the dot is basically a 1/2" affair and dot to dot spacing becomes 2.4 IPHY. Turret elevation/reticle windage. Have made some 1st shot connections to ~500 yds. in <10 mph winds with the lowly (BC-wise) and cheap(er) 25 Hornady HP @ 3400 mv.--

</div></div>

Why do you have a turret on your front ring ? Or I should say to what advantage over the turrets on your scope?

Steve