Good scope for my new 223 gun

T

TheDuffMan223

Inactive
Hey guys this is my first time on here and I have a question for those people that have been shooting for a while

I just purchased a mossberg mvp patrol chambered in 556/223 and am looking for a good but not too expensive (around the $200 range) to use. The ranges I will be shooting are anywhere from 50-200 yards maybe just a little further. Any suggestions. I have been looking at the 1x4 or 2x7 is this what I need?
Also I am fairly new to guns and scopes themselves. What are good scope mounts?

So maybe your suggestion on a scope and mounts please! Thank you Leo
 
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On several of my rifles I have a Nikon prostaff 3x-9x and they work very well at the ranges you're looking to shoot at. I've used mine out to 300 yards with no problems. I also use just the standard Weaver rings and bases. These have held up over several hundred rounds out of various rifles that I have used over the years. If you watch for sales you can quite often pick up one of these scopes for around $150.
 
What are you going to be shooting "at" at 50-200yds? Is this punching paper at a range, varmint hunting, woods gun?

What kind of ammo are you going to shoot? Russian steel? Cheap brass? Expensive hunting loads? Hand-loads?

The MVP is basic scout rifle, the Patrol model even comes with a rail and iron sites which is awesome. My first thought is to learn to use the irons and learn to love them. If it's "just" a knockaround gun but you want something to look through for short-range... how about a red-dot. Primary Arms sells their new micro with a base for about $100. A Vortex Sparc with base can be had on sale for under $200. An Aimpoint Pro can be had for about $375 on sale, but is a bit bigger than the other 2 I listed. You're probably not gonna get the fidelity you want from one all the way out at 200yds, but the Primary Arms Classic Micro has a built-in base, gets great reviews and is currently $80.

But since I think you want an actual magnified scope, a very easy solution is the Nikon P-223 3-9x40 and a set of the P-series mounts... Amazon has it all for under $200 shipped. I think it's basically a Prostaff with exposed turrets and a reticle calibrated for a 55gr bullet. You honestly can't go wrong.
 
SamNavy mainly paper targets but I also plan to use this rifle as my hog/varmint gun
I was thinking about a red dot but am leaning more towards a variable power scope just if I need to make those further shots I have the capability to
 
The Burris FFII 2-7 sells for about $150 and would be a good fit on that rifle.
Put it in some low rings, maybe Burris or Warne. The Nikon P mounts mentioned in an earlier post are meant for AR's, and are higher than you want for a bolt action.
 
If you want to punch paper at 100 yards, a variable that goes up to 12 power will let you easily see the bullet holes. I consider that to be a plus, unless you already have a spotting scope.
 
I prefer a lot more power than 7 or 9x for 200 yard precision. Heck, I use a lot more than that at 50 yards if I have it.

Mueller makes really nice budget scopes. I don't like the lit dot reticle. Too big for precision work.

I like low power guns and high power scopes. ;)
 
I recently mounted a Primary Arms 1-6x scope on both my wife's Daniel Defense AR and my Ruger Mini-14. While a bit more than your posted budget (Approx. $270), this scope gives you the magnification (1-6x), "horseshoe" for CQB (< 100 yards), and bullet drop reticle with wind leads(which may come in handy for varmits).

I have been able to hit head sized swinger steel targets out to 600 yards with both rifles.

PAPS1-6X-6T.jpg
 
no frills

The patrol MVP is a sort of tidy, no frills rifle, and on it I see a tidy, no frills scope. As the rifle comes with a usable set of irons, I'd think some type of quick release rings are in order, and Leupold QRW's have worked well for me.

I lean heavily towards simple, easy to see reticles, and most of the multipoint, CQB and ranging types, especially for a carbine, are to "busy" to suit me. About as complicated as I'd accept would be down the lines of the Burris ballist-plex. You mention hogs, so some type of illuminated rig might be attractive, but remember, that feature adds cost and weight.

The Nikon 223 series comes to mind, but I have no experience with one. My own .223 lightweight bolt rifle/sporter, (not a Mossberg, but very trim and sleek) wears a fixed 6x, and now after shooting it a number of years, I wish I had a tad more magnification, as crows and chuck heads are a bit small to see and hit much past 200 or so with the 6x. For coyotes, it works out to about 200, for me anyhow. If I buy another glass for it, it will be a compact 3-9x, likely a Leupold, but NOT a full size model, as that would spoil the looks and handling.

Properly zeroed, a .223 can be pretty flat out to 300 yds, and that is about all the farther I'd take one on varmints, and not past 200 on bigger game, say deer and hogs with the right slug and good shooting. So, again, on a sporter, the CQB, multipoint reticles are not really a need. Not gonna lay suppressive fire, on a a ridge at 500 with a .223 sporter. NOt gonna do entries and raids either.

All that changes if you do indeed intend to use it as a LE/Patrol arm. For that I'd put a 1-4x, with some type of illum. Maybe down the lines of Leatherwood DMR or the Hi-lux.
 
bamaranger said:
with some type of illum.
Click to expand...

I suppose somebody, somewhere, has found lighted sights to be useful under some circumstance.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how or when. In my experience, with several varieties on both firearms and archery equipment, I have found that any time a lighted sight would be helpful because I can't see the sight, the light itself washes out the target and I can't see the target to aim with the sight that I now can see.

It's like a Catch-22. I can see the target but can't see the sight. Turn on a lighted sight, now I can see the sight but not the target.

Honestly, for a close range targets at least, the cross-hairs don't even matter for killing purposes. Center the target and pull the trigger. The cross-hairs are in the middle, remember?:D;)
 
You've gotten a few suggestions on low powered variable scopes. Yes, you can shoot a coyote at 200 yards with a low powered scope, but it's a lot more fun and more precise with a higher powered variable. I just flat do not use 3-9 scopes any more. I don't care who makes them. Just get a Bushnell 4-12 for $150 and you'll be fine. If you were anywhere close to me (central Texas), I'd let you try the one I have that's now boxed. I like to punch paper and it's ever so much more fun to shoot and then see the hole you just made than it is to shoot, move to the spotting scope and find the hole, then back to the gun. Trust me on that. I used that Bushnell for a couple of years, went to a Nikon Monarch 4-16 (which broke) and then I went to a Leupold VX2 6-18. I like shooting at small targets. The latest version is an inverted V and I aim at the tip of the upside down V. Works great for me, but you won't even be able to see it with a 2-7 or a 3-9.
 
I love 1-4s and 1-5s on ARs, but for the MVP, I would bump that up a touch. A 2-7 Burris FFII would probably be my budget minded choice. When you get to 4x on the low end, you have just lost too much, unless you only sit in a blind or a stand, to be on the quick up close shots.

There are a lot of good 3-9 options out there. If you have any thought of shooting at night, in low light, don't skimp on the optic. The budget scopes will all be decent in the light, but when you are looking at lasers and green or red varmint lights, they are not going to perform as well.

If you want to get fancy, look at a 2-10 Burris Veracity...$600, but a heck of a lot of value at that and terrific glass.

Burris, Warne and Seekins mounts are the ones I use, all good companies with high quality products.
 
I'm enjoying my new Nikon P223 3x9x40 Matte BDC (BRA40107) scope on my Colt CSR/CRX. It's designed for the AR15s, with a clear picture and light gathering.
 
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