New toy needs a scope

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brentwinkey

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I just got me a 10/22 for my christmas present to myself, its a 10/22 LVT stainless, i wanted to get some input on scope options, its gonna be a split 50/50 plinking/target shooting and hunting gun(squirrel/rabbit/woods gun), i was thinking a Adjustable objective 3x9x40 scope, please give brand suggestions, money is not really and option(under $500) also note that its gun spend alot of time riding in trucks so durability and zero hold is very important. And advise would be great. Thanks Brent
 
Personally I'm not a big fan of AO scopes for backwoods hunting rifles (except on centerfire varmint rifles) as setting them makes me slow to get on target and the knobs (as they usually have target knobs) get caught up on stuff. Since most .22 shooting is under 100 yards and most rimfire specific scopes set their parallax to account for this I'm not really sure what the advantage of an AO scope would be.

When I think of what I'd shoot with a .22 (squirrel, rabbit, etc.) I'd rather have something lighter weight to get on target fast and shoot offhand. I personally use Leupold 2-7 power rimfire scopes on my woods .22 and .17HMR and I'm quite happy with them. That should be well inside your budget.

EDIT: I couldn't find the 2-7 power Leupold rimfire. Must be an old model. I did see this which looked interesting.
 
I've got the cheapo old Bass Pro Shops Redhead silver 4x scope on my 10/22 and it has been perfect for everthing within .22lr range. I love it and it was less than $50. That was 7 or 8 years ago though... don't know how much they are now.
 
Also, this rifle is in my truck at all times, and I have never had a problem with needing to rezero the scope. Mine is stainless also and it looks pretty good on it FWIW.
 
Nikon's Prostaff BDC-150 3-9x40 scope is good out to 150 yards, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg ($100-150 depending on where you get it).

I have their M223 BDC scope on an AR, and if the prostaff is even half as good, it's a nice scope.
 
The only caution I have about non-AO scopes is to make sure they are parallax-set for 50 yards and not 100-150 like most centerfire hunting scopes.
 
Mueller APV or APT, best rimfire scope on the market. AO is important on a rimfire because of the shorter ranges it is used at. Do some searching at rimfirecentral and you well find the Mueller is very popular and has been the scope of choice for years.
 
I am a big fan of AO scopes because I want to use power and focus at closer ranges than many might do. I often shoot tiny targets and also shoot paper novelty / game targets. Try shooting a 22 rimfire rifle at the indoor range in clubs that do this in winter. You will want to shift from outdoor hunting to indoor targets. And you'll experiment to find the best ammo. Then the AO really becomes a needed option. I have no problem with the 3-9x32 AO Simmons 22 mag scope. It's among the very best if not the best rimfire scope out there at that "low cost" price point.
However, in another case, I actually did end up using the BSA Sweet 22 scope as I describe here. After failing to get the outdoor performance I was looking for, I ended up placing this scope on one of my Henry lever action 22's for indoor use only. I then decided I wanted to shoot shorts, so I found the best accuracy brand as well as the best accuracy brand in a 22 LR standard velocity. Lets say an indoor NRA target with a possible 100 points, I typically get a 98 with a deviation of +/- 2. Making for a worst case 96 and a best of 100. It's a great setup for some of those number game or picture game fun targets.
 
Brentwinkey:

An AO on a 10/22 is not needed unless you are shooting fifty and 100 yard targets for score. I have a Leupold 3X on my 10/22 that I can hit golf balls at fifty yards with. Think about this, a good 4X, .22 scope has the parallax adjusted at seventy-five yards and they bring the target four times closer. I've found, that for me, 4X is more than enough scope for .22 rimfire rifles.

Semper Fi.

Gunnery sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired
 
The Gunnery Sgt has a valid opinion at the stated ranges, but not correct according to the Gunner (CWO-4). You take a Ruger 10-22 and shoot Cheerios, peanuts, pretzels or swinging golf balls and you will want to use power and focus much closer than 50 yards. You might shoot at 10,20,30 or 40 yards or perhaps 10,15,20, and 25 yards.
In this case the Gunnery Sgt would have a poor score. The Gunner would smoke him. But I can tell you another thing about shooting these kinds of targets: the Ruger 10-22 would not be a good choice if you want to win. A better choice would be a selected older Charles Daly import or a much higher cost Kimber. Oddly enough, it is my experience that a good number of low cost Henry lever actions can have superb accuracy above and beyond the vast numbers of typical rimfire rifles for the purposes stated here.
 
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