For general purpouse shooting involving a little hunting and mostly target shooting under 400 yds what would be a better choice? I have an inexpensive 3-9x40 on my 22 and I mostly use the max magnification. and suggestions for fixed and variable scopes in a modest price range would be appreciated . Also pros and cons to the two will help.
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Variable vs. Fixed Scopes
- Thread starter marsbars
- Start date
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
.22 rimfire? You speak of 400 yards; are you going to buy a centerfire rifle? Typically, a .22 rimfire is zeroed at 50 yards, and shooting at 400 yards is an exercise in futility.
Zeroed at 200 yards, a .220 Swift will have a drop of around 15" at 400; a .30-'06, 22". Any scope of whatever power won't help much unless you know the range reasonably closely.
One test for the scope you now have would be to shoot one shot at 25 or 50 yards while set at 9x; then fire one shot at 3x. If the hits are within 1/2" or so, be happy. If they're three inches or more apart, your scope ain't very good.
For coyotes and deer, which are mostly shot well under 300 yards, the advantage of anything over 4x is largely psychological. For prairie dogs or ground squirrels, more magnification is quite helpful. In general, for hunting, the field of view is more important than magnification.
Simmons and Burris are apparently of reasonable quality for the price, generally. People who use the higher grades of Tasco are commenting favorably.
For four years I've had good service from a Simmons 44 Mag; $100. I bought a rifle which had a Tasco High Country 6x24; it shoots to the same point of aim at 6x as at 24x. Other than those, however, I have Leupolds...
Hope all this nattering is somewhat helpful...
Art
Zeroed at 200 yards, a .220 Swift will have a drop of around 15" at 400; a .30-'06, 22". Any scope of whatever power won't help much unless you know the range reasonably closely.
One test for the scope you now have would be to shoot one shot at 25 or 50 yards while set at 9x; then fire one shot at 3x. If the hits are within 1/2" or so, be happy. If they're three inches or more apart, your scope ain't very good.
For coyotes and deer, which are mostly shot well under 300 yards, the advantage of anything over 4x is largely psychological. For prairie dogs or ground squirrels, more magnification is quite helpful. In general, for hunting, the field of view is more important than magnification.
Simmons and Burris are apparently of reasonable quality for the price, generally. People who use the higher grades of Tasco are commenting favorably.
For four years I've had good service from a Simmons 44 Mag; $100. I bought a rifle which had a Tasco High Country 6x24; it shoots to the same point of aim at 6x as at 24x. Other than those, however, I have Leupolds...
Hope all this nattering is somewhat helpful...
Art
For me, max range on a .22 rimfire is up to 75 yards. I like a fixed 4power on .22s. 6X is OK if you want some precision plinking. On most centerfire rifles I like a variable.
I have never had a good 'cheap' scope. A quality fixed power is a better investment than a cheap variable IMO.
I have never had a good 'cheap' scope. A quality fixed power is a better investment than a cheap variable IMO.
I have to assume that you are going to put this scope on a rifle that is usable at 400 yards. Nowadays scopes of either type are OK for the type of shooting you mention, But you will find that fixed power models are less common than the variables types. I just took a quick look at my Cabelas catalog, very few fixed power scopes, I only see 2.5X, 4X, and 6X, maybe 10-15 models amoung several hundred variables. Whatever you decide, buy a decent quality scope, cheap is almost always disappointing.
Don in Ohio
Don in Ohio
Seems like today, in this day and age, if the rifle scope can't detect the planet Saturn with great detail, nobody wants to use it. I much prefer a fixed power scope, regardless of power. While that is my preference, it seems most of my rifles have varible mounted on them. That's because that is what came on the rifle when I bought it.
I was at the range the other day,checking out loads in 3 separte 7X57MM rifles. Two rifles had 3x9's set at 9X and the other had an old pre-M series Leupold scope in 2.5X Guess which rifle gave the tightest groups overall. Yup! the 2.5 leupold. FWIW. The longest shot I ever made on any game animal was at 427 paces, using a 3X Weaver on a .308 Win. rifle. I don't see any real need for a 6.5X20X scope, even on my varmint rifle.
Paul B.
I was at the range the other day,checking out loads in 3 separte 7X57MM rifles. Two rifles had 3x9's set at 9X and the other had an old pre-M series Leupold scope in 2.5X Guess which rifle gave the tightest groups overall. Yup! the 2.5 leupold. FWIW. The longest shot I ever made on any game animal was at 427 paces, using a 3X Weaver on a .308 Win. rifle. I don't see any real need for a 6.5X20X scope, even on my varmint rifle.
Paul B.