Scope Recommendations

Rifle scopes, iron sights and optics. Spotting scopes and target acquisition devices.

Scope Recommendations

Post by S O K A R » 12 Aug 2022, 8:39 am

I'm an extreme noob when it comes to scopes & magnifications
What do people suggest for a 22wmr & 243 magnification wise?
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by in2anity » 12 Aug 2022, 10:51 am

LEUPOLD
LE174182
VX-FREEDOM
3-9X40
CDS DUPLEX
SPECIAL NEW $445
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by Lazarus » 12 Aug 2022, 11:01 am

Athlon make outstanding scopes for the price, with a transferable lifetime warranty
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by northdude » 12 Aug 2022, 11:03 am

Whats your budget and what type of shooting are you doing
22 hornets and most things 6.5
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by S O K A R » 12 Aug 2022, 1:04 pm

northdude wrote:Whats your budget and what type of shooting are you doing


Was thinking $500 for each, should get something decent yeah?
And just general hunting duties for both
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by bladeracer » 12 Aug 2022, 1:08 pm

S O K A R wrote:I'm an extreme noob when it comes to scopes & magnifications
What do people suggest for a 22wmr & 243 magnification wise?


It really does depend on what you plan to use them for.
You could get by just fine with a fixed 4-power on both, but you might find a variable much more useful.
If you enjoy putting groups on paper you'll want enough magnification to be able to see your bullet holes, for me I need about 9-power for every 100m of range to see .22-caliber bullet holes in paper. But if you want to be able to walk a creek bank trying to flush running rabbits or foxes, you might prefer something that goes lower than 4-power, perhaps even a 1-power that doesn't magnify at all. If you want to shoot at night over a light you'll probably prefer very good glass.

Go to some ranges and see what others are using, some might even let you have a look through theirs.

If you're a hunter that zeroes their scope for one load then never changes it, a compact scope with capped turrets is all you need. Some holdover marks on the reticle can be very handy though. If you prefer a bit more precision you'll want to be able to easily dial your scope to give you a dead-on hold at any distance, nice big resettable turrets with audible and tactile clicks is more suitable. If you're stretching your shots out to really long distances, things like a zero-stop and revolution counter can be useful. You will likely also want either a 20- or 30-minute rail or and an adjustable rail so you can get the most out of the scope adjustment.

You need to decide if you want to pay more for a first focal-plane reticle rather than the more common, and more useful, second focal plane. The difference is that a FFP reticle gets bigger, relative to the target, as you increase the magnification, which is precisely the opposite of what you want for precise shooting. Zooming in to see a small target at long range makes the target disappear behind the huge reticle. To get a reticle that is still fine enough for shooting at high magnification they can use an extremely fine reticle, that is virtually invisible at low magnification against a background of grass or trees. The SFP scope keeps the reticle the same size, relative to the target, regardless of the magnification. The usual claim made against SFP is that the graduations marked on the reticle only being "correct" at one magnification is true, but mostly irrelevant. Most scopes graduate the reticle at the maximum zoom, which is most likely where you will have it if you are trying to aim at something tiny a long way away. The SFP has the advantage that the reticle graduations change with the zoom. For example, my 4.5-18x40's use BDC reticles that have the "600yd" holdover at 15.4MoA. If I need 30MoA of hold I can simply wind the zoom back to 9-power and hold on the "600yd" mark, giving me 30.8MoA of holdover. If I'm holding on the third mark and see my shot fall a little below my point of aim, I can simply hold the crosshair in place on my aiming point and wind the zoom back until the reticle mark meets the bullet impact, put the holdover mark back on the target and that is where my shots will hit. It's easy enough to print a reference card if you can't remember this, but once you start working with your scope it'll soon become second nature. https://www.targettamers.com/guides/ffp-vs-sfp/

You'll also have to decide if you prefer to work in minutes or milliradians, I don't think I've ever seen a scope that offers both, though some manufacturers offer the same scope in either minutes or mils. Mils are theoretically simpler as one milliradian is simply one-thousandth of the distance, so 100mm at 100m, 1000mm at 1000m, generally marked and adjusted in tenths - one click moving your reticle 10mm at 100m. I prefer minutes myself, 29mm at 100m, 291mm at 1000m, and generally adjusted in quarter-minutes - one click moving the reticle 7.25mm at 100m. Most of the time there is no reason to convert minutes or mils into actual dimensions though so it doesn't matter. Your ballistic calculator will give you a number in minutes or mils so you just dial or hold that many minutes or mils, and fire. Be sure to check that your scope has enough adjustment in the turrets, my 4.5-18x40's give me 105-minutes, my 10-40x56 gives me just 42-minutes.

And parallax adjustment, which becomes more important as you chase more precision. The reticle is etched onto a lens in the scope. The target is projected onto another lens in the scope (the same way your eye works). Parallax adjusts the scope to place the reticle and the target in the same plane of focus. When the parallax is not correct it's similar to using iron sights, if the front and rear sights are not aligned you won't hit the target. If the target lens and the sight lens (reticle) are not aligned within the scope, you won't hit the target. When set correctly, you can move your head around behind the scope and the crosshair will remain "attached" to your point of aim at the target. When it's not set, the reticle will "float" around the target. If you are only shooting at fixed distances at a range, you can work with an AO or Adjustable Objective, but in the field it is extremely difficult to adjust an AO scope while you are looking through the scope - go for a "side focus" parallax adjustment.

You can of course use several scopes on one rifle for different purposes, especially if you have Picatinny rails as they retain zero very well. You can swap in a 10-40x for range work, a 1-6x for walking creeks, a 2-7x for bush hunting, or a thermal for night shooting.
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by animalpest » 12 Aug 2022, 2:24 pm

in2anity wrote:LEUPOLD
LE174182
VX-FREEDOM
3-9X40
CDS DUPLEX
SPECIAL NEW $445



Yep, that would be my choice. Just keep it simple for now.
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by Oldbloke » 12 Aug 2022, 3:57 pm

$445 is a very good price
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by solarpak » 14 Aug 2022, 3:42 pm

S O K A R wrote:I'm an extreme noob when it comes to scopes & magnifications
What do people suggest for a 22wmr & 243 magnification wise?


22WMR - one inch tube scope - either a 3-9 x 40 or 3-12x40 - certainly nothing more than 12x mag needed.

243 - same as the 22WMR .

Like many other posters will say - depends on what you want to do with the rifle and your budget.

These days optics are very affordable and quality is quite good - yes you will pay for the European brands (through the nose) but the best Euro brand under $1000 with excellent optics is the Meopta Meopro or Optika range.......real good glass indeed.

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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by bigpete » 14 Aug 2022, 4:18 pm

Straight 4x on the 22wmr
3 to 9x40 on the 243.
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by SCJ429 » 14 Aug 2022, 9:46 pm

Can you find a quality 6x fixed power like Leupold for $500?
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by Clint Ellison » 15 Aug 2022, 6:14 pm

I used a fixed 6 power on my 22 mag for years it worked well though not sure if many fixed power scopes are made these days. A 3-9 would work well. I'd probably choose a variable scope with a high end of at least 18x for the 243 as it can be deadly out to pretty decent ranges and would possibly be hindering yourself with any lower. Any reputable brand in your price range should be decent
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by solarpak » 15 Aug 2022, 9:29 pm

Leupold do make a fixed 6x (unsure if Nioa do stock them) but Meopta make the Meopo in a 6x42 - superb scope for the coin. Also Lynx make a 6x38 with the Duplex reticle - a top scope made in Japan by a well respected but not well known brand....for under $500 my pick of the fixed 6x scopes.

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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by S O K A R » 17 Aug 2022, 4:56 pm

Thanks for the replies

Ended up going a zt thrive 3-9x40 for the 22wmr and a zt thrive 4-16x50 for the 243
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by safeshot » 17 Aug 2022, 8:55 pm

I am in love with my Hawke scope made for the .22RF.

The quality of the glass is exceptional.
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Re: Scope Recommendations

Post by deye243 » 17 Aug 2022, 10:08 pm

S O K A R wrote:Thanks for the replies

Ended up going a zt thrive 3-9x40 for the 22wmr and a zt thrive 4-16x50 for the 243

Well that blew the budget . Go forth and enjoy .
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