Rimfire Optics Overkill?

Off in the Bushes said:
Its going to be a 1903 MSR
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What is your main purpose with the rifle? I had one of those rifles that came to Canada in 2015 (no adjustable butt plate and no rail under the forearm but otherwise the same). I used it only at the range and had a 6-24 scope with a fine crosshairs with target dot reticle. It was never below 24X magnification.
 
For me, anything over 4x @ the low end is too much for hunting. Hard to see any target inside 50 m if the lowest your scope goes is say 6x....

No issue with your choice of 4-16 though, go for it!
 
grauhanen said:
What is your main purpose with the rifle? I had one of those rifles that came to Canada in 2015 (no adjustable butt plate and no rail under the forearm but otherwise the same). I used it only at the range and had a 6-24 scope with a fine crosshairs with target dot reticle. It was never below 24X magnification.
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I’m no too sure, I wanted a glorified gopher gun but with the ability to target shoot at the range if the mood strikes me.
Always wanted an Anschutz and this checked all the boxes for me.
 
Every summer i like to marmot hunting, i will fit my Smith & Bender 5X25 PMll over my CZ 22 long rifle extra LUX 28 inch barrel.

I like to shoot them in the eye, they drop and their track, giving them no chance to run back to their hole.
 
Beautiful rifle! I'd spend as much as your bank account allows on a scope for that rifle. There is no such thing as "Optics Overkill". And whatever you buy make sure it has side parallax adjustment, preferably down to 25 yards.

Here, I'll spend your money for you: NF Competition 15-55x52 with the floating target dot DDR-2 reticle. You're welcome.
 
For that use, I'd probably get the same scope I have on my 452 Varmint.. Leupold VX3i 6.5-20x40 EFR Target, or the Sightron STAC 4-20x50.. both will correct parallax down to 10 yards if you ever want to shoot indoor at 20 yds. The fine duplex reticle on the Leupold and the MOA-2 reticle on the Sightron lend themselves well to target shooting.
Both have lifetime warranty if bought legally in Canada, and both will kick the good out of $1k. More so the Leupold but the Sightron is about $750 from Hirsch. There's one for sale on the EE right now, in fact.
You're already in the deep end with the MS R, you might as well put good glass on it. Like metalbender said, you can't hit what you can't see. Plus with "bargain glass" there's concern with clarity at high magnification settings, eyestrain over a long period, etc.
Some prefer fixed power scopes, I like variables because they're.. well.. variable! Some matches may require lower magnification if you want to compete. Think long-term usability if you're going to drop this kind of coin.
IMO, 16x isn't enough power for the whole range of what you want to do. 20x is definitely the low end of what's ideal for target use IMO. It will let you see bullet holes at 100 yds.
I'd much rather have pin-sharp 20x glass than murky 36x. Clarity at high magnification ain't cheap, and it never has been.

I use a 6-18 on my long range rifle, but the target is a big black bulls-eye. You could shoot that with 10x if you wanted, and some do.
 
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Off in the Bushes said:
I’m no too sure, I wanted a glorified gopher gun but with the ability to target shoot at the range if the mood strikes me.
Always wanted an Anschutz and this checked all the boxes for me.
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That rifle sure is a box checker. The 5098 trigger is great for target shooting as it is about 6 ounces from the factory. The barrel is heavy but not long so good for both the range and the field. You can easily use a bipod on this version of the M SR (the earlier one did not have a bottom accessory rail or sling swivel studs). The flat and relatively wide bottom of the forearm is good in a suitable front rest bag. The advice given by Chilly807 above is worth noting.
 
Chilly807 said:
For that use, I'd probably get the same scope I have on my 452 Varmint.. Leupold VX3i 6.5-20x40 EFR Target, or the Sightron STAC 4-20x50.. both will correct parallax down to 10 yards if you ever want to shoot indoor at 20 yds. The fine duplex reticle on the Leupold and the MOA-2 reticle on the Sightron lend themselves well to target shooting.
Both have lifetime warranty if bought legally in Canada, and both will kick the good out of $1k. More so the Leupold but the Sightron is about $750 from Hirsch. There's one for sale on the EE right now, in fact.
You're already in the deep end with the MS R, you might as well put good glass on it. Like metalbender said, you can't hit what you can't see. Plus with "bargain glass" there's concern with clarity at high magnification settings, eyestrain over a long period, etc.
Some prefer fixed power scopes, I like variables because they're.. well.. variable! Some matches may require lower magnification if you want to compete. Think long-term usability if you're going to drop this kind of coin.
IMO, 16x isn't enough power for the whole range of what you want to do. 20x is definitely the low end of what's ideal for target use IMO. It will let you see bullet holes at 100 yds.
I'd much rather have pin-sharp 20x glass than murky 36x. Clarity at high magnification ain't cheap, and it never has been.

I use a 6-18 on my long range rifle, but the target is a big black bulls-eye. You could shoot that with 10x if you wanted, and some do.
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Well I don’t think it’s bargain glass, but I got a baragain on it Nikon Prostaff 7 4-16x50mm. My only concert might the parallax adjustment starts at 50 yards. Which isn’t much of a concern for me unless POI changes when inside that range. I just under that it it might not have clear cross hairs on the target. Unless I’m missing something.
 
Off in the Bushes said:
Well I don’t think it’s bargain glass, but I got a baragain on it Nikon Prostaff 7 4-16x50mm. My only concert might the parallax adjustment starts at 50 yards. Which isn’t much of a concern for me unless POI changes when inside that range. I just under that it it might not have clear cross hairs on the target. Unless I’m missing something.
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Nikon makes some really good scopes, plus they have Canadian warranty service. I don't consider them to be "bargain glass" at all. I've had one or two of their scopes over the years and was happy with them. They really need to make a higher magnification version of their Prostaff 3-9x40 EFR Target scope.. unfortunately they don't make what I consider to be a true target scope with high enough magnification.

Parallax is what occurs when you move your eye from one position to another and the crosshair moves on the target. In a situation like that, it's the same as if the scope was very slightly loose on it's mounts. If your scope has a minimum focus distance of 50 yards, your crosshair MIGHT be slightly blurry inside that distance, and you won't be able to correct parallax much below 50 yds. There's usually a slight fudge factor, probably down to say, 45 yds.
You can check to see if you have a parallax problem by sitting the rifle on a solid mount (front rest or bipod, and rear bag). Without touching or moving the rifle at all, move your eye around behind the scope. If the crosshair shifts with your eye movement, you have parallax.
With parallax correction, the target and the crosshair are in the same plane and don't move in relation to each other, regardless of your eye position behind the scope. There are two common types of parallax correction in rifle scopes. One is AO (adjustable objective), the other is called side focus or SF. Both have the same effect, AO is more common on scopes designed for target use. At least two manufacturers (Leupold and Nikon) refer to some AO models as having EFR, or Extended Focus Range. Those models focus very close in and correct parallax at the same time. Sightron doesn't call theirs EFR, but many of their scopes focus at quite close range.
Scopes with fixed parallax are capable of totally eliminating parallax at one distance only, usually 50 yds for rimfire and 100 yds for scopes intended for high power rifles. Having said that, it CAN be adjusted, but it's not easy. Under MOST hunting conditions it won't be a problem, but for precision shooting it can be a real issue.
My .22 hunting rifle scope is a fixed 4x set to be parallax free at 40 yds.
Any scopes I use for target work have adjustable parallax correction. If you can move your head slightly and the crosshair shifts right out of the 10 ring, that's obviously a problem. You can't always believe what the focus ring tells you for distance, either. Most good scopes are fairly close, but I usually wiggle my head around a bit before shooting to see if I have any parallax left that needs to be corrected.
Here's a link to a RimfireCentral article on parallax, it's excellent reading. You'll need to remove one of the "t"s in htttp to get it to work.. no hot links!

htttps://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=364832
 
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My two Anschutz have nice glass also. You spent the money on the toy, may as well make it very functional for the intended purpose. And the glass can always go on something else so money is never wasted on optics in my opinion
Anschutz 1517 thumbhole 17 HMR Swarovski Z5 5-25x52 - plinking and critters
Anschutz 64 MS R 22LR Sightron SII 36x42 with fine cross hairs - serious target shooting
 
I just put a $700 Sightron S-II 36x42 on a $225 Savage Mk-II. So no, I do not think 4-16x50 is overkill. I am just guessing that this will be target shooting rifle for you. I was running a 6-18x50 previously and thought it might be too much scope. As it turns out it wasn't enough for the benchrest shooting that I like to do.
 
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