22lr scope for back yard target shooting

[Meroh]

I am looking for a scope for my 22lr bolt gun. In and around the $400 range. Approximately 4 to 16 power with side focus. Shooting between 25 and 100m. Illuminated reticle a bonus. Mostly paper targets but occasionally a squirrel takes over my bird feeder. What are some good options? I saw a Burris 4.5 to 14 x 42 on here that really interested me but side focus only goes down to 50m. Thanks for your help and ideas. John

I have a Riton on my varmint rifle, and would not hesitate to buy another; very clear with side parallax knob on the side and came with pop-up lensed covers. It is so clear, that even with my old eyes, I use that rifle as a spotting scope for all of my open sight rifles; no problem seeing even .22 holes in a target at 100 yards with it. Holds zero. Simple dot Reticle and easy to use. The one I have is a "1 Primal 4 - 16 X 24" Perfect for a bit of precision .22 shooting if that is your game.

I went a different rout for my .22 which I do use for target up to 100 yards. I have a Brno .22 with a highly figured walnut Bavarian style stock with the classic rear tangent sight. In order for most scopes to clear the sight with the right eye relief, it needs to be mounted very high, with no cheek weld. For this reason, I figured I would try a very inexpensive Sun Optics "Shorty-Forty", a very short scope where the bell sits behind the rear sight, it has parallax adjustment on the front bell, and surprisingly good optical quality and a simple dot reticle. Perfect on my rifle with low mounts. I have found a "2 dot" hold over keeps all my CCI Standards on target at 100 yards, with a 20 yard zero for our indoor range.

Considering that I used to shoot only with a 6 X Tasko, I find the 3-9 X 40 perfect for my needs... and for less than $200.00

View attachment 609827

 

[.22LRGUY]

I am looking for a scope for my 22lr bolt gun. In and around the $400 range. Approximately 4 to 16 power with side focus. Shooting between 25 and 100m. Illuminated reticle a bonus. Mostly paper targets but occasionally a squirrel takes over my bird feeder. What are some good options? I saw a Burris 4.5 to 14 x 42 on here that really interested me but side focus only goes down to 50m. Thanks for your help and ideas. John

When I saw your magnification range, I instantly thought of my most recent scope purchase, this Burris model with side focus and the E1 reticle;

https://www.burrisoptics.com/scopes...es-series/fullfield-e1-riflescope-4.5-14x42mm

I think the glass is great on these, nice and bright. Love the E1 reticle, though being a small, "floating" reticle (doesn't go to the edges) I found it a real challenge to level it. In fact, last time I had the gun out that wears it...I'm not 100% sure it's 100% level. lol I would pick one again in an instant, as I think it's a great scope for the $. The magnification dial is very stiff. Stiff on most scopes, this one is very stiff. If you keep an eye on the Optics EE, you often see Burris scopes in this magnification range that are older, and have AO. I'm not sure why anyone would pick AO over SF, but that's me.

The Athlon scopes seem to be well loved by those who have them, I've never held or looked through one.

I also have an older 4-12X AO Leupold Vari X with a fine/duplex reticle. Not everyone likes the way the adjustments are friction vs. clicks, but I've had other scopes with the same (older Bushnells) and it works perfectly. Could probably pick one of those up under your budget #.

 

[EL34/6L6]

I've been happy with my Bushnell Engage on my 22lr.