Rimfire Scopes - Where to start?
- Thread starter Brendon292
- Start date
My suggestion would be a good 6-24 with parallax adjustment. Or a 4 -16 or 18 at the very least.
Read the specs on each scope you look at. Note that the eye relief needs to be more precise the higher the magnification.
Neither will be powerful enough to see your shots at 100 yards. I have been buying RITON scopes, good value, excellent quality, good warranty. The quality of Vortex has slipped, at least with Riton the quality is constant, the price has actually came down a bit. Leupold remains excellent.
You are not alone, 3 of my last four trips to the the range started with finding a member struggling to sight in a scoped rifle. Struggling with varrying issues from lose rings, lose rail, too much MOA on a rail, or following conflicting/misunderstood you tube stuff. All had expended a lot of ammo with zero progress. I was able to get them back on track very quickly. I have been farting around with scopes for about 50 years. LOL
Wellll, Here's my VMTR that cost $1100 Used, with the Athlon Argos G2 8-34x56 that cost $700 tx + shpg New. The cheek-pad is foam + Gorilla tape held with Alien-tape 
The rest is a 10+ year old Primos "Group Therapy" that's obsolete (cost $90 + tax). And SK-RM ammo - random Lot #.
I shot a 0.584" group @-100yds just b4 a 100-yd challenge of 1.456" Avg. w-none under 1.136" last Fall - no 'good days' this year.
The rest is a 10+ year old Primos "Group Therapy" that's obsolete (cost $90 + tax). And SK-RM ammo - random Lot #.I shot a 0.584" group @-100yds just b4 a 100-yd challenge of 1.456" Avg. w-none under 1.136" last Fall - no 'good days' this year.
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I, and a whole lot of other lifelong shooters, disagree with you on this point. I shoot my rimfire routinely at 100yds with my 2-7 x 33 at life size squirrel targets and bull eyes with excellent results. The image of a target at 100 yards with a scope set at 7x is equivalent to using irons at 14yds, with a better reticle to boot.
I think it’s a disservice to recommend to a rimfire shooter just new to scoping rifles that a minimum of 18x magnification is necessary for a 22 at 100 yards. By your own admission the groups you get at those extreme magnifications are no better than those of us who use the more practical and typical 22lr scope powers.
Low power scopes have their place; for example, I have a 1.5-5 that rides on a QD mount on a 9.3 x 62, I have a 3-9 pm a rifle I use for 20-50 yards, also a red-dot. my 6.5 x 55 varmint rifle has a 4-16 and works great for ground hogs out past 300 yards. It all depends on the type of shooting and what your expectations are.
If I was only shooting 25-50 I agree, needs are different. If you are going to be walking a lot with a rifle, then a smaller, light weight scope is an advantage. 50-100 + I like to see where it is shooting, as I am shooting, so I can fine tune while shooting. I can hang multiple targets on the back-stop and have to run up and look every 5 shots; and don't have to buy a spotting scope either.
Opinions are like A-Holes; everyone has one, these are mine.
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- Location
- Nova Scotia
Define excellent results? Who are these others you speek for? They're grown adults and they can speak for themselves.
Not saying you cannot shoot longer with a low power optic. You just be straining, and finding it more difficult. Then you need a spotting scope. Or constantly walking down to check. So you're stuck having to use bigger targets.
I run everything from irons, 1x to 20x scopes. Last 2 shoots I won 1st and 2nd with my scope on 4x but have option of 12x. Then my anschutz i run on 18-20 as higher I loose quality. Then reticle plays a hige part. To thick and covers your target. Then well the whole 1/4" adjustment, which is a whole bullet size shift. Why I like 1/8th inch adjustments
I also shoot apetures out to 100.
My min for a scope is 3-12. Better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.
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malcontent - " . . . By your own admission the groups you get at those extreme magnifications are no better than those of us who use the more practical and typical 22lr scope powers. "
When/where did meroh "admit" this "no better" BS you're promoting ? That's as silly as saying 'if you go faster you won't get there sooner.'
Better Equipment will obtain Better Results - No Way this could be otherwise. "Elmer" would be ashamed of your attitude.
When/where did meroh "admit" this "no better" BS you're promoting ? That's as silly as saying 'if you go faster you won't get there sooner.'
Better Equipment will obtain Better Results - No Way this could be otherwise. "Elmer" would be ashamed of your attitude.
The leupold VX-Freedom Rimfire MOA is a great scope for a hunting 22. I have the 3-9x variant on my Browning TBolt maple Sporter. You can see it here: https://redleafrimfire.ca/2025/02/04/browning-tbolt-maple-sporter/
If your 457 is a Sporter weight barrel, and you intent to primarily hunt with it, that leupold would be a great fit. I routinely smash grackles between 10 and 80 yards standing off hand, using the stadia to hold over…
If you have a heavy barrel 457 and intend to do more rested target shooting but not compete in PRS, I’d suggest the Hawke Airmax 4-12x40 AO AMX. It’s a lot of scope for its price range, crystal clear, I’d say very noticeably clearer than the vortex venom offerings at half the price. It’s very robust. Down side it’s second focal plane so not ideal for PRS shooting but very precise for rested target shooting. It’s just not as feature rich as most entry to lower mid level offerings that would be considered for PRS competition.
Pictures below are with the Hawke and my match rifle at 50 meters off the bench with RWS match ammo.
If your 457 is a Sporter weight barrel, and you intent to primarily hunt with it, that leupold would be a great fit. I routinely smash grackles between 10 and 80 yards standing off hand, using the stadia to hold over…
If you have a heavy barrel 457 and intend to do more rested target shooting but not compete in PRS, I’d suggest the Hawke Airmax 4-12x40 AO AMX. It’s a lot of scope for its price range, crystal clear, I’d say very noticeably clearer than the vortex venom offerings at half the price. It’s very robust. Down side it’s second focal plane so not ideal for PRS shooting but very precise for rested target shooting. It’s just not as feature rich as most entry to lower mid level offerings that would be considered for PRS competition.
Pictures below are with the Hawke and my match rifle at 50 meters off the bench with RWS match ammo.
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chocol8thunda
Regular
I use a Bushnell Rimfire 3-9x scope on med height vortex rings. My rifle is a Savage A22. Shoots great.
Scopes - always at least a million different ideas on which scope to buy. I have around a dozen CZ rimfires, 455 and 457. All but one have various Leupold scopes. I don’t think any of them have parallax adjustment. I have used them all for shooting gophers, most at what ever power setting that they had when they came to me. I’ve shot gophers anywhere from 6 feet to waaayyy out there, and can’t say that I’ve ever noticed the need to reset the focus. Maybe I am just lucky.
The moral of this story is - you don’t need to go to the extreme, unless you are going to be shooting target at greater distances.
The moral of this story is - you don’t need to go to the extreme, unless you are going to be shooting target at greater distances.
I'm kind of in the same boat. So I bought a very cheap 4x30 scope off of Amazon to just get started. Picture is clear but I haven't had it out to the range yet. After shooting scope free for over 50 years this is all new stuff to me as well. Good luck on your journey.
OP, the numbers you're confused with, describe the magnification ranges of the scope, such as 3x9, which means the magnification is variable from 3 times to 9 times what you would see with your naked eye.
The 33 and 40 numbers indicate the diameter of the "Objective" lens, which is the large lens at the front of the scope.
The rear lens, which you look through, is called the "Ocular" lens.
The folks are giving you good advice on how high the bases need to be to mount the scopes on your rifle.
Something else you may want to look into, is a scope with "Adjustable Objective" capabilities, IF you intend to do any "long range" say out to 100 meters or further shooting.
Most 22rf scopes are set up in a manner which the reticle (cross hair) is in perfect focus at appx 35-45 meters.
When you look through that scope at anything closer or further away, the reticle will look like it's moving when you move your eye or head slightly, while looking through the scope. This situation is called Parallax, which occurs when the lenses one each end, as well as the internal lenses are not perfectly aligned. Some scopes come with a side adjustment turret to fix this issue at any range you sight, but it has to be corrected whenever you change distances.
There are some high priced scopes available which are supposedly parallax free at all distances out to infinity.
I have a couple making that claim and both are very good but not perfect. One is a Swarovsky and the other is a Nikon. Very expensive but not the most expensive out there.
The 33 and 40 numbers indicate the diameter of the "Objective" lens, which is the large lens at the front of the scope.
The rear lens, which you look through, is called the "Ocular" lens.
The folks are giving you good advice on how high the bases need to be to mount the scopes on your rifle.
Something else you may want to look into, is a scope with "Adjustable Objective" capabilities, IF you intend to do any "long range" say out to 100 meters or further shooting.
Most 22rf scopes are set up in a manner which the reticle (cross hair) is in perfect focus at appx 35-45 meters.
When you look through that scope at anything closer or further away, the reticle will look like it's moving when you move your eye or head slightly, while looking through the scope. This situation is called Parallax, which occurs when the lenses one each end, as well as the internal lenses are not perfectly aligned. Some scopes come with a side adjustment turret to fix this issue at any range you sight, but it has to be corrected whenever you change distances.
There are some high priced scopes available which are supposedly parallax free at all distances out to infinity.
I have a couple making that claim and both are very good but not perfect. One is a Swarovsky and the other is a Nikon. Very expensive but not the most expensive out there.
Try the link below, I bumped into it last night and thought of you.
https://www.brandonoptics.com/canadariflescopes
I am not going to comment much on rings and such but I did recently pick up a Leupold 2-7x33 rimfire scope. It is a beautifully clear optic but find it really only useful at full power beyond 40 yards. It has a 50 yard paralax and find it to produce a very fuzzy image within 20-30 yards unless set to 2-3 power. Myself I shoot pretty small targets so prefer a scope with an adjustable paralax instead so I can really focus in on my targets or just use irons instead. As for recommendations, I have been using Hawke scopes for the last few years I have a couple of the older Varmint models a 4-12 as well as a 24 power. Both have adjustable objecives which are necessary at rimfire distances. I am very happy with then for budget scopes. Not sure what your budget is. They are comparable to the vantage line but the airmax line are much nicer.
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