10/22 Scope Questions

[Gewby42]

So, I finally have jumped into the 10/22 game and feel like I am at a loss for what to do as far as scopes go. All of my optics up to this point have been pretty simple (BDC built into the reticle), all centerfire cartridges.

I am not sure where to start here, as very few scopes seem to do BDC for 22 LR. I'd imagine it'd be difficult because 22LR ammo is so varied.

Doing an MOA or MIL scope isn't a big deal, but many optics companies have dedicated rimfire scopes. I haven't been able to figure out a difference based on spec sheets, other than LPVOs having shorter parallax distances.

How much does this matter? Should I get the rimfire version of the scope? Or can I get really any scope with a MIL/MOA reticle I like?

 

[Old Man with Gun]

In general Centerfire scopes tend to make poor rimfire scopes. Many seem huge on a 10/22, most have poor minimum parallax ranges and the reticles are often too thick. Many are a blurry mess at 15- 50yds where the 10/22 is most fun.

But it depends on what you want to do with your rifle.

My go-to scope has been the 1" tube Leupold extended focal range (EFR) scopes. I have them in 3-9x33mm and 6.5-20x40mm and am very happy with both models. They are used mostly under 100yds and are sighted in for 50yds which is also almost dead on at 25yds. anyting I want to do to 100 yards is easy with hold overs. Great for tiny groups on paper and shooting old shotgun shell hulls setup at random distances. If you want a different brand, just look for a rimfire with adjustable parallax that goes under 25yds, and pay attention to length and weight so it dosn't throw off the balance of the light rifle.

But I also have a 10/22 with a 2MOA dot sight, it is great for standing and speed shooting on steel. Not as percise as a scope, but I still get under 1" groups at 50yds from the bench.

Unless you want to get into rimfire PRS matches, a complex reticle, BDC or exposed turrets are probably not needed. If you do go that direction, a 10/22 would not be my first choice.

 

[oldrifleman]

In general Centerfire scopes tend to make poor rimfire scopes. Many seem huge on a 10/22, most have poor minimum parallax ranges and the reticles are often too thick. But it depends on what you want to do with your rifle.

My go-to scope has been the 1" tube Leupold extended focal range scopes. I have them in 3-9x33mm and 6.5-20x40mm and am very happy with both. They are used mostly under 100yds and are sighted in for 50yds which is also almost dead on at 25yds. anyting I want to do to 100 yards is easy with hold overs. Great for tiny groups on paper and shooting old shotgun shell hulls setup at random distances.

But I also have a 10/22 with a 2MOA dot sight, it is great for standing and speed shooting on steel. Not as percise as a scope, but I still get under 1" groups at 50yds.

Unless you want to get into rimfire PRS matches, a complex reticle, BDC or exposed turrets are probably not needed. If you do go that direction, a 10/22 would not be my first choice.

Personal opinion but I disagree. Things may have changed but my experience with "rimfire" specific scopes is that they suck. I have been running centerfire scopes on my rimfires for 40 years. I have 4 10/22s. 2 have red dot sights (Holosun 507 Comp) and one has a nightforce 7-35 atcar the other has an Nightforce NXS something. My precision rig wears a ZCO 8-40. My BR rig wears a Nightforce comp 40X. my Win 52C wears an old 32X. no problems with any of them.

 

[oldrifleman]

So, I finally have jumped into the 10/22 game and feel like I am at a loss for what to do as far as scopes go. All of my optics up to this point have been pretty simple (BDC built into the reticle), all centerfire cartridges.

I am not sure where to start here, as very few scopes seem to do BDC for 22 LR. I'd imagine it'd be difficult because 22LR ammo is so varied.

Doing an MOA or MIL scope isn't a big deal, but many optics companies have dedicated rimfire scopes. I haven't been able to figure out a difference based on spec sheets, other than LPVOs having shorter parallax distances.

How much does this matter? Should I get the rimfire version of the scope? Or can I get really any scope with a MIL/MOA reticle I like?

I would pick a scope that has useful parallax down to 25 yards or less. Pick one that has your favorite reticle. And the best glass you can afford. Then buy a great mount ( they are almost as vital as a great scope). This all assumes that you are heading for precision. If your needs are more shoot squirrels and pests ( cans, fruit, rats, ect). Then get a red dot or something like a 1-8 lobo. My 2 rds/10/22s are light weight ( carbon fiber) close range “varmit” rigs, and they are lots of fun!

 

[Old Man with Gun]

Personal opinion but I disagree. Things may have changed but my experience with "rimfire" specific scopes is that they suck. I have been running centerfire scopes on my rimfires for 40 years. I have 4 10/22s. 2 have red dot sights (Holosun 507 Comp) and one has a nightforce 7-35 atcar the other has an Nightforce NXS something. My precision rig wears a ZCO 8-40. My BR rig wears a Nightforce comp 40X. my Win 52C wears an old 32X. no problems with any of them.

I was going under the assumption that most people scoping a 10/22 would be more in the $300-$800 budget range. You have some great glass, but most are more than 10x what a 10/22 costs and some of your rifles are huge compared to a 10/22 as well. Granted you can get a Vortex Viper PST Gen II 3.5-15x44, and it would work well so there are some good options if you want the bells and whistles.

 

[TahoeDust]

Put together a 10/22 for my dad that is just used for plinking. Threw a Leupold VX-Freedom rimfire 3-9 on it. It's a nice little scope for how he uses it.

 

[oldrifleman]

I was going under the assumption that most people scoping a 10/22 would be more in the $300-$800 budget range. You have some great glass, but most are more than 10x what a 10/22 costs and some of your rifles are huge compared to a 10/22 as well. Granted you can get a Vortex Viper PST Gen II 3.5-15x44, and it would work well so there are some good options if you want the bells and whistles.

Yeah, correct, just reacted to the idea of rimfire specific scope, which I obviously dislike. The second post was a bit more on point. The LVPO idea can cover a lot of the needs. But I really do love the Holosun on my carbon 10/22. No need for parallax, really fast and minute of squirrel.

 

[Moose]

I run a razor 1x6 gen 2 and a NF nxs 2.5x10 compact on my 10/22 rifles.

 

[Old Man with Gun]

Yeah, correct, just reacted to the idea of rimfire specific scope, which I obviously dislike. The second post was a bit more on point. The LVPO idea can cover a lot of the needs. But I really do love the Holosun on my carbon 10/22. No need for parallax, really fast and minute of squirrel.

And I have a Bergara B14R with a Sightron SIII 10-50x60 on it, so I'm not against a centerfire scope on a rimfire either!

I also have a 10/22 with a C-More 2MOA mounted sideways for big window and it is so much fun. On the bright side, if the OP buys a centerfire scope and decides he dosn't like it, he has a great excuse to buy a centerfire rifle and a rimfire scope....

 

[reelserious]

Put together a 10/22 for my dad that is just used for plinking. Threw a Leupold VX-Freedom rimfire 3-9 on it. It's a nice little scope for how he uses it.

That is a wonderful scope for a plinking 22. It has a great reticle for a good price and is very light weight

 

[Gewby42]

And I have a Bergara B14R with a Sightron SIII 10-50x60 on it, so I'm not against a centerfire scope on a rimfire either!

I also have a 10/22 with a C-More 2MOA mounted sideways for big window and it is so much fun. On the bright side, if the OP buys a centerfire scope and decides he dosn't like it, he has a great excuse to buy a centerfire rifle and a rimfire scope....

I actually have some centerfire scopes: A Primary Arms and a Vortex LPVO, but they are committed to other rifles. I am kinda going backwards from what I assume most people do: I have other rifles, but am getting my first 10/22 to teach my kids, and have a potential pest control option.

I would prefer a scope to teach them, and when I went to look at scopes for them/me to use I felt kinda lost in what to do. Several vendors offer rimfire-specific scopes, and I wasn't sure if that mattered.

I will say, while I really appreciate the Nightforce recommendations, they are solidly in "my wife would kill me" price territory. Was hoping to find something cheap-ish, and this question actually spawned from looking at the Vortex Crossfire and Burris Fullfield LPVOs, as they have rimfire and non-rimfire versions, but I noticed several other vendors also have rimfire versions of non-LPVOs (ex: Primary Arms).

 

[DFOOSKING]

Just my opinion.....but "rimfire scopes" are like "hunting scopes".....spec'd and sold to a very specific end-user and use case. The low to no information and low to limited use kind.

The typical end-user of a modern target scope is a high requirement/high information end-user. We use what we use because we plan to push it's intended use. Not just in utility but durability.

If you don't feel you are in need of equipment to fit that latter use case.....by all means get the rimfire scope.

 

[Dead Eye Dick]

I think I have been shooting scoped rimfire rifles and handguns since at least 1973. I have never mounted a “rimfire” scope on a Rifle. they come across as cheap, weak and a barely able piece of equipment. If one is serious about shooting at long range, the best scope a fellow (or lady) can afford is the way to go. That does not include “rimfire” scopes. As mentioned, a scope with a parallax adjustable to 25 yards is a real benefit.

Also, don’t go real cheap on power. Those .22 holes at 100 yards or more are real small.

Get the best scope you can afford to put on this project. You’ll won’t be unhappy.

 

[Old Man with Gun]

You may find some good info here.

Need scope recommendations 15-25yd precision

I help teach and work with two groups on a regular basis. Civil Air patrol shooting precision from a bench at 50 feet and Project Appleseed three position sling shooting at 25 meters. I get a lot of people showing with scopes that are not parallax adjustable and a blurry mess at these ranges. I...

www.snipershide.com

 

[Old Man with Gun]

I actually have some centerfire scopes: A Primary Arms and a Vortex LPVO, but they are committed to other rifles. I am kinda going backwards from what I assume most people do: I have other rifles, but am getting my first 10/22 to teach my kids, and have a potential pest control option.

I would prefer a scope to teach them, and when I went to look at scopes for them/me to use I felt kinda lost in what to do. Several vendors offer rimfire-specific scopes, and I wasn't sure if that mattered.

I will say, while I really appreciate the Nightforce recommendations, they are solidly in "my wife would kill me" price territory. Was hoping to find something cheap-ish, and this question actually spawned from looking at the Vortex Crossfire and Burris Fullfield LPVOs, as they have rimfire and non-rimfire versions, but I noticed several other vendors also have rimfire versions of non-LPVOs (ex: Primary Arms).

We can make recommendations if you tell us the budget and how you want to use the rifle.

You may also want to consider a stock upgrade depending on the size/age of your kids. Standard stocks don't align with scopes well, especially large objectives mounted higher. Smaller kids may need a shorter length of pull.

 

[reelserious]

The leupold rimfire scopes have fixed parallax at 60 yards. Is GTG up to 100 yards no problem

 

[Old Man with Gun]

The leupold rimfire scopes have fixed parallax at 60 yards. Is GTG up to 100 yards no problem

FYI- The Extended Focal Range models are adjustable and go down to 10yds.

 

[Gewby42]

We can make recommendations if you tell us the budget and how you want to use the rifle.

You may also want to consider a stock upgrade depending on the size/age of your kids. Standard stocks don't align with scopes well, especially large objectives mounted higher. Smaller kids may need a shorter length of pull.

I went with the Magpul X-22 Hunter, I know it isn't super fancy, but it seems practical for "backpacking." Both the butt pad and cheek riser are swappable via screws, so I am expecting it to work fine for teaching my kids about safety and marksmanship, which are the two reasons I built this guy (plinking to teach my kids, and occasional pest control)

As for scopes, I was hoping to keep the cost below 400. I was actually looking at the Vortex Crossfire II 2-7x32mm and Burris Fullfield 2-8x35mm, when I noticed they had "rimfire" versions, which is what sent me down this rabbit hole. Doesn't help I have one friend who swears by the Leupold VX-Freedom 2-7x33mm Rimfire, and another who says I should just grab a traditional Primary Arms or Swampfox LPVO with an MOA reticle and move on.

 

[Emerson0311]

For the kids use, keep the max magnification at 12-16, so the eyebox is easy to get behind. I’m a big fan of zero stops so kids can learn dialing and not get lost in the turret revolutions, and FFP so they learn reticle holds. My kids, and friends kids use a Vortex Diamondback Tactical and a Vortex Strike Eagle on a Savage and a 10-22 respectively. Those are what I had around as I upgraded what I used. I recommend Athlon scopes 2-12, 4-16, 3-15 etc to my friends. Their zero stops and prices vs glass quality and features beat the comparable Vortex options quite well.

 

[Old Man with Gun]

Fixed Parallax at 60yds, good glass, light weight. Hard to get better glass quality for this price.

Leupold VX-Freedom Rimfire 3-9x40 (1 inch) Matte Rimfire MOA 174181 For Sale - EuroOptic

Leupold VX-Freedom Rimfire 3-9x40 (1 inch) Matte Rimfire MOA 174181 For Sale

www.eurooptic.com

Adjustable Parallax from 10yds, good features if you want a little more magnification. Sightron is known for glass quality a bit above the price point. I don't have experience with this model, but many are loyal to this brand. I have one of their high end scopes and it is great.

https://www.eurooptic.com/sightron-s1-4-12x40-ao-g2-moa-20-riflescope-32008

The Vortex Crossfire is a solid brand and great customer service, but I'm not impressed by the glass at this grade. Athlon is another poplular brand, but I have little first hand experience with them.

I am not in the business, have no affiliations with anyone, this is just my .02