Rifle Scopes 22LR Optics - Great Glass V's Good Glass Question

[Franko]

I am looking at a nice 22LR (probably a Kidd Supergrade) for high accuracy plinking, practicing in the wind, and maybe NRL22. I understand there are significant advantages when using top tier optics for long range center-fire rifle shooting.

Are the benefits of those top tier optics still present when they are being used at ranges of 100 to 200 yards? Essentially, are they still worth the premium for short range shooting?

 

[Moose]

I own a Kidd Supergrade and put a NF compact 2.5X10X42 on it and it is working very nice for me.

 

[Dthomas3523]

Glass wise, not really. During the day, at close distance, the picture is going to look pretty good across most any decent optic.

Will you notice a difference in the resolution of bullet holes on paper at 100 between good and great glass? Yep. But on regular targets, not so mich.

Keep in mind though, if you are dialing a lot, you still want the high quality internals that come with high dollar optics.

What I do to keep from compromising on optics is to have three high quality optics and rotate them onto rifles, instead of having say one or two high quality optics and 10 cheaper optics.

Zero’ing takes 5 min and I always check zero before shooting anyway. And with rings like ARC and spuhr, moving an optic to a rifle is also under 5min.

 

[steve123]

I am looking at a nice 22LR (probably a Kidd Supergrade) for high accuracy plinking, practicing in the wind, and maybe NRL22. I understand there are significant advantages when using top tier optics for long range center-fire rifle shooting.

Are the benefits of those top tier optics still present when they are being used at ranges of 100 to 200 yards? Essentially, are they still worth the premium for short range shooting?

Not a huge difference between the better mid priced scopes and top tier scopes for 22rf. The difference is noticeable though, especially warmth and clarity.

I think it comes down to how comfortably you can afford the luxury and also your desire for the features available in the top tier offerings.

I'm not taking off my S&B's, nor selling to buy 2 mids scopes for other rifles, even as nice as some of those mid priced scopes are. Like for example the Burris XTR3 which should be a winner and also the higher end Bushnell.

I got tired of switching the expensive scopes around so I went to Athlon for the mid to less expensive rifles. Been mostly happy but...

 

[Moose]

Im also thinking the Burris XTR3 will be a fine 22rf scope.We will see,I will be waiting for the reviews.

 

[Franko]

Thanks for the advice all. Much appreciated.

 

[Colorado S14]

Depends on your budget. I have a custom 10/22 that is a tack driver, I put a Athlon Argos BTR on it and I have been impressed, given the price point ($250). The glass is fine up until about 20x then starts to get cloudy, but, usable. It tracks fine and the reticle, while not perfect is fine for 22 use. With that said, I think a good case can be made for stepping up a little bit.

I would personally never spend more than $1,000 on a 22 scope, that is unless money is really of no concern to you. You will never shoot the gun past 300 yards, what more do you need than a Viper PST Gen 2, Athlon Ares, Burris XTR2, etc?

If I was you, I would go buy one of these on sale right now and call it a day. They track well, the glass is good enough, good reticle, best warranty out there, 25 yd parallax...

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[OLD308]

I have a full Clark’s Custom 10/22 for NRL22. PST Gen 2 5-25 covered all the bases for me.

 

[garandman]

Try to match your scope choice to what you'll be shooting most. A general purpose scope does most things well, but nothing excellent.

My scoped 22 is gonna be for 50 yd benchrest ARA competitions: here's the target....

The lil blue dot (10-x) is shown about actual size .

So I got a Leup 45x competition scope:

Is not good for much else, but its really good for my intended use.

 

[acudaowner]

my responce to your question is if i was spending that much on a gun i would spend that much or a little more on glass nothing like having a nice gun and looking through sub par glass . and if it was me which i will be buying another scope for my 22lr to switch between that and either a 6.5 creedmoor or a 6mm br I am getting another delta 5x50x56 for the money it gives me great glass I can and have used one in both outdoor and indoor places from 10 yards to 600yrds so far and have no problem thus far with the scope , as long as i can still get one around 1600 . Its nice having the extra mag if i want to use it rather than paying a lot for nothing more in most cases getting less for more money and having to quickly buy another scope .

 

[Franko]

Once again thanks for all the input. The advice about the purpose of the glass is spot on as well. I want to plink and maybe NRL22 so I think Im going to aim for somethin in the 5-25 mag range rather than what Garandman or Acudaowner are sporting. Perhaps if I rationalize hard enough I can justify a really nice scope. I'm now off to haunt the optic PX.

 

[79steeler]

I have a Kidd supergrade also and have the Vortex PST 5-25 with the open center instead of the crosshair. I shoot the Kyl target at 50 yards and can hit the smallest target pretty regulary. This is the minimum quality scope I would recommend for a nice .22 LR. Keep in mind the smallest target on KYL target is about the size of a pencil eraser. The better the glass and the more magnification the better on these super accurate .22's in my humble opinion. You will be very happy with the Vortex for the price point. I did not want to go 2k+ on my .22 scope.

 

[srt-4_uk]

Think of in this way. You will probably spend most of your time behind the 22. Why put high dollar glass on something you will shoot less.

 

[Franko]

I currently have a 6-24 AMG on my target rifle. Perhaps its time for a change...

 

[Eoddave27]

At the kind of ranges you will be using a 22lr at I personally think spending $2k plus on an optic just isn’t necessary. Something like a Vortex PST, Ares ETR, Midas Tac or any number of others in that price range would be a perfect fit. I have a 4-20x50 Tract Toric HD on my 22 that I use for NRL matches and I have never wanted anything more.

 

[sako17]

My hunting rifles all wear 3-9X40's and my Benchrest rifles all wear Weaver 36X's.. JMHO

 

[garandman]

My hunting rifles all wear 3-9X40's and my Benchrest rifles all wear Weaver 36X's.. JMHO

T36 ? Great scope.

 

[powdahound76]

I use a Weaver 3-15 on my main 22.

Works well, glass is very good for the $400 I think I paid. Been a while.

5 mil, no ZS. Im no badass though, so maybe fancier and more $ is mo better.

 

[littlepod]

I use a Weaver 3-15 on my main 22.

Works well, glass is very good for the $400 I think I paid. Been a while.

5 mil, no ZS. Im no badass though, so maybe fancier and more $ is mo better.

The weaver 3-15 is really nice glass Doesn't have all the fancy features, but it does have nice glass.

 

[garandman]

My $500 T36 Glass was a tiny bit clearer than my $1400 leupold 45X.

Supposedly that is in part because the leupold is picking up atmospherics… humidity dust and other airborne features more than the T36.

But at the end of the day the T36 was a tiny bit clearer.

 

[bleda2002]

I put a diamondback tactical 6-24 on mine. It's not a PST gen 2 but it's pretty close to a gen 1 glass. It also has a great reticle and is ffp. The other big selling point for me was that it actually adjusts down to about 6 yards on the parallax.

 

[Anderson_A]

I find the Athlon ares etr to be about perfect for a 22 it gives me everything I want\need
Good glass for the $, 35mil elevation travel, locking windage, 25 yd parallax, and reticle is about perfect for me I will have a hard time justifying any jump up from that but much less and I do feel like I’m losing something useful I would like to try a Midas tac as well

 

[littlepod]

I find the Athlon ares etr to be about perfect for a 22 it gives me everything I want\need
Good glass for the $, 35mil elevation travel, locking windage, 25 yd parallax, and reticle is about perfect for me I will have a hard time justifying any jump up from that but much less and I do feel like I’m losing something useful I would like to try a Midas tac as well

I just switched from the Ares BTR to the ETR because I like the ETR reticle that much more. The only other floating dot option was the Midas TAC which I also considered.