• The Shot You’ll Never Forget Giveaway - Enter To Win A Barrel From Rifle Barrel Blanks!

    Tell us about the best or most memorable shot you’ve ever taken. Contest ends June 13th and remember: subscribe for a better chance of winning!

    Join contest Subscribe

Scope for .22 LR

6Bravo0Whiskey1

Private
Minuteman
Nov 7, 2019
9
4
This is my first post on Sniper's Hide so bare with me. I purchased a Christensen Arms Ranger 22 & a SilencerCo Switchback a few days ago. Now I need a scope but I know very little about them. I've always shot ARs with Eotechs & pistols with sights or RMRs. Honestly, I'm a little overwhelmed. This is much tougher than choosing a silencer. There's so many options. I'm looking for something lightweight, that would mostly be used during the day and into late evenings. I'm not looking to set new distance records or compete but I would like a quality scope. This is a setup I plan to keep for my lifetime. This forum seems pretty awesome but like scope choices, it can also be a little overwhelming. There's a lot of information here and it can be daunting to sort through. Can someone point me in the right direction? Links to other threads? Any help appreciated. Thanks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: fragmatic
It all depends on budget, but best advice is to find one that is 24x or bigger power on the high side, and will parallax down to 10-15 yards if not you’ll be pretty disappointed with it. Budget scopes the Athelon offerings are nice, I have a nightforce nx8 4-32 that’s awesome, also have a crimson trace series 2, 6-24x that’s really good for the $550 I paid for it..

Biggest thing is getting something that will focus in short ranges for 22
 
  • Like
Reactions: jcmullis2
Hard to go wrong with a mil quad swfa 6x.
Adjustable parallax will focus down to 10 yards or so. It tracks perfectly and is probably more durable than scopes costing 10x as much, while staying around 20 oz.

My wife rang softball sized steel out to about 220 yards this weekend with one on a $250 savage 22lr, and she's a brand new shooter.

You'll always have a use for one (or five or ten) once you try it.
 
It all depends on budget, but best advice is to find one that is 24x or bigger power on the high side, and will parallax down to 10-15 yards if not you’ll be pretty disappointed with it. Budget scopes the Athelon offerings are nice, I have a nightforce nx8 4-32 that’s awesome, also have a crimson trace series 2, 6-24x that’s really good for the $550 I paid for it..

Biggest thing is getting something that will focus in short ranges for 22
I've never heard of Athelon, so I'll check them out for sure. I'm not necessarily looking for something cheap but don't want to spend a ton. I know that's kinda vague.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jcmullis2
This. Get something reliable you can learn on, then spend money like mad once you're proficient.

Expensive and good are different things, especially when it concerns tracking on scopes.

Hard to go wrong with a mil quad swfa 6x.
Adjustable parallax will focus down to 10 yards or so. It tracks perfectly and is probably more durable than scopes costing 10x as much, while staying around 20 oz.

My wife rang softball sized steel out to about 220 yards this weekend with one on a $250 savage 22lr, and she's a brand new shooter.

You'll always have a use for one (or five or ten) once you try it.
 
Hawke makes excellent .22-specific scopes. I have one that goes to 16x with a BDC reticle from 50 out to 200 yards designed for subsonic ammo ... it's stunningly accurate ... dozens of varmints on my ranch would testify to that, if they weren't dead. Reasonably priced too. You should have a look.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ted Harte
Hawke makes excellent .22-specific scopes. I have one that goes to 16x with a BDC reticle from 50 out to 200 yards designed for subsonic ammo ... it's stunningly accurate ... dozens of varmints on my ranch would testify to that, if they weren't dead. Reasonably priced too. You should have a look.
Hawke is another brand that I'm unfamiliar with but the shop down the street is now carrying them. One of the things I was unsure of was weather or not I should be looking for a 22 specific scope.
 
Opinion warning-

I have a nightforce attacr and a bunch of SWFAs, and sometimes I consider selling the atacr to buy another 4-5 SWFAs.

Unlike almost every other "budget" option, the SWFA will track perfectly, and hold zero after substantial abuse.

It's the only sub $1000 option I'd consider, and I'd take it over almost everything sub $1800.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DRAGON64
Opinion warning-

I have a nightforce attacr and a bunch of SWFAs, and sometimes I consider selling the atacr to buy another 4-5 SWFAs.

Unlike almost every other "budget" option, the SWFA will track perfectly, and hold zero after substantial abuse.

It's the only sub $1000 option I'd consider, and I'd take it over almost everything sub $1800.
I had one of the 10x super snipers a very long time ago and was wondering if they changed the glass on the newer scopes?
 
Usually on the Hide everyone just says Schmidt and Bender, Tangent Theta LOL.
Now really, what do you plan to use it for, what's your budget. We can guide you to some good mid-range scopes and we can break the bank too.👍
 
Usually on the Hide everyone just says Schmidt and Bender, Tangent Theta LOL.
Now really, what do you plan to use it for, what's your budget. We can guide you to some good mid-range scopes and we can break the bank too.👍
The bank is already broken so I better keep it midrange. Basically, I wanted a good, quiet 22 with decent accuracy to plink with. If I can shoot decent groups at a couple hundred yards & make very little noise I'll be thrilled.
 
I'm in the same boat looking for a scope. Seems like Athlon is blowing out the Helos BTR 8-34x56 in the AMPR MIL flavor. Offers 15 yard parallax, illumination (Big deal?), and locking turrets and I found them for $399.00 but is it too much base magnification? Price might be telling. Hmmm...
 
Last edited:
The best scope I've run across for the $ is the Athlon FFP Midas TAC 6-24x50.

Great glass, excellent 10mil per turn or 25 moa per turn turrets, a zero stop, and adequate elevation travel.
So, serious question... Given the choice between the Midas TAC or the Ares BTR (I have a Ares ETR and really like it) which one would you pull the trigger on?

I do not own one personally but I am seeing Athlon's pop up quite often. My go-to mid range scope is the Vortex 5-25 PST gen2 FFP.

Fair point! I really like the Viper PST GenII I have on my 6.5CM.
 
So, serious question... Given the choice between the Midas TAC or the Ares BTR (I have a Ares ETR and really like it) which one would you pull the trigger on?



Fair point! I really like the Viper PST GenII I have on my 6.5CM.
Go with the Midas TAC 5-25xand it’s 34mm tube but Go with the Ares btr if it’s the Midas TAC 6-24x with 30mm tube.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nikonNUT
There's an Ares BTR Gen2 and a Gen1. The G2 is superior, especially the Turrets and how they feel, which are very distinct. The Gen1 was made to compete with the Gen1 Vortex PST.

All the TAC series are Gen2 scopes.

The Ares BTR has the "ALL .2 mil hash" reticle which is my favorite in the entire Athlon lineup. It also has illumination.

The glass is pretty much the same in all these.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nikonNUT
What about Meopta scopes? The shop down the street has quite a few in stock. Any opinions on the brand in general?
They say that they’re decent scopes at a reasonable price but nobody I know has one. Everyone’s has a different idea of “decent” so it’s best to compare for your self. Looking through scopes in a well lit store even shitty glass looks good so try to take them outside if they'll let you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nikonNUT
They say that they’re decent scopes at a reasonable price but nobody I know has one. Everyone’s has a different idea of “decent” so it’s best to compare for your self. Looking through scopes in a well lit store even shitty glass looks good so try to take them outside if they'll let you.
Well, no one you know having one tells me something. Appreciate the tip on taking one outside.
 
Meopta is a fine scope, and is surprising that they manufacture much of the high end euro glass.. they are built well, and track good, glass is excellent scope is really nice for the sub $1,000 range.

I miss spelled athlon earlier, my bad..

Midway USA has a Leupold Mark 4 on sale for $699 4.5-14x I know that will track
 
What about Meopta scopes? The shop down the street has quite a few in stock. Any opinions on the brand in general?
Like the one fellow said, they're supposed to be great glass but nobody owns one. The couple of times I have browsed them online I thought the reticles were not for me. I have seen maybe one Meopta rifle scope but I do own the Meostar S2 82 spotting scope, awesome glass. I was all geared up to buy a Nightforce TS 82 when I found out that Meopta makes that spotter for NF. Point is, they can make great optics, I just don't know about the rifle scopes.
 
Like the one fellow said, they're supposed to be great glass but nobody owns one. The couple of times I have browsed them online I thought the reticles were not for me. I have seen maybe one Meopta rifle scope but I do own the Meostar S2 82 spotting scope, awesome glass. I was all geared up to buy a Nightforce TS 82 when I found out that Meopta makes that spotter for NF. Point is, they can make great optics, I just don't know about the rifle scopes.
There are 3 guys with them in my rimfire league we shoot to 450 yards and all three of them guys do well with them, and we dial a bunch.. as far as people on here owning them yeah prolly not because y’all were right all people can say here is Schmidt and ATACR
 
What about Meopta scopes? The shop down the street has quite a few in stock. Any opinions on the brand in general?

I have the Meopta Optika 6 5-30×56 with the mrad reticle that Ilya designed and I'm very happy with it. To me the glass compares very well to my Mk5HD and makes my pst gen 1 look like a Simmons.
optika6530ILyareticl-1.png

I think Ilya did a great job with this! Sometimes I dial up and over .5 Mils to use the tiny dot for bench rest. And having a clean area above is great for trying to find splash with a 22lr. If I was picking a new scope today with no budget limit I think it would be the new March High Master with a very similar reticle.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ta6ppc
I have the Meopta Optika 6 5-30×56 with the mrad reticle that Ilya designed and I'm very happy with it. To me the glass compares very well to my Mk5HD and makes my pst gen 1 look like a Simmons.
View attachment 7439822

I think Ilya did a great job with this! Sometimes I dial up and over .5 Mils to use the tiny dot for bench rest. And having a clean area above is great for trying to find splash with a 22lr. If I was picking a new scope today with no budget limit I think it would be the new March High Master with a very similar reticle.

I think your scope and that reticle is an excellent combo!

BTW, I just got my March HM 5-42x56 in today, and with the FML-TR1 reticle. It's fabulous! Best glass I've seen so far and pretty much makes my S&B seem like a Simmons, lol. I'm exaggerating of course but...................
 
  • Like
Reactions: AMTGMC
Anyone have any experience or opinions on this Vortex?

There is noting wrong with this optics not the best glass but will function well with a 22rf and the one I had tracked very good. Turrets are little spongy but they work. It's not NF or leupold but it's not 1 grand plus.