Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Best scope for 22 cal rifle

I'm a lot more fisherman than I am hunter so need some advise. What is a good scope that won't break the bank for my 22 cal. rifle. I would like to be accurate at 75 yards with long rifle shells but my old eyes don't do well with open sights anymore! Any suggestions? I am also wanting to help teach my grandson some shooting skills.

I go by the adage that you should typically spend more on the scope than the gun, and I typically do. Replaced my Bushnell scope after a few years on my 10-22 when the reticle broke. Bought a Leupold 3x9 and have loved it for over a quarter of a century on that same gun. Have Leupold scopes on all my long guns. Tried a Nikon once and had to have the nitrogen replaced when it fogged. They did it free, but I have never had a Leupold fail. Even their lowest cost scopes are exceptional. I put a Leupold Crossbones scope on my TenPoint crossbow when the stock scope failed. After one of the limbs delaminated, I bought a Ravin crossbow and have to change out the stock scope for the Leupold. The stock Ravin scope is pretty good, but even with lighted reticles on the Ravin scope, the unlighted Leupold offers better low light target acquisition. I call um like I see um. Leupold scopes are not cheap, but nothing is more expensive than buying something that does not do the job that you bought it for.

Buy a Leupold as others have said and call it a day!

I have a safe full of rifles with different brand scopes. I see no problem with Leupold, Burris or other major brands. The trick is to match the sights to the goals/use/ caliber. I have a safe full of guns with different sights. My 30-30 and 7.7 Jap are mostly hog guns with open sights.

I spend most of my shooting time in the high fenced back yard with a single shot 22 and a cheap scope practicing trigger pull. The ammo is 22 Colibri without powder. Quiet as my Xbow and no issues with neighbors. I go through between 500 to 1000 rounds per month. Why that many? Because I’m older than sin and getting shaky.

CC and Dave, .22 ammo is filthy dirty, so you will need to concentrate on cleaning the carbon out of the rifle every few shooting sessions. Let the rifle talk to you, keep notes. Some are more accurate when kept clean, some are more accurate when dirty. I'll post a pic of the scope that I just bought for my .22 Hornet (CZ 452 American with the set trigger).

Rod: I don't do long range target shooting, but I do some long range shooting. I whacked a coyote at 867 yds some years ago, using the LR gun, first shot out of a cold clean barrel in a year with that rifle. Now to be honest, the 2nd shot out of that rifle at that time missed the 2nd 'yote 10 minutes later because I forgot that after the first shot I have to adjust 2 moa up to compensate for the dirt that is in the barrel from the first shot.

First shot from a clean barrel is ALWAYS 2 moa higher than the subsequent shots. FYI, the piece of lead/copper that I sent at the coyote was .284" dia, 180 grains, and had a MV of 3385 fps. It's zero'd @ 300 yds and I typically have to adjust up 13.75 to 14.5 moa @ 1,000 yds from that zero depending on atmospheric conditions and altitude.

I bought my old remington .22 with a scope already on it, used it that way for years till my buddy pointed out to me the giant wide reticles were covering most of my tiny targets I was shooting at, I upgraded it to a much better one and its like night and day difference. I have a couple nikons, so far so good, havent had any problems with them yet, fingers crossed.

In all fairness, my Nikon was on a 12-gauge rifled-barreled shotgun that is serving its new owner fine since they refilled the nitrogen. The scope is supposedly OK on this gun based on Nikon's literature. They repaired it at no cost to me, so they are a top-notch company that honors the lifetime warranty. I really appreciate good optics and reliability.

Thanks everyone, and I did start the grandson on open sights. I just really want to improve my ability with the scope. My thoughts pricewise is Extreme top price being $200. Hoping for something really nice in the $150 range. Thanks!

I would plan on spending a couple hundred at least, you can actually get a pretty sweet rimfire scope for around 200. I will guarantee you wont regret the few extra bucks, especially if your eyesight is not like it was 20 years ago.

Hard to beat a Leupold

interesting info about this ammo, you learn alot here!

This is a cartridge that contains no gunpowder. The little 20gm bullet is solely propelled by the powerful Eley priming mix. For this reason, it does not generate any significant pressure. Due to the lack of noise when fired, the .22 Colibri may be shot indoors, even in the living room, provided a proper back stop is available. The .22 Colibri may be used to eliminate pests such as rats. It may be fired in any .22 LR rifle or pistol, however, it will not cycle the slide of semi-automatic guns. It has a solid point made of lead. The Colibri is about twice the weight of a .177 caliber pellet but doesn't go as fast. However it hits a bit harder than a .177 pellet

The colibri can mess up a barrel; even with no powder. Since I only shoot for trigger pull help, I don’t worry much about accuracy. It’s certainly not precision stuff but at approx 50 feet it’s good enough. At 79 yoa, I shake if I don’t practice a lot. Colibri makes different ammo and you have to look carefully to assure that you are getting the short with no powder. When I find it, I buy several bricks.

I shoot off a rest at a target that is backed with a big piece of steel slanted forward to direct the lead down into the dirt. I recover it. I’m shooting in the city limits so I need something quiet.

BTW, the no powder is often advertised as sans poudre.