Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Ruger 10/22 kid optics

Why?



Dave

Smart Dave:

Why not.

Seriously.

Why?




Dave

I have been shooting a .22 rifle for around 50 years,
and have had no reason for a scope for most of those
years.

My first shooting was on gophers, pasture shooting, they
had a bounty on gopher tails. 5 cents per tail, that
money came in handy around the 4th of July for fireworks.

A .22 rifle is a tool for many farm types, rodents,
blackbirds in the crop.

I have never shot a .22 at a target.

Live and learn.

I have a cricket for her with the little ring and post sight, not sure the correct terms but wanted to get her setup for the 10/22. Thanks for all the responses. I guess I'm with Dave on this, why not put an optic and make it easy. I don't shoot anything except a shotgun without an optic and have a few red dots on them. I'm a lot more accurate with optics!!!

For starters, iron sights are always a good option but a Burris Fast Fire III will probably help with accuracy/speed. Much easier to use and more forgiving than any scope, plus it's light weight.



Once they outgrow that, I'd recommend the Bushnell AR/22 2-7x32 BDC. I liked 'em so much I actually put one on each of my 10/22s! They make these for the AR-15 as well and I really don't see any difference between those and this rimfire version (heavy for a rimfire scope) and the adjustable parallax actually goes all the way down to 10 yards which is a very nice feature.

Just shot one of mine today as a matter of fact and its the best rimfire option you can find for 2-3x the $$ IME. I paid ~$115 for mine which I thought was a deal but I just checked and you can pick on up on Amazon Prime for $94.49!!

Here's the link - [b][color:#FF0000]Bushnell AR/22 at Amazon[/color][/b]

Don't laugh, but I bought three of these some years back. They take a licking and keep on ticking...

https://swfa.com/optics/browse/riflescopes/tasco-1x30-red-dot-38mm-sight-1.html

And if your kid drops it off a cliff, you're only out $30.




Dave

Either the 2-7x28 Leupold or Weaver RV7 are nice matches size wise.

Depending on the configuration and intended use, I have 2-7x28s and 4-12x40s on my 10/22s.

I am inclined to let them start with something fun to build their interest then develop their skills from there.

Started my kids with a NEF Sportster single shot and a 1" tube red dot. The kids picked it up quick and had a blast. Other non-shooters and first timers tried it and became enthused since they were hitting things right out of the gate.

Then I added to the mix an accurate old Remington 514 with basic iron sights, my 77/22 with a NECG receiver sight and misc. scoped rifles. Definitely wanted to include the irons in the mix.

One of my kids purchased CZ452 trainer when he was old enough and the first time out was hitting pop cans at 75 yards (off the bench) with the factory irons so I don't think starting out with a red dot hurt him at all.

Let my step-grand-daughter start out with both irons and optics on the rimfires. She gravitated toward the 10/22 with a 2-7x but then found it interesting to learn she could also hit stuff without using a scope. I used to think you had to learn iron sights first cause I did in my youth. Nowadays scopes are so common that some kids are really proud that they can use irons; cause some of their friends can't. Like they've mastered some kind of ancient lost art that hardly anyone uses anymore.

The Ruger open sight is very prone to breaking off,
happened twice to me.

I have a Simmons .22 mag 4x32 scope on mine now,
nice small, cheap scope, under $40.00.

4X is all I prefer on mine.

Kind of like driving a stick...LOL!!

[quote=Farmboy1]The Ruger open sight is very prone to breaking off,
happened twice to me.

funny you say that, I had to buy a rear sight due to it being broke when I bought the rifle.
I kinda think I'm gonna put a red dot on it with all the folks saying they like the setup.
Thanks for all the input

We just scoped my teenage sons 10/22.
After seeking advice, and looking at dozens of options within a reasonable price range,
I narrowed it down to a few, then let him look over them on-line.
He chose a Burris Droptine 2X7.
After two trips to the range, I am impressed.
Very bright and clear, and seems to trac perfect.
Positive click adjustments and generous eye box.

Ordered for my son to try. He is having trouble with irons right now, but loved a Primary Arms micro on a Ruger Charger, so this is going on the pellet gun we shoot in the shop. (Single-stroke pneumatic, not a springer)

I never used one on an air rifle but they have been great on 10/22's.




Travis

I have one of the CMP used single-stroke pneumatic Daisy M853s with the spacers out for the little guy.

You need one. Cheap to shoot and accurate.

http://thecmp.org/cmp_sales/rifle_sales/air-rifles/sporter-air-rifles/

No need to do the usual paperwork either, just fill out the order form and mail it in with a check or your CC#

Dave, you asked "why" about starting the kids out on open sights.

Two things and neither are anything other than my opinion.

Tradition. I started out over seventy years ago on the only functioning gun we had, Dad's single shot Winchester .22. No new guns available to the civilian market during WWII. It was what we had and I was expected to become profficient with it. I had some big shoes to fill. Even into his eighties, Dad was as good with open sights as anyone that I ever saw use them.

Secondly, it seems to me that kids need to know how to use irons, in an emergency if the scope fails or is broken by an accident.

Once they get the idea, let them have receiver sights or optics.

My 2c and no fuss with anyone who disagrees. I do things as I like. Others are free to do as they like.

Best wishes,

Jack

I understand the tradition of starting a kid off with irons, but I'm more inclined to park the kid behind good equipment, sized to fit, to shorten the learning curve. Kids hands are much weaker than adults, hence a light trigger is very important. When you see a kid struggling to get a heavy trigger to release, you release they won't be able to learn to place there shots when their energy and focus is on getting the hammer to drop.

I've used a fixed 4x and a red dot for the kids, not sure which is best. Can't really go wrong on either. Even though "it's only a 22" that heavy bolt slamming home will kill a cheap scope in time.

I used to think that way. I am old, and damnit we had irons in boot camp!!! We hit easily at 600!!!

It turns out that people end up being better shots starting with an optic, then, after they know what they are doing with the optic, then learning irons.

Now I just take pleasure in knowing I shot expert with irons in boot camp, and none of the young Marines now can say that....