Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Magnification

I plan on buying a 17 HMR to replace the use of my 22lr. Mostly shooting ground squirrels at different ranges with the occasion rabbit.

What would be a good scope power be to put on top?

I am thinking 4-16x40mm will work but maybe a 6-24x50 will work better...

I am looking at a Barska Varmint for the higher powered magnification.

300 yards would be my furthest range on ground squirrels.

I suppose I am a little different, and shoot varmints only. To me, I value precision in prepping the gun for a chuck or sage rat hunt. I really like the 6-20 power range, but seldom turn the power to 20 unless scanning an area.

I have a 3-9 on my Hornet and mostly shoot 150-200 yards and feel no problem using 9 power. Besides, the lower power scope keeps the package light, which I like.

Except for 300 or more range, I think the higher powers are a bulky waste. I have 5 other varmint guns that wear 6-20 scopes, but they are not necessary. They are great quality scopes and I purchased them because of the price, not choice of powers.

High powered magnification and low quality scopes don't mix real well.

Get a 3-9 with a turret or drop reticle.


Travis

That was my thought. If you insist on magnification over 9X for small varmits, cheap scopes often have lots of problems.
For instance, they shift zero easily when bumped, they often have flare problems, their adjustments don't work accurately, and their parallax adjustments don't work as they should. If they even have them.
I've got a shooting buddy who insists on using cheap scopes. He uses well tuned Savage rifles which many have found to be very accurate. He is a very careful handloader. Yet he shows up at the range and can never get his rifles to shoot better than five in an inch at 100 yds. And these are heavy barreled, well tuned Savage rifles in .223..... One look through his scope shows lots of parallax. Which his cheap scope can't remove. E

Winnie,

I bought one of these recently. Haven't mounted it yet (that's what she said) but I think it would serve you well for the coin involved.

http://swfa.com/Sightron-3-9x40-SI-Riflescope-P11083.aspx


Travis

I hate to agree with Dave so much, but hes right....

You're lovin' it.


Travis

I have 3-9x or 3.5-10x Burris or Leupold scopes with multi-point reticles on my smaller varmint rifles from .17 HMR to .221 Fireball, and have found them perfectly adequate for prairie dogs at any range the cartridge is appropriate, whether 200 yards for the HMR or 400 for the .221.

But different people have different eyesight, and some like more magnification.

One potential drawback to high magnification, especially when varmint hunting, is mirage. The more magnification you've got, the more your view of the target will be obscured by mirage. Having a variable that allows you to dial back a bit can help with this.

For your purposes, a 3-9 would be hard to beat. Although a good 4-12 would do the job as well, and a 4-16 wouldn't hurt either. Best bet would be to buy the scope that gives you the best value for your budget, and that balances best on the rifle you intend to put it on.

Winnie1300m

I have a Remington Model 34 .22 with which I once fired target ammo at fifty-one yards. Five shot groups were 5/16" each. The scope is a Tasco 6-24X40. The other .22 is a 10-22 with a Tasco 4-16X.

I have a 7-21x40 on my Savage 93 17hmr. Seems like a good match to me. Mostly don't use the higher end magnification, but I do sometimes - it's nice for head shooting jack rabbits and nutria at 150+ from the truck window... Do I need it to make those shots? No, but it's nice.

DAvid

If I were going cheap, I would buy a BSA sweet 17, I have one on a 17HMR and it works perfect, 59 bucks at dicks.

Guess after a couple thousand posts it is bound to happen once or twice a year

I notice they only have 17 grain bullet turrets for the BSA.

I do want a little higher magnification than what a 3-9 will offer, I want to get closer in on the squirrel so I can place the bullet better. I am picky after all.

I was sitting in the field and was watching squirrels through my 10x42 binoculars. They were about 250 yards, which is the range I plan on shooting them with the rifle, and I thought with a steady rest I would be fine around that power of a scope.

I just won 25 bucks on a two dollar scratcher so I figured I can add that to my scope budget...

Dicks Sporting Goods has the BSA 3-9x40 for 59 dollars...

I pick up my rifle Monday morning and want to get a scope and a few boxes of ammunition to see what it likes so I am trying to decide what optics I want to put on top..

I'll sell you a turd for $20, and it'll work about as well.

One "Avoid it" so far... grin:

I do not have that many options unfortunately.. Bass Pro might have something on sale if I go look.

I can not buy anything online but I am working on getting a debit card so I can but that will be a while.

instead of Barska or BSA just glue a toilet paper tube to the top of your rifle and peer through that at your targets it will work better.

I have decided to boycott Bass Pro because they immediately cooperated with Obama on black rifles. Same with Cheaper Than Dirt. IF they are embarrassed of us rifle lunies, they can do business without us.

I have said it before and will say it again. You can't go wrong with a Tasco World Class 4-16X or 6-24X. I have one of each on my .22's.

Do you buy a nice CD player and then match it with absolute crap speakers?

That's what you do when you buy a nice rifle and try to top it with a POS scope.


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