Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Contender scope suggestions

Looking for contender pistol suggestions ,22 LR barrel and 30 herret ,30-30 ,magnification and brand suggestions ,thanks

I am happy with my Leupold FX-II 2X20, mounted on a 14" .30-30.

I see it is no longer available new, but I preferred the fixed, low power setup for ruggedness and field of view.

Thanks ,anyone else ?

I put a Leupold VX3 2.5-8x32 on my Encore with a 15" barrel. I've been more than happy with it.

I am happy with my Burris 2x on the .30 Herrett, 2.5 Redfield on.22rf, and Nikon 2.5-8 on a Hornet. I have a 1.5 Tasco on a .22 semi that is OK.

I have been happy with fixed 2 or 4X on most of my contender barrels. The 22 might deserve a varible depending on usage. You have to determine that. I have also considered that the higher quality glass you have, the less Xs you need. Just seemed to work that way for me.

It would help to know what your range, target and shooting scenarios are. I preferred the 2x Leupolds or Burris for most of my Contender shooting outside of range or varmint work. The higher power handgun scopes seemed to have a very limited field of view. I have a Burris 10x on a 223 Contender that I works fine at the range and shoots very small groups off of a solid rest but is difficult to use due to the field of view.
Because of the extra movement involved in holding a hunting handgun I always felt like I was 'chasing' the reticle if I used too much magnification. The lower power doesn't translate the wobble as much and I didn't fight as much to correct it. I just use bigger targets to make up for the lack of magnification and since my deer hunting with them was mostly inside 100 yards I didn't feel handicapped.

EOTech holographic sight is the way to go on a contender pistol. I went through several scope configurations on my 7-30 Waters before deciding to go with a EOTech. For hunting with a pistol I really enjoy it.

On my .35 Remington barrel, I have a Tasco World Class 2X that I've been trying to break for the last 20 years so I can justify a more expensive scope but no luck. On the .22 Hornet barrel, I have a Burris 2X-7X AO. Dunno if they're still made. On the .22LR barrel, I mounted a cheap BSA reflex sight which gives me 1/2 MOA groups at 50 yards. It only cost $49.95, but the battery had to be replaced after 8 years!

Burris 2-7x32 on my 6.5 JDJ and Leupold 2-8x32 on 7x30 Waters and Burris 2-7x32 on 309 JDJ.

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