Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Ultimate .22 hunting scope ???

I don't think he intends to shoot squirrels at 200. Don't know what "steel out to 200" means but I seriously doubt he's thinking "squirrel head sized steel". Guys who think they need 16-20x to shoot squirrels at normal woods ranges give me a good chuckle.

I can't say enough good things about the 6x SWFA with a MilQuad reticle for a .22 scope on squirrels.

The MilQuad is the best reticle going for varmints in my book.

If you can find one, a Kahles rimfire 2-7 is hard to beat. This one on a Cooper Classic .22LR.

Ultimate, I don't know. But IMO, it would be hard to find a better squirrel hunting rig, rifle and scope.

I know I like it.

DF

I'd probably take a close look at SWFA Ultralight 2.5-10x32.

They have a rimfire version if you want 50 yard parallax.

ILya

It would be better if it was chambered in 17HM2.

I agree. If you just want to hunt squirrels at normal ranges, lots of rimfire scopes have been mentioned that will work.....and the 6x SWFA will work great for that.

If he's planning on hunting AND shooting steel at 200+ with a 22 rimfire he needs parallax adjustment, an elevation dial, and windage holds. Not many of the mentioned scopes are going to give him this ability. The 6x SWFA will.

I agree with folks saying it's a big scope...it is. The choice becomes do I want a smaller svelte scope that doesn't have the ability to do everything I want but looks good....or am I willing to go with a bigger scope that can do everything I want.

I'm going with the nightforce NX8. Focus the parallax down to 11yds, daylight viewable illumination (red and green), short (only about 12" long) and the 2.5-20x has 110moa of elevation to dial

If that's a little overkill I went with a VX3 3.5-10 CDS and sent it back to have the parallax set for 50yds. I also have a EFR 3-9 leupold on another, but like the vx3 more.

For a while, at least, 17HM2 ammo was hard to find. I have an Annie 1717 in 17HMR that has on at least one occasion shot 1/4 MOA with CCI TNT ammo. It'll go 1/2 MOA with most ammo, likes the TNT best of all.

How does the 17HM2 do on squirrels? I would think it would tear them up more than a .22LR.

DF

I aim to shot 'em in the head, so explosive physical damage isn't a problem.

17HM2 ammo was hard to find for an overly long period of time and the best 17HM2 ammo, that made by Eley, has been long discontinued. CCI and Hornady will shoot 1/2 MOA with all of my rifles, but the Eley and Eley-made Remington has always been consistently more accurate. The Anschutz 1502 is the easiest rifle to shoot good groups with at distances beyond 50 yards that I've yet to own. I managed to squirrel away quite a bit of Eley and Remington 17HM2 ammo, so I use that for hunting and CCI/Hornady for shooting paper and plinking targets of opportunity.

I like the flat trajectory of the 17HM2 and think that the fragile bullets are less likely to ricochet if they strike a glancing blow. I shoot about half my squirrels on the ground, around the edges of corn fields, so minimizing the potential for a bullet to ricochet onto the neighboring property is an important consideration, particularly so when the ground is frozen.

I think that the 17HM2 is the best cartridge for shooting squirrels yet to be introduced.

Thanks, 260, for that info.

I've never shot a 17 HM2. Sounds like you've had good luck with that round.

DF

The 17HM2 shoots just as flat a trajectory out to 100+/- yards as the 17HMR does to 125+/- yards. It isn't quite as fast, so there is less kinetic energy on impact, making it making it more of a squirrel size killer than a 'chuck size killer. When the 17HM2 came out, ammo was around 50% of the price of 17HMR ammo, and if you didn't need the extra velocity, range, energy on impact, it was a viable cartridge. Also, Eley ammo was really accurate, shooting right along side the mid-grade Eley .22 LR ammo at a lower cost. The lose of Eley ammo definitely hurt the 17HM2, but the CCI and Hornady ammo is fine for most things that you might want to shoot within the 17HM2's niche.

The biggest problem that people seem to have with the 17HM2 is when they convert Ruger 10/22s. It appears as though there is a fine line between a functional 10/22 conversion and one that fires out of battery, damaging the rifle and probably injuring the shooter. There are lots of "KABOOM" stories on RFC. I did 3 conversions, 2 using Green Mountain barrels intended for the 96/22 and 1 with a relined barrel. I never had a "KABOOM", but came closer than I felt comfortable with when I had some bulged cases. If I kept them spotlessly clean, they worked fine, but I felt like I was on the very edge between functioning and unsafe, so I converted the 2 rifles with the Green Mountain barrels back to .22 LR and kept the rifle with the lined barrel.

I have a Weaver V-24 8-24x42 with parallax adjustment that works well for the situation you describe. It's a heavier scope than I usually like, but it's mounted on a CZ 455 with a heavy barrel, so the weight of the scope is not all that noticeable.

Another option is the Leupold 3-9x33 EFR. Not as bright as the Kahles, but not bad. It does have adjustable parallax which is good at closer range.

This one is on a .22LR CZ 2500 with 29" barrel. Pretty quiet with that long tube. Timney trigger. Not quite as accurate as the Cooper, but accurate,

DF

Any scope for a hunting .22 has to be one power at the low end, for me. I'm driving a Bushnell 1-4x32 now. Personal hunting “style” influences how close or far we shoot at game. I always wind up making some very close shots on game, in the 6 foot to ten foot range, including coyotes, grouse, squirrels, bobcats, fox, pack rats, rattlesnakes, etc. I prefer a scope that makes a sure thing out of the close up shots that should be a sure thing, and one power on close game is a big help. In full disclosure, my eyes are a little wonky on close focus due to surgery.

What other people do is interesting and informative but you gotta pick a scope that fits you, your bod, your eye and your hunting style for the game you hunt. That may take some sorting through scopes by trying them.

I ordered one of these this morning for a Ruger 77/22. I'm interested to see how it performs.

https://www.natchezss.com/burris-dr...-reticle-33-13-fov-3-1-3-8-er-matte.html

I have a 1.5-5X Leupold Vari-X III one one of my .22's & it is wonderful.

My other .22 wears a Burris Rimfire scope that I have appreciated & have no qualms with.

A couple years back the shooting editor from Field & Stream magazine wrote an article on the best of the best in a lot of different categories. What he named the best of the best rimfire scope was that Leupold VX-2 Ultralight Rimfire EFR Rifle Scope 3-9x33mm Fine Duplex Reticle Matt. The way I figured it, as the shooting editor he sure got to finger a lot more scopes than I ever would so I ordered one for my M61 Winchester. Early on at the range I forgot that it had that EFR feature and it was kind of fuzzy until I adjusted the EFR ring and then everything cleared nicely. The fine crosshair is a little too fine for my taste, but perfectly manageable. Mine rides around on 4x most of the time and being the analytical cuss that I am, I kind of like messing with that EFR on a .22, though I sure wouldn't want it on my deer rifles.

Leupold VX-2 Ultralight Rimfire EFR Rifle Scope 3-9x33mm

I don't think they make that one any more.

I have found the Leupold rimfire hold up to big game recoil, they just have parallax set for 50 yards. The Leupold rimfire scopes with adjustable objectives look like big game scopes to me.

My favorite is the old Burris 6X Mini AO, not the HBR model. The other is the Leupold 6X36 parallaxed for 40yds. These I use for hunting and bench shooting.

I am curious to see how you like it. I piddled with a Droptine in Academy and I thought the glass was really good.