Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Prairie dog scope-what say you?

Looking for ideas for scoping a 17 Fireball. Shots out to 300 yards with 25 grain V-MAX and HP pills. I want plenty of power and it can be a 1" or 30MM. Give me some ideas.

I prefer no more than 20x for varmint rifles. Above that the FOV is so narrow that it becomes difficult to acquire the animal quickly.

Nightforce NX8 4-32x50 Mil-XT

Mirage on hot days and longer shots will keep you down below 20x no matter what scope you pick.

There are many scopes that would fill that need. 300 yard max, so, I assume you’re not dialing.

Older Sightron scopes, like their SIII & BigSky are decent. Japan made

Bushnell Elite 6500 line card is another excellent, older scope. Japan made

Zeiss V4 line card through Redhawk Rifles demo program is a decent option. German engineered, Japan made.

Throw on a SWFA, or NF if you want a robust scope.

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I have fixed 12x Leupolds on 2 of my PD rifles. It is difficult to use more power than that due to mirage in my experience.

Nightforce SHV 5-20x56 with MOAR reticle. That way you can see their eyelashes when you pull the trigger.

What gun is this on. I am doing a custom 17fb

For the practical range of a .17 FB with 25 grain bullets you don't need a 30mm tube, you'll have plenty of adjustment with a 1" scope, but if the other features you want only come in a 30mm version it's not a wrong choice.

My .17 FB was a blued Remington 700 SPS sporter. I had an older Leupold 4.5-14X on it. It was a ton of fun watching the bullets hit squirrels and the squirrels depart in several directions at the same time. Our squirrels are somewhere between half and a third the size of an adult p-dog.

I also had a .17 Remington in a 700 BDL which had a 6.5-20X Leupold on it. That was really good for seeing things, maybe a little much for moving shots, however, for a while I had a no-safety 2 ounce 40X match trigger .. those were balanced. Not a running shot scope, not a running shot trigger. Deliberate "set shots." Killed a TON of fuzzies with it.

I think in general the 6.5-20X would be a better choice with a little heavier rifle. They didn't offer 'em back then, but I'd go with a hold-over crosshair over twisting knobs. That's just me.

I have a Weaver KT-15 on my 204 Ruger.

I have 12x40 M8 Leupolds on my Swift and 17 HMR. Wouldn’t change a thing.

LH Remington 700 SPC.

Good idea. I have the SHV 4-14x56 with the MOAR reticle on a 204 Ruger but might move it to the fireball for a try out.

Anything with 2nd focal plane and a BDC type reticle. Windage hash marks are a plus. I say 2nd focal plane so that you can adjust power to match your drop on your bullet.

I took my 17 Rem with the 25 gr bullets along with me on one prairie dog hunt.
Realize that not long after the shooting starts the closer ones sort of evaporate.
And those little 25s dont do very well on the longer ones when the wind is always blowing.

I just got back from my first prairie dog hunt. I had a bightforce SHV 5-20x56 on 1 rifle, a zeiss 4-16x44 on one and an older m8 12x on a 22 k-hornet.

The nightforce and zeiss were nice for the reticles allowing for hold overs and wind holds in a hurry. However I found 20x to be entirely too much on a 300 yard shot. I did most of my shooting with the 12x on the k hornet. The other 2 kept down around 12-14 power. I think a guy could do a lot with a fixed 10-12 power. I will be getting another zeiss 4-16 as to my eyes it was best glass I had on trip.

Good luck with search.

I put a 3-12 LRTS on my gopher gun this spring. Previously had a VXIII 4.5-14 VH ret on (I just can't like that scope, the 3.5-10 on the same body is far nicer, IMO), and then a 2.5-8 Duplex. The LRTS is heavier, but adds a lot of capability to the platform. It's staying.

A fixed SWFA SS 10x MQ is beyond good in a varmint colony. The reticle is just incredible and after a little time spent behind it, your brain can make accurate holdovers by just viewing the varmint against the hash marks.

My 17 fb PD rifle has a 6-18X leupold on it. I usually have it set on 15x cause mirage starts to be a factor above that. I shoot 20 gr V Max in mine.

I’ve got a 3.5-10 with B&C reticle on my 17FB. PDs at 300 are no problem assuming the wind is cooperating.

I’m with others... mirage usually becomes an issue around the mid-teens of power in typical PD country/weather.

Nobody has mentioned Leupold 7 1/2 or 8x with adjustable AO,s to me they are about ideal. Over the years I've killed hundreds of prairie dogs using mine.