Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns To scope a 22LR pistol or not????

For some reason I think I need a scoped 22lr pistol. It would either be another 6in S&W 617 or a Ruger Mark III hunter with a 5.5" barrel.

So the question is.....Are scoped pistol much fun or are they just a fad most pistol lovers go through and end up going back to their open sites??? Which pistol scopes are worth a look?

rc82bttb,

When I ordered my Freedom Arms .454 I oredered it with no sights. It is aproaching two decades since I got it and I never missed open sights.

I've scoped several pistols and revolvers,including a couple of Ruger Mk II's, and with the exception of a T/C Contender in .22 Hornet always end up taking the scope off.

They are great for load workup in centerfire revolvers as they eliminate sighting error but they overbalance the handgun so much it ruins the handling.

Have only used Leupolds - a 4X and now have a 2X so cannot comment on other brands. For strictly load workup the 4X is better but the field of view is so restricted that for field use the 2X is superior.

On a straight hunting handgun they would probably see more use and certainly have a place there. My big problem with them is just the handling.

Thanks guys... I have no idea why I am on this kick now as I am more than happy with my current pistols and open sites. Just looking to try something new i guess. I have thought about hunting with a scoped pistol but would have a hard time with the limited range of most pistol calibers. Main uses would be for small varmint elimination around the farm/house.

try a red dot for something new...

I've had two handguns with scopes.

A Ruger slabside govt. model and an XP100 in 7mm-08.

They both went down the road.

For me, they were just to hard to find a proper rest to use.

They were great for bench shooting and "out the window" shooting, but were very limited.

Killed a lot of squirrels with the slabside from a truck window, but for ME, that was all I used it for.

Virgil B.

Scoped .22 handguns are a blast. I've got a SS Ruger Competition Target with a Bushnell Trophy 2-6 variable on it, and a Browning Buckmark Varmint with a Burris 2-7 variable on it. It's fun to shoot them as accurately as they are capable of being, and the scopes make things much more precise. I've shot javalina's in South Texas with the Buckmark, and the scope allows me to shoot them precisely in the head.

A low powered fixed power handgun scope or a red dot on an autolader in 22LR is more fun than should be legal.

I'll go along with the red dot idea. My Ruger now wears a Burris Fastfire II and that's a real kick. I think it will stay on there for a while.

It's only two ounces so it doesn't detract from the handling at all. It is very quick to use and while not quite as precise as a scope it will still let you hold as good as the pistol will shoot out to 50 yards. Beyond that range the 4 MOA dot starts to cover things a bit much but if your aiming point is big enough you can do some pretty good plinking on out to 200 yards.

I just put a pac lite upper on my MKI and it had the rail already on the upper so I used a red dot sight I had laying around from my Sig 556 and its a blast, not necessary but still fun.

Got a red dot on my MKIII 22/45 Hunter, I love it. I shot it before the dot and I would go back and forth between it and my Ruger Standard. Since I put the dot on the Standard has been out of the house once.

+1. I have an older Ruger Mark II with a red dot and you can wear out a drink can at 100yds off hand. It is a blast to shoot and easy to hit with..

I've tried scopes several times, each time I take them back off. Reason being the handy nature of a pistol is gone when a scope is put on. They become bulky and difficult to carry if carried in a shoulder holster etc - may as well carry a rifle. The level of accuracy is not much better and maybe worse shooting without a rest so, no scopes on my handguns. I could see it on a dedicated hunting handgun or varmint handgun where your shots would be rested - depends on what your going to do with said pistol I suppose.

You have nothing to lose by bolting one on. In the old days, we had to whittle mounts and drill and tap holes, now anyone with the proper screw driver can mount a scope on a late model .22
PRO... Absolutly the best way to select the most accurate load! With steel sights the bottom half of the game is covered up, with glass you see the whole picture. CON... If your .22 is a "sidearm" the holster issue will raise it's ugly head. If you plan on sneaking around hunting ultra-light style, a small skinning knife, ammo and even a carry strap will fit in a daypack with room for extra goodies.

BTW, a regular 2 to 4X scope will work well also. You can use the "Taco" hold, wrap your off-side hand around the scope (like a taco) while aiming with your eye close enough to see through the lens.OF COURSE WEAR SHOOTING GLASSES as stray chunks of stuff fly out of rimefire pistols, too. Steel target shooters figured this out using 24X scopes on their single shot pistols.

If it does not work out, there are the classafieds...Best wishes.

Very much fun having an optic on a .22 handgun.

I never could like a scope on my Rugers as much as I do the Matchdot, I'd highly recommend it.

Never tried one of these, but will order one soon after Christmas. I never even knew they made a holster for Rugers with optics besides the shoulder rigs.
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=40162/Product/RUGER__MARK_I_II_III_BLACK_MAX_HOLSTER?source=CJ

Ok I bit the bullet and bought a MkIII hunter with the 5.5 inch barrel to throw a scope/reddot on. Any recommendations on scopes???

I've also had a few over the years. S&W M53 Jet, TCs, and a few centerfire revovers.

I have a 5.5" and a 6 7/8" MKIII Hunter...the long barrel has a scope and shoots like a rifle. This is a Single Six Hunter with the .22 Magnum cylinder. The first three were adjusting the newly monted scope and then 9 in a ragged hole at 25 yards...





Hard to shoot like this with open sights any more...

Bought a .41 Magnum Hunter to go with the S-S. The scope groves in the barrel match exactly so it can be easily switched...



Rugers are especially nice in that the scope goes back very close to zero every time...

Bob

+1, my thoughts exactly. Tried it and took em back off PDQ.

CB

Any particular red dot y'all would recommend? I have a 5 1/2" MKIII I've been considering scoping. It's an excellent shooter even with open sights. Ougta be scary accurate with a scope.

Jim in Idaho posted this mounted on his Ruger Mark II:



It's a Burris Fast Fire II. One of my suppressed Mark IIs could benefit from a scoped sight of some type and the Burris seems like a reasonable compromise.