Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game What scope is on your squirrel rifle?

An informal poll here: What scope do you have on your squirrel rifle? Do you prefer an AO on your scope? Also if you guys don't mind, what rifle are you using, 22lr, 17HMR, etc. Thanks.

Leo

CZ American, 17 HMR 20gr XTP, Loopie 6X42 mil dot AO target knobs (the one they do not make any more) in Warne permenent rings it is the only rimfire I own, had to pay for the scope somehow...

savage mark 2 LH varminter, 17 mach II 4x16 weaver V-series with a 1/4 moa target dot

Ruger custom 10/22 by clarks customs, 920 dia shillen, LH sillouette stock ans an 8x40x56 tasco custom shop mill spec scope.
RR

Simmons 4-14AO....CCI Stinger .22 long rifles in a Winchester 1885 single shot...squirrel/crow/ground hog duties.....

Marlin 39A, .22LR, 4x $40 rimfire scope. Maybe a Simmons "22Mag"?

There is also a .22 mag Winchester 9422M with receiver sights, and a .22 LR Ruger 2245 with open sights.

Kimber 82 .22 long rifle with a Burris compact 3-9x32mm in Kimber vertical split rings for the first rifle, second is a CZ 452 American chambered in .17Mach 2, topped by a Burris compact 4-12x in Leupold rimfire rings.

Cooper 57M 22LR wearing a Leupold Rifleman 3x-9x-40mm.
Ammo is Wolf Match Extra.

Marlin 25 has an older M8 4x (long version)

77/22 has a M8 6x36

77/22 WMR (VMBZ) currently sports a Simmon 22MAG 3-9x, I think the future for that rifle holds a VariX-III 3.5-10x40 AO

A 6X Tasco (or generic equivalent) from Walmart on an old Marlin model 60 22lr that my daughter won in a bingo game. It doesn't inspire a lot of pride in ownership until it beats my buddies' $1000 rigs, then it's priceless.

Mine is a left handed .22lr rimfire, a CZ 452 American with Simmon 44Mag series scope 6.5-20x44mm with AO and target knobs. I want try my hand at silhouette so got this scope. Not sure how it would do you the squirrel woods though? I lalso like shooting Wolf Match Target ammo. Although it has done well with several brands as well.

Leo

Ruger 10/22 with a Leupie 3-9x42 Vari-X II. BMT

Marlin 39a with 3/4 Redfield 4x
Ruger 10/22 with 3/4 Redfield 4x
These scopes look good on these guns and very clear
Wish I could find another for my Marlin 100.

Mine is the new Rimfire Scope from Leupold that I got new from RickBin. I believe it's called the VX-II 3x9x32 AO. It's an outstanding scope mounted in vertical split rings atop my 452 American in 22rf...

Just ordered a weaver rimfire classic 2.5-7x28 for my 10/22. Just bolted the 16inch bull barrel on last night, the stock and scope are in the mail

Old, cheap 3x9 Tasco. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Simmons 4x plex

anschultz 1502 17hm2 with bushnell 3200 4 to 12 AO

No scope on my squirrel rifle.
Late 40's vintage Stevens-Savage .22 bolt action M66 Buckhorn repeater with iron sights..
From 1954 to present maybe only 1300 squirrels or so tho..:) Jim

Biathlon 7-2 22lr w/ Burris 3-9x rimfire
Winchester 52 w/leupold 2-7x rimfire
CZ-452 Varmint 17hmr Pin Ridge 17 tactical
CZ-452 American 22wmr w/Leupold 3-9x EFR

cz 452 american 22 WMR, loopie vxII 2-7X33

Ruger 10/22 with a Simmons "22 Mag" 4x. Cheap but effective. No squirrel is safe at 100yds and out at the range I can hit bowling pins at 200yds. Although I can't always knock them over.

all of my 22's have a simmons 4x of some sort on them, maybe one has something different but i cannot remember right now.

Remington 541-T w/leupold Vari-X 3-9, Remington 581-S w/Tasco World Class 3-9 (kid's gun), Remington 552 w/Sightron 2.5 fixed, Ruger Mk-1 6.5" barrel w/Leupold 4 power fixed, now if those grey squirrels will just hold still long enough for my to find em' in the scope.

CK

CZ 452 fs(full stock) with leupold ultralight 3-9power with 32 objective.It shoots eley high v solids.The other squirrel getter is a ruger 77/22 in .22 wmr.It has a two pound dayton traister trigger and wears a leupold vx II 4-12 with 40 objective.It shoots remington 33 gr v-max.I only take head shots with this one or there is not a lot left to eat.

Three have Baush & Lomb Elite 3x9x40's on them and one has a Williams Fool Proof aperture sight. I probably hunt most with the M39A Marlin lever action and its peep sight. Just seems a natural in the squirrel timber.

My old Remington 521t Target rifle has an equally old El Paso Weaver K4. Thats all I have needed for over 30 years of squirrel killing.
My plinker, and back up tree rat rifle is a Ruger 10/22, Mannlicher stocked carbine, and wears a Simmons 4X scope. It does everything that I require as well.

Nikon 4X Prostaff on a japanese Winchester 52, 22lr. Grouse gun is a Win 9422WMR with a receiver sight.

17hmr in a Savage 93R17BTVS with a Nikon prostaff 3x9. I had a BSA with a AO but didnt care for it I was always fiddling with it for a clear image.

Uncas,

How do you like your 17HMR? I see CZ now offers the 452 American in 17HMR and was at Dicks yesterdasy and saw their 17HMR was not that much money. Looks like it would hit hard and prolly have less drop at 100 yds? How does yours shoot?

I got two 22Mags, one is a 882 and tghe other is a CZ American. I also got a couple Marlin 39. Been thinking the 17HMR would complete my6 rimfire arsenal.

How do they compare with the 22mags?

thanks

I've got a CZ 453 w/single set trigger wearing a Burris 4-12 Compact w/target knobs & AO which I use for squirrel hunting and target shooting. I generally keep it on 4X when hunting, but can zoom in and count the wiskers when I need to.



firstshot
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Make your first shot count!

Leupold 3x9 on a 10-22 And a Leupold 4x on a Marlin bolt....

other than the fact that my 223 wears the 44mag and my lefty CZ 452 wears an Aetec, everythings the same, even the ammo.

Savage 93/17 HMR Stainless , Std. dia. barrel, black syn. stock , with a Weaver 3>9 x with adjustable objective. Will shoot the balls off a gnat at 100 Yds.

The squirrels and I have an understanding. They don't use binoculars and I don't use scope sights.

Older Leupold Vari-X 3 3.5 X 10 AO on a Savage Anschutz 54 sporter.

My squirrel rig consists of a Kimber Hunter .22 rifle with a Burris 3x9 AO/RF scope in Kimber mounts. She is squirrel head accurate to well past 50 yards. I use WMT ammo. I've never seen the need for hi-velocity HP ammo to cleanly kill squirrels.

Mine is a Win 52 with a Leupold 2-7 rimfire on it. Only bad thing about hunting in Montana is that the squirrels are all small pine squirrels and taste like...well, they don't taste so great. I miss the big fox squirrels and greys.......looks like a small game road trip is in order for next season.

Welcome Whip

Where are you in NW Montana? I'm in Helena. And looking for squirel/gophers.

I use open sights.

I hunt with several different bolt action rimfires in .22lr and .17m2 calibers, the only constant is my scope, all my rifles have a Leupold 3-9x33A.O. these scopes are the best Ive seen (although expensive). and yes I do prefer an adjustable objective on a rimfire scope....................547.

Nice looking rig, thanks for the picture.............547.

4x Bushnell Sportview on a Remington 572. It "is Dad's rifle that he let me bring home since he was having safe leakage (not enough room). I keep it gainfully employed on the plinker range and in the squirrel woods. My other rifle is a Winchester 67 with factory iron sights that shoots extremely well.

2-7X Leupold RF on my 77/22. VX II 6-18X AO on my Cooper Custom Classic but its used more for ground squirrels and the extra magnification is more useful there.

2-7x33 leupold vxII on top of a CZ 452 American in 22 WMR

Wow, this post is still going! It's been awhile. Since then I've spent a little $$$$$ on my little .22lr. To recap: I've got a left-handed CZ 452 American in .22lr. I've upgraded the stock to a laminated tigger-wood stock from Richard's Microfit and installed a Leupold 3-9x33mmEFR scope. Had the barrel full length bedded and the trigger smoothed up by my gunsmith.

I use to shoot Wolfe TG ammo for practice and want to use Win Power Points for hunting. Then P-P fell of the face the planet and Wolf TG got too expensive plus it burned dirty. I've since switch to CCI mini-mags.

as a lefty, I pretty much had to go with the ANchutz 1416D as my .22. I've had it for about 9 years now and it's alwyas had a Leupold Vari_x II 2x7x33 on it. Probably has 12,000 rounds through it now and I haven't had any inkling to change...

BTW, I had my gunsmith weigh my "little" .22lr yesterday and comes in at 7 3/4 lbs. A little heavy for a rimfire. Since its been full length bedded it shoots the CCI mini mages well. Before that it was so-so with that ammo. Just wish CCI would sell them in bricks of 500 instead of plastic boxes of 100.

Just sent the Aetec back to have the focus fixed and ordered a 3-9 AO 22mag Simmons. Already have a 3-9 non AO, but will likely put that on my moms cricket she uses for garden and bird feeder pest scaring.

My squirrel rifle started life as a .22lr, now its a .17 hm2 (Ruger 10/22) It used to wear a Leupold 4.5x14 vx3 but I was considering putting a Leupold 3.5x10 on it.....maybe, maybe not....I"m still debating that one.

Sako Finnfire 22LR, Leupold 3X9 EFR
CZ 17 MK 11 Leupold 4X12 AO
Ruger 77/17, Leupold 12X
Ruger 96 22 Mag. Leupold 3X9
Ruger #1 22 Hornet Leupold 6X18
Ruger 77 Ultra-Light 204 Leupold M8 8 power
Ruger 77 LSS Compact .223 Leupold 6X36
Guss all my squirrel rifles wear Leupolds!
Virgil B.

Anyone feel like posting pictures of their rigs?

Don't got no cable for my cell cam. I do however have a nice scope on my 243 bullbarrel. It's a simmons 6-24 50mm w/AO. On my 243 it's very sturdy. I run 55gr noslers @3950. Does one heck of a job on tree rats and jacks. Dave

I finally got the software loaded on my computer. Just gotta take some time to figure out how to download and use

Leupold 4xRF on a Remington 541-T.

got an idea, if anyone can download thier phone to their computer I can send a pic of the 243 bullbarrel set up from my cell to yours. pm me if someone would do this. Dave

Newest squirrel busting rig is a Kimber Hunter 22 topped by a Leupold VXI 2-7x33mm which is set parallax free at 50 yards. Seems about ideal to me for a small game bolt action setup. I placed pictures in my thread in the rimfire section, so I won't be redundant with them here.

Photobucket now has a cell phone image section.

Dunno how it works, but it's there........

Here is a link to my sage rat 22 Long rifle..

it is a CZ 452 and I changed the scope recently to surplus Tasco Target Scope in 8 x 32...

this is not a tree squirrel set up.. it is for shooting sage rats from a fixed position out to about 125 yds or so...

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2092990525 one of the local boy scouts is shooting it for his merit badge...

here is one of my 'grandpa' shooting it...
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2093597124

SS 10-22 with a Bushnell 2X7.......Deadly on Tree Rats...

My buddy's (who is deployed) 12 year old with my (er uh...Dave in WV's) Remington 572 and Bushnell Sportview 4x32. Rifle is circa 1981 I believe and is a killer of steel targets and fat gray squirrels.

[img]http://IMG]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c134/Ruger280/100_3750.jpg[/img][/img]

OK...photobucket has hosed me again.

my most accurate squirrel rifle is my sako 78 with a 4X weaver rimfire on top...
my deadliest is my old rem 552 with a 2.5x simmons shotgun scope on it...

on my old rem 581, which is not quite as accurate as the sako, but deadlier, and which is not quite as deadly as the 552 but more accurate, wears a very old 7/8 tube weaver v22 from the 70s.....

Leupold VX-II 4-12X AO..

Leupold 1.5-5x Vari-XIII

Ruger 77-22 chambered in 22LR with Sightron 3-9 RF scope which is very accurate with cheap Federal HP ammo. Backup is older Remington 552 gallery special (22 short) with Simmons 2X. This one is nice and quiet shooting but gets the job done quite effectively with HPs.

'70's vintage Remmy 572 (my first rifle) topped with a Sears Ted Williams 2-6X.

I have an older Marlin 39A with an XS Ghost Ring that I love and a new Cooper 57M .22LR with a Leupold 4 x 28 Rimfire Scope that I love even more.

Burris 4x12 Mini with AO
Leupold VariX II 2x7 rimfire
My original squirrel rifle was topped with a 3/4 inch Weaver 3x6 scope, which cost more than the Glenfield Model 60 it was on.

How do you rate the CZ? Sooner or later I want to get a good quality lefty bolt action .22, and I definitely want one with a good adjustable trigger. The barrel I figure I can replace if needed, but if the thing is going to serve as my primary 4-position practice piece, its got to have good trigger, good optics, and good fit.

CouchTater,

I really like mine. I had my gunsmith smooth up the trigger and he did a good job. There's a spring kit sold by Eric Brooks that some people also use to tune their trigger who swear by it. I can't comment as I never use the kit.

Us southpaws don't have a lot of choices, so the CZ was a great value. Up until they came out, I was getting desperate for a southpaw .22lr and was calling various gunshops to get prices on Cooper 57M, which cost a great deal more than the CZ.

It was a good shooter right out the box, but I couldn't help myself and started tinkering with it. I'm very happy with mine did the semi-custom route for my CZ 452 American.


The safety is backward from the traditional safety, but liveable with. Trigger guard is simple stamp metal, but I never looked into replacing it. There doesn't seem to be alot of aftermarket parts for CZ.

Hope this helped. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.


Regards,

Leo

About 4 years ago, I put a 3-9x by 32mm Bushnell variable 'scope on my Ruger 10/22 (ser. # 9xx).

It works really well...

A 4X Bushnell Sportview on a 1980ish vintage Remington 572 that belongs to my Dad (Dave in WV). Here's what it's for:



My buddy's 12 year old (buddy is in the "sandbox" right now)

CZ 452 American, .22lr, Leupold Vari-X II 3x9x40


Marlin 7000 with a Simmons 3x9

jds44,

Looks like a great shot on that groundhog! Right through the eye.



Leo

Thanks. He was peaking out of his den at about 30 yards and his eye was about all I could see.

here is my Savage m93r17. I was going to buy a CZ 17HMR that day but I came home with this. I love it.

3x9x40 Nikon Prostaff. Nothing is safe with this gun. The bottom dueplex is dead on at 200 yards and anything under 200 is in serious danger.

I shoot the CCI TNT's with it. for some reason my gun does not like anything with a V-Max in it.

Leupold 6-18X VX II on my cooper custom clssic 22 lr:

I can't believe I'm contemplating this. I debating whether to put yet another aftermarket stock on my .22lr CZ. Thinking McMillan synthetic, not sure whether to go with edge fill or standard fill.

Kimber of Oregon, 2x7 Leupold compact
TC Classic straight Leupold 4X rimfire
CZ 452 17 HMR Burris 3X9 Compact

Guys,

How about some possible McSwirly color options for rifle stock for my rimfire?

Leo

Ruger 77/22
Nikon 4X monarch
Federal gold medal match ammo

Found out that edge stocks don't get to have molded-in colors. So much for that thought.

Just got a new Ruger Compact 10/22. It has a 16.5" barrel and weighs 4.5 lbs.
I mounted a Leupold 4X rimfire special on it. Got a new favorite squirrel getter!
Virgil B.