Gents,
Am getting a Ruger Compact .243 for my daughters. Intended game is deer, hogs, and pronghorn. Please provide recommendations for good quality scopes of correct scale for this rifle. I really want to keep the size down so the scope does not make the rifle unwieldy to handle. The aspects of simplicity and durability make fixed power scopes of 4 or 6 power candidates. However, I don't think the girls are inclined to jack with the scope so variables are in the running. I could set and leave it at 3 or 4 in the woods and 6 in open country. I would like to spend no more tham $300 but will if a scope obviously has the qualities I'm looking for.

Thanks in advance.

Expat

Expat: If size is a real issue why not try a Leup Ultralight 3-9x33? Tiny, slender,lightweight on the little gun.Sure there may be some optical compromises but I suspect it'll be user friendly for the little girls.

A buddy took one to Africa last fall and killed 26 head of plains game with one.Should work OK for them. I think it falls close to the price parameters,too.

Expat,

I've got two Ruger LSS Compacts. One in .223 and the other in 7mm-08.

I've got Leupold fixed 6X36mm scopes on both and am very happy with this setup.

Had a 6x42mm on one for a while...It just looked out of place.

Virgil B.

For a variable the Nikon Monarch 2x8 is a good one in your price range. A Leupold FX 2 4x or 6x would work.

I respectfully disagree Bob.

Your buddy sounds like an experienced hunter/shooter. There's no way I'd set up a new shooter with a scope having a relatively short and (perhaps more important) critical eye relief.

For a trim variable I'd say a VX-II 2-7x33.

Mathman: OK...I have used one and did not find it tough to use at all...but maybe that's just me

Get them some first class hearing protection. Safety aside, new shooters flinch from blast as much as anything else.

I have an AO version on a heavy-ish 223 and I don't find it "tough" but then again I use it for deliberate shooting, the gun fits me, it has essentially no recoil and it isn't my first rodeo behind a scope.

I just like to make it easy for beginners.

Putting a Leupold compact on a rifle for a kid is akin to starting them off with a unicycle. No sense in starting them off with something that is compromised.

I find long/non-critical eye relief to be good things for kids.

The standard 2-7x would be fine as would a fixed 4x. I helped Paul a bit getting a rig ready for his young son and we slapped a 2 1/2x Leupold on it, kid didn't seem to have any issues killing stuff with it.

Eye relief matters more when the stock LOP is too long and they end up having to get in all sorts of contorted positions trying to reach the trigger. Get a stock that fits, and they will line up right behind the scope every time.

I put a 3x Leupold on a rifle for my wife to use, and she found the low resolution to be a real handicap in picking out animals in similarly colored vegetation and figuring just what angle the animal was at.

I would go with the 2-7, and spend a lot more effort making sure the stock fit right in terms of LOP and grip dimensions.

...............FWIW, I`ve got a 1.5-5x20 VX111 sitting atop my 300 WSM Ruger Frontier compact. For a Ruger compact, it`s a great compact and light weight scope which is well porportioned to the scale of that rifle.

Since your price range is at $300, the 1-4x20 VX2 would accomplish the same things as my VX111 and would be my pick for your rifle.

Here`s why I chose the 1.5-5x20 for my Frontier and why the 1-4x20 VX2 would also still apply in the same ways;

#1) Great FOVs on the lower magnification, which is great for shorter ranged brush and timber hunting.

#2) With either scope set on the lower powers, there is fast (both eyes open) target acquisition and aiming capability.

#3) Scope size (their lengths) and scope weights of only 9 oz or so, plus their lower profiled straight tubes, are well porportioned to the Ruger compact while keeping the rifle`s overall weight down.

#4) Excellent eye relief.

#5) 4x or 5x on the high end is enough magnification for hogs out to maybe 300 yards and deer sized and larger game out to 350, 400 and even 500 yards. Either scope will cover the 243`s hunting distances quite nicely. As a side note, too much magnification on a hunting target causes increased scope wobble that can cause uncertainty and delay the shots.

#6) Either the VX2 or VX111 is in keeping with the theme of that rifle which is, a lightweight, more compact, faster handling, faster manuvering, and an easier carrying package.

The other choices mentioned such as the 2-7x33 VX2, the 3-9x33 Leupy Ultralite, the fixed 4x33 FX2 or the fixed 6x, are all very good choices, but from my compact rifle hunting experience, I`ll stick with either the 1-4x20 VX2 or the 1.5-5x20 VX111/VX3 as a top pick for the Ruger compact.

That sums it up pretty well!!

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm glad folks brought eye relief into the discussion. I was overlooking that. The FX-II 4x33 & 6x36 and VX-II 2-7x33 have between 3.8 and 4.2 inches of eye relief, are around 11 inches long, and weigh about 10 ounces. These are both small and have good eye relief. They are great candidates and are on the short list.

Expat

I have several Ruger Compacts- I think the 'best fit' for that gun it terms of size/weight and eye relief is the Leup FXII 4x or the VX-3 1.5-5x.

I'm beginning to like fixed power scopes more and more. The fixed 4x FXII Leup seems to be the perfect match.

Fantastic scope- and not too pricey.

I think the Ruger Compacts come with a set of the 'medium' height rings. I exchange them out for a set of the "low" rings- I like that eye-alignment much better with the Ruger stock. If you buy a new rifle, Ruger will do the exchange at no charge. It only costs you the shipping charges.