I posted this in optics, but no replies. Online Content


Thinking about another rimfire scope for shooting treed squirrels. I want to keep the weight down. I have a Leupold Freedom 3x9x40 rimfire so I am familiar with them. I am wondering about the same in 2x7x33. Does one trump the other or anything negative with the smaller scope? Also, are there others I should look at? Seems several have recently been discontinued. I might consider a straight 4X as well. Thanks

The weaver 2-7 Rimfire scope is a good one. Made in Japan. Nice and trim, believe Natchez has them on sale.

I have a Leupold 3x9x33 EFR I might want to sell.

Other than shooting paper where I would turn the scope up, I don't have much need for a variable powered Squirrel Hunting scope. My favorite is the old Burris Mini/Compact 6X with parallax. I still use them a lot. The other scope that works great for me is the Leupold FXII 6X36 with the parallax adjusted to 40yds by Leupold and with fine duplex crosshairs.
I have the Leupold Freedom scope in 3-9X33 EFR, some Browning 5-15X40 AO (Bushnell 4200's with 3200 glass coating) and a few Bushnell 3.5-10X36 AO scopes. Nice scopes eveyone of them, but the above 2 are still what I use and they do not weigh much at all.

I've killed a truckload of squirrels with an old Weaver D4, a 7/8" tube with plastic lenses, it doesn't take much.

Nowadays, I use much better glass, but the old scope, on a Marlin 60, never gave me any trouble or a reason to blame it rather than my shooting. A good 4 power will work fine, if you have an old K-4, it would be a fine choice, too.

Some nice offerings here,, I have a couple bushnell AR223 scopes on some shooters an really like them,,very clear and side turrent AO,, the 4200's and 3200's are very nice too,, I have an old 4x weaver that has a german post,that i love for squirrels,, put the head on the post and send it,,

I primarily hunt fox squirrels with rifles chambered in 17HM2, so I like a little more magnification to take better advantage of the longer point blank range that the 17HM2 has over the 22 LR. I have Weaver V16s on my Anschutz 1502 and Marlin 917M2S and a Leupold 3-9x33 EFR on my Remington 504. The only .22 rifle that I've used to hunt squirrels within recent memory is a 10/22 with a Weaver RV9.

I'm running an old Vari-X II 2x7 that I picked because it just looked like the perfect fit for my rifle.
Actually, it's a little farther back than I prefer, but still useable. And I didn't want to repostion the rear ring forward an inch to the next notch.
A 4x28 might be a better fit. I usually set it at around 4 or 5. Here's a fuzzy picture.

I like that it has a larger ocular lens than the 28mm rimfire scopes, but still the small 28mm objective. And the fine crosshairs don't hide much on small targets. But before I got the old Leupy, I had a twenty dollar pawn shop Simmons 22mag 3-9x32 on it for years that worked great.

I’ve go the same setup however I have a DNZ reaper one piece aluminum scope mount on it...

I'll have to check that out. I've looked for one of the old short steel 3/8 base a couple of times but didn't find one.

I have a couple of these (see link) and really like them. I don't twist dials or turn adjustable parallax's much except paper shooting so a fixed Leupold 6X like I posted above works for me. But.....................
Scope

All good recommendations. I am pondering the fixed six power Leupold. Don't have to have anything so that makes it harder to decide, lol

Killed most of mine using:
Bushnell 4x Sportview - long ago on a 10/22
Then later a M8 6x36 on it and later a 77/22
Since then, a few 6x36s and 33mm

and more often using standard VX-1 and Freedom 2-7x33, reticles bolder than some rimfire models......parallax never caused me to miss

What ever you do, make sure the lower end can do at least 5-8x...

Plenty of newbs buy higher power scopes and turn them too high and miss the critters, 12-14x is great if you are trying to clip a squirrel poking it’s head out of a hole... BUT

For everyday shooting, you’ll miss more than you hit because at 10x you can’t hold steady unless you are on a rock solid rest... so stick with 5-8x 90% of the time and you are good to go.

Don't shoot a squirrel poking his head out of a hole. He'll fall back in the hole and you lose him. I think 6X is just about perfect for squawk hunting.

Done that before........... Shot one high in a tree over a nest that fell straight down into the nest.

Scopes-Ive tried 4x, 2-7, 3-9, 4-12 and 4.5-14, all worked okay, but where l hunt brush is thick and getting a shot over 50 yards is uncommon, so the last few years ive grown to like the 2-7x33mm Leupolds. Light weight, big field of view, easy eye relief, not bulky, fits well on most rimfire rifles. If l hunted areas where a lot of long shots were common, I'd probably go to a 4-12.

My favorite squirrel rifle has a 2-7X32 Nikon Pro-Staff shotgun scope {75 yd. parallax} on board. I've killed a truckload of squirrels with that setup with no complaints.

Might change my mind after I try it, but going to try a Leupold 4x33 on a light weight 10/22. I can always go back to the variable if this don't pan out. I hunt with a dog an most trees aren't that tall here. I appreciate reading what everyone has used successfully.

2-7 Kahles rimfire if you can find one.

DF

That's a nice bright, compact and lightweight scope that should work fine.
I have an old Redfield Widefield 4x tv screen scope that I may put on my 39m in place of the Vari-x ii 2x7 to move the eye relief forward without moving the rings.
Optics on the old Redfield might not be up to par with new scopes. But it has a really wide field of view compared to any other 4x I've used. And I don't do much shooting with it near dusk or dawn anyway.

Nice set up. I am trying to cut weight and quality of my hunting rig. Dog hunting I go through the brush and sometimes have to lay it down in less than ideal conditions. I like Ruger for the ability to load and unload them quickly with the box magazine. I am going to get a new 10/22 strippo and retire my 77/22 for a while. Will see how it works out.

This 10-22 has a Volquartsen barrel, Jard fire control unit, Hogue stock and a 4-12 Cabelas scope with A/O I bought here on the Fire from JB.

It's a tack driver. A/O lets me adjust parallax to 50' for my indoor range in my carport attic. On low power at 4X, it's OK for offhand shooting.

DF

OP - long ago took my then Jack Russel Terrier out.....had a Marlin 75 Carbine, short barrel, tube feed, set up with a 2.5x using Rem Subsonic HPs - I laid many a cat squirrels (gray squirrels) down running thru the trees, and did feel handicapped but it worked. Shot further than I would have thought I would have connected. Now on that note, a fellow once told me his preferred scope....he hunted up north. On his Anschutz, he ran a straight 3x, saying it seemed odd, but was perfect for how he hunted at his distances. You will do fine. If you ever move up, as I did, the 6 x or 2-7x will give you that little extra, should you feel you need it.

Simplicity is good, and a 4x has served many owners well using the 22 LR.

I bought 3 of them in last few months. Put one in my new Henry lever action, and each of the kids got one in their Broening SA22s that Santa dropped off. Verdict to be determined, but so far so good.

Either 2-7 or 3-9 would serve you fine. With a .22, your ammo selection is generally 10x more important than your scope. Spend some time running nice quality HPs (eley, etc) and patterning then. If you want to go all out, chrono for lowest SD to remove yourself from the equation.

Ultimately, when we tune loads to a riflearm, we are adjusting powder charges (just the tip of the iceberg during this step), until we are running in a FPS node that matches the harmonic responses frequency of the gunshot. The sound wave should be back centered as the bullet exits the muzzle.

The opposite way of doing that, is testing different ammo in it, until it’s accurate. This is why different guns like different ammo.

Once you know what your rifle likes to eat, you stand a much great chance of hitting a l squirrel well and getting a good clean kill.

I have several of the 2x7 leupold and I like them, but recently have been using the Burris rimfire scopes,very clear glass.

use a 410 and ya don't need a scope...

I have a Leupold 4-12X FD / AO on my rimfire. Mostly shoot from a rest of one sort or another. I haven't shot it 'cept at 12X in quite a while, maybe a couple years. I'm not a knob twister. I would look for the same scope but with their new-ish "TRI-MOA" crosshair.

I’ve read it on here before, “my dad would rather have a daughter that worked in a whorehouse than a son that would shoot a squirrel with a shotgun”. Can’t say I’ve ever shot a squirrel with a shotgun, nor do I ever plan to. Not saying you can’t though.

I shoot a lot of treed sq. using a Weaver RV7. 75% of shots are at 7x. 25% at 2.5x. I could do all at 2.5x but 7x is easier if I have time and helps with snaking the bullet through twigs. That scope is plenty clear out to about 75 yards but not further.

If compactness is wanted, a Leupold 4x is a small scope and is enough for treed sq. We're only talking 35 yards or so. The bigger challenge is staying on line to get them when they're timbering. That's when you want a shotgun. When more than one person is along we always take both a 22 and a shotgun.

I hit one running down a limb at about forty yards a few weeks back. Headshot, too. The cur was the only witness, though, and I haven't been able to teach it to talk yet. It'd probably just complain about all the times I missed instead, anyway.

This right here,one of the best rimfire scopes ever made,my opinion of course, I have 5 of them.


Greg

I dropped one a few weeks ago, OVER 100 paces.......iron sights, BL-22........

Whatever you use, practice.......know where your POA = POI with ammo of rifles choice......many ways to ...........skin a squirrel

I'm a diehard Leupod fan, but I have but one eception, that being a Weaver 4X Classic Rimfire scope. I use it on a Mossberg .22 LR shooting an informal silhouette match at my gun club.

It is capable of keeping a one hole group off sand bags at 25 yds, so I figure it should be more than good for squerills. Not cheap, but not too pricy for the quality I see in it either, I think I paid about $130.

Dad let me hunt with a Winchester 37 410 for one year, then got me a Remington 521 T with a Weaver K4 on it. He would give me 6 shells (6 squirrel limit). Learned to make them count

A low cost 4-power rim fire that is very clear with a crisp reticle is the Simmons 22-mag scope.
I am not a Simmons fan, but this scope has been a mainstay with lots of people for decades.
Go-figure!
Read some reviews on it, and you’ll be surprised.

Your Dad is/was a very wise man.
Great story on him!

Ditto

I have a Nikon Prostaff EFR 3x9 on my RAR. I like it very much.

I have a nikon prostaff 3x9 rimfire on mine. I like it so far.

El Paso Weaver K2.5 or perhaps a Leupold Compact 2.5 is all you need. Cheap and durable.

Weaver 2 x 7 Rimfire if you can find one.. they are out of production..

or the old 4 X Rimfire Weaver... out of production also..

I use both, each one on a 30/30.... One a Win Legend.. and the other is Stainless Marlin..

My go to squirrel rifles are a Ruger 77/22 RSI with a Leupold VX-2 3-9x33 EFR Rimfire and a Winchester m61 with a soon to be arriving Leupold VX-1 2-7x28 that I found in the classified. I do like being able to turn that EFR down to ten meters to eliminate all parallax at close range when I have the time to be deliberate, but that 2-7x28 Rimfire should be good for running and gunning.

The 2x7x33 Leupold is the biggest piece of junk I own. Bought it new and the gray haze was horrible. Sent it back on my dime and its better but still worse than some of the cheap junk out there. Come to find out I'm not alone in my dislike for them.

tagged.

Leupold’s discontinued 6X AO compact is my absolute favorite squirrel rifle scope. There are many others that work great too - the rimfire series from Leupold, the EFR 3-9X compact, weaver’s rimfire series, the Nikon EFR, the Kahles rimfire scope (rarer than hens teeth) and many others mentioned here all work well.

PennDog

I’m currently using and am very much satisfied with the 3x9x40 rimfire scope made for Tract optics. The glass is excellent, adjustments are crisp and accurate, and this model is parallax free @50Yds. Eye relief is very generous, an easy scope to get behind. Assembled in the Philippines with Japanese glass I think. They also offer a 4x12 rimfire scope. My previous rimfire scopes I’ve used are the Leupold 3x9x33EFR, and the Leupold vx 2 4x12 AO, ....nice scopes but I like the Tract much better for hunting squirrels and such. I have it mounted on a TC 22 classic with a 1pc Leupold base and low rings and there is 1/8” clearance at the objective. I have the bdc reticle and it’s very nice and clean, with a finer crosshair and grad marks than depicted on the website info page. It cost 174$ shipped. This is a lot of scope for the $$. Any questions give Jon a call @Tract, a great guy to deal with.

Another vote for the 2-7x33 Leupold and I'd probably leave it on 2 for most shots till the leaves are off the trees.

Just mounted a SWFA 3-9 on a Tikka T1X. Built to be a trainer for a T3 (with same scope) that I use for big game. Hope to put it to use on some late season squirrels this year. Early season I prefer to use a 20ga.

Id like to find another Leupold 4x compact.

That 6X Compact AO was a sweet scope. I had one on my Clackamas Kimber 82 Custom Classic. Pains me to think about how many nice rifles have passed through my hands.

I guess mine are much better than yours..........my go to rimfire scope, dropped many squirrels. Used 4x and 6x and even 2.5x also with success. Never needed more.

I've had good luck with a couple of Leupold EFR 3-9x33 rimfire scopes. ER is a bit short, but who cares on a .22LR...

As you can see, this one is set back a good bit.

DF

I’ll have to try one of those - they look like nice sized scopes for a .22 hunting rifle. Thanks for the info I did not know about these scopes but your review has piqued my interest!

PennDog

NC Star 4x30 compact P4... if you can mount it right. Very light.

I’ll second that. The glass is surprisingly clear.

Years ago. I used a Redfield 2.75X Widefield on a Marlin 39A and killed a lot of squirrels. I used it to shoot gallery shorts for hand thrown targets. The my other rig was a Marlin tube fed 22 Mag. with a 16X LWBR scope. I did make some loooong shots with that rig. Then I let a friend in a gun shop trade me out of the scope. The 22 mag has sat forlorn in a corner since. I recently bought some CCI 22 mag ammo so maybe there is some hope. I think a 3-9X EFR might be a good scope for my tastes. And maybe look for an annie to put it on. Be Well and shoot squirrels, Rustyzipper.

I have an old Weaver 3X9 with AO. I have used this combo over thirty years. I usually have it set on four or five power. The scope may a bit over size for a 22, but it has served me well. The scope came on. Rem 700 30.06 that has been to harvest numerous deer.

dan is on to something here. i have two setups, one ancient and one modern. one of my fave hunting spots is a depression surrounded by oak trees. it's about 30 yards across and there in a stump about 2 feet high on one side. early season...leaves on trees. sit on stump wait for them to start moving. pop one with an old rem 552 with a weaver 1x4.5 shooting short hps. late season, no leaves rem 541t with burris 6x silouette scope. any of the setups described will work. just remember field of view is important for game that isn't posing for their picture to be taken

Burris 1.75x5 on my Remington pump 22, it's killed a lot of bunnys and spruce chickens. I shoot squirrel with my pellet pistol w/o a scope.

The Leupold VX Freedom 3-9x works well for 10/22s.

VX-2 3-9x40 CDS, dial set up for the 38 gr Fed. Gameshok, a great bullet that's very accurate. Trigger stop on the Marlin 39 with near match grade trigger.

DF

got a current offering leupold vx freedom 3-9x33 efr on my 10 yr old sons CZ scout 455 and he hits spinner plates at 60 yds like its nothin'.
Big Ed

Hey 7 08

Did you buy a scope yet?

I'm another squirrel dogger. I spend more time in the woods after squirrels with the dog than all my other hunting combined. I used a Leupold 2-7x rimfire for years, and I would prefer it to the 3-9 or 4x. But all three have almost the same functionality for what you're talking about. I've come to prefer a standard duplex over the rimfire or fine reticle. That's what I would look for if I was you.

Several years ago I splurged and had the Leupold custom shop build me a scope. It's a VX-R 2-7x33 with the parallax set at 50 yards and a cds dial on top. I REALLY like the firedot. Turns out I don't use the cds dial for my hunting so I could have saved a few bucks. I'm very happy with this scope and can't imagine anything better for hunting squirrels with a dog.

708 fan,


On your original question: I use a Leuopold vx II 3-9 with parallax reset to 50 yards.

But I hope you and Circles will start a squirrel dog thread and post some pics. Every once in a while I think about finding up a squirrel cur or a feist....

Be careful with that. You get a good squirrel dog and all your deer hunting buddies will wonder what happened to you. And your freezer fills up with squirrel.

I'm already there. A good squirrel dog might get me more company. Throw up a thread and some stories.

Nothing fancy required if you are standing below the tree and shooting up... too much magnification can make it difficult to find the squirrel in the leaves... I like a variable scope, because where I hunt in open beech forests, I have taken 100 yard shots numerous times.... my Anschutz 1416 HB is wearing a VX-3 4.5-14X40 EFR, 4.5X when shooting up, 14X when hunting eyeballs at 100 yards.

A few other rifles wear the VX-2 3-9X33mm EFR and other wear the VX-2 4-12X40mm EFR... my M77/22 Walnut/Stainless has the 4-12 and it sees alot of action.

I haven’t kept up in this thread. Yes, I scored a Leupold FX 4 power and I set the parrellax. It has a duplex reticle and works great. I put it on a new barebones 10/22 and had a brimstone trigger job. Lightweight and has sling studs molded in. Very accurate as well. About perfect IMO. As for dogs and pictures, I gave up on them being to hard to post and Photo Bucket ruining many good reference pictures on here when they tried to capitalize on what they hooked us on for free. Lots of good pups available now days. Get one and have fun.

Leupold 2-7x rimfire on a Marlin 39A

Those Burris 6X AO scopes are Awesome Squirrel scopes. Perfect in my opinion. This one isn't the "Silhouette" model, it's the 6X Mini AO model. The rifle isn't a real 541T, but is a 581S action with threaded barrel and receiver, and some other custom stuff. Really nice Squirrel rifle.
The target is 45rds. of SK Standard Plus at 50yds. I think it was SK Standard, it could have been RWS Subsonic, Wolf MT, or Norma Subsonic. I can't remember. It was an Internet contest that was going on and you were suppose to shoot 50rds. In my first try I used a Kimber HS model and figured I could better it with the 581/541 if I zeroed below the center bull so I had a place to put the crosshairs. After 45 rounds I became bored and quit.



The Kimber target which I think was 45 rounds also.

I am a big fan of the now discontinued Weaver 2-7X as previously mentioned. Plenty of scope.





Of late I have moved to the Burris Droptine Rimfire 3-9x. They have been fine so far and a bargain for $120.

Those Droptine Rimfire scopes look like a real bargan EDM. How would you compare it to your Weaver?

Nice Anschutz. Would it be a 164 Savage/Anschutz?

I have an old wide view 4x Weaver on my 511-x and a Leupold 4x on my 10/22. There are cooler scopes out there but I can't recall being handicapped yet.

That’s some excellent shooting, k22. That 581S is a keeper, for sure.

Thanks SS336.
In truth, it has a 541T barrel on it.

I have a couple of Bushnell Banner ( Japan made) 1 inch straight tube, fixed 4x rimfire scopes. They are very bright, with very crisp optics. They were bought used for about $40. Plex reticle. Click adjustments.

I have one one a CZ 452 American 22LR, and a Marlin 880 sq (22LR). I really like them.

I use a Leupold FX-4 on a BRNO Model 2 and am tickled sh*tless with the combo.

I really liked the one I had too. Unfortunately it finally gave out on me after many years of use on several different .22's a couple years ago. The horizontal crosshair broke right at the intersection of the vertical.

i have 2 vortex crossfire2 2x7x32 on my 22s and love them.very clear and the turrets track is precise