Help with Small Rimfire scopes

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Tinker

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First, let me say that I never needed a scope before I hit my 40's, so I don't really know that much about them.

Father Time has hidden the rear sight, so I'm looking to mount one on my favorite .22.

I have a 1" tube, 4X scope that was given to me years ago. It's a nice scope. I like it but it's physically quite large on this small rifle and a bit of overkill. I also have a cheap "skinny" Tasco rimfire scope that came with my daughter's Marlin .22. I like the physical size of this little scope and it's slight magnification, but it is so cheaply constructed that when you barely bump it it knocks the crosshairs off. This is a common scope that comes with .22's and air rifles. I think it is a 2x power and it's tube is much smaller than the (1" tubed) 4x scope I have.

What I'd like to know is who makes a small scope like the little Tasco, but one that is of better quality? A small (longer eye relief) pistol scope could also be mounted on my little .22 in this particular application. Thanks.
 
Sorry, can't help you. After more than 50 years of shooting scoped 22 caliber rifles, all of my 22 caliber scopes are 1" diameter, 4X, Leupold Vari-X II's. What's more important to you: How a scope looks on the rifle, or the sight picture you're able to achieve and how well the rifle shoots?

Frankly, I wouldn't own a Tasco anything. With one of my Leupolds I can consistently bust quarters at 75-80 yards. Try that with some 3/4" 22 caliber tube! By the way, did you know that Tasco's premium 22 caliber scope does, in fact, have a 1" diameter tube?

A long eye relief pistol scope might work for some applications; but, it will be more difficult to line up your eye correctly with. For a running shot, I'd prefer to stay with a normal rifle scope. Generally speaking, once you become used to lining up your shots and working with a scope you will want to use the highest quality and most expensive scope your wallet can afford. For me that's always been Leupold. ;)





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescopic_sight
 
the 1" scope will give you much better vision as it will allow much more light in. It will also give you a far larger sight picture for faster target acquisition.

It may look funny but you will be much more comfortable with the larger tube, and it will be better on your eyes
 
Another option for older eyes is to install a peep sight.

CZpeepsight.jpg
[/IMG]
 
Little rifles not only look "funny" when big scopes are mounted on them, they feel funny. Any scope will detract from the handling of any rifle to one degree or another. Most people feel that a better sight picture more than makes up for any slight degradation in handling.

I'm a believer in matching the size, weight, power and overall configuration of a scope to the size and mission(s) of the rifle (or shotgun) it is to be wedded to. If your "favorite" .22 is a handy, svelte sporter, slapping a large 3X9 scope on it would pretty much compromise its handling and, therefore its "mission". I would recommend a Burris or Leupold compact scope, preferrably one with a "straight" objective.

Or do what CZguy suggests-you can rarely go wrong by installing a good quality aperture sight on a .22 rimfire.
 
You can find inexpensive rimfire scopes on ebay. One that is commonly offered is a Busnell 3-9x for about $50. I don't recommend those 7/8" diameter (or less) scopes for 22's. The whole point is to be able to sight easily.

I do like rimfire scopes. What makes a scope a rimfire scope? Parallax adjustment to 50 yds versus 100 yds with regular scopes. Does it make a difference? Yes

I would suggest you look at Weaver 4x rimfire scope. They are excellent. Link: http://www.opticsplanet.net/weaver-rifle-scopes-rimfire-849430.html

Scopes made by Simmons are cheaper, but not as good. Go to some of the online folks and search for "rimfire scope". You will begin to see what is available.

A 4x scope on a rimfire is a nice match for general purposes. I used to mount 4x scopes on all my rimfire rifles until I started shooting more target and less plinking.
 
I also have a cheap "skinny" Tasco rimfire scope that came with my daughter's Marlin .22. I like the physical size of this little scope and it's slight magnification, but it is so cheaply constructed that when you barely bump it it knocks the crosshairs off.
Click to expand...

I can relate to that. I burned a perfectly good $20 bill on one of those, and I removed it from the rifle within an hour of shooting, never to mount it again.
I would recommend you go with a decent scope even if it costs a lot more. You mentioned a pistol scope. I would check out the Burris Scout Scope if you have a forward mounting rail. I am waiting for mine in the mail for an AK. I hear they work great, and are tough as nails. Yet they are the size of a pistol scope. Best of luck.
 
I really like the old 3/4" Redfield scopes. Unfortunately, they haven't been made in years so eBay or gun shows are your best bet. I have them on three of my .22s.
 
I never did quite fall into the "scope more expensive than the rimfire rifle" scenerio. Although I own a couple Leupolds that I've recycled around on everything from rimfires to .30-06's.

I tend to favor Bushnel or Tasco 1" 4x scopes for the .22 rifles if I do scope them.
 
An excellent sight for a 22 is a mini red dot like the Burris Fastfire - about $180 at Natchez.

The Weaver 1-3X (1" tube) is a good scope choice. Japanese made with outstanding optics for about $140 also at Natchez.

The compact Leupold VX-I 1-4X shotgun scope is also a good choice for a 22 rifle. They are available for around $200 from several places.

An aperture sight mounted way back so it is less than 1" in front of your eye can do an amazing job of sharpening up the front sight and target if the aperture is kept small and if your vision problem is normal near/far sightedness.

These are the solutions I currently use on various 22s. They all work well and choosing one depends mostly on how the rifle will be used.
 
You can still buy the small diameter 22/air rifle scopes. Some sell for as low as $10. I believe Optics Planet sells some. I don't care for them, but they exist.

I have three 4x scopes on 22's. One is a Bushnell Banner 4x, a Redfield 4x, and an old Herters 4x. Ther Herters is on my original 22 rifle, a Mossberg semi-auto from my childhood. I'll never change that scope out unless it breaks.

All are inch tube scopes and look great on the rifles. I also have three Weavers and a Mueller as well. I still have a couple more to scope. I'm thinking Mueller 4.5-14x APV for the new Remington 541-T. It will be a paper puncher.
 
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Tinker,

Personally I would have to agree with you about the older scopes just looking 'right' on an old 22 rifle....

Lithgow037.jpg

Go to ebay, type in Weaver scope, then cruise through the 60+ pages that come up. If you have the opportunity, check out the 'G6', 3/4" 6x scope.

Good luck, they're addicting....:D
 
One of the most popular scopes for the 1022 crowd was the .22 Mag Simmons 1022T which was a 3X9X32 AO that was very good for just around 118.00. Unfortunately that scope wasa made by the old Simmons co. The current company is own by Meade optics and is a far cry from the respectability of the original.
Today you'd do better to go with Bushnell in a 32mm, either fixed or 3X9.
Here's the orig Simmons
Simmons_1022T.jpg

Walcuda3Shots.jpg

CRITGIT
 
How about something like this Weaver K2.5? It's probably about as small as a scope with a 1" tube can be until you get into the red dot types.
10-22-short.jpg
 
1" tube scopes rule!

.22 LR or larger caliber rifles deserve decent scopes. Even my .177 caliber air rifles have 1' tube scopes astride them. A so-called .22 scope of lesser diameter than 1" has always provided a let-down for me, some more severe than others but why gamble? When a 20 ounce scope makes my 10 pound air rifle unbalanced, I'll give up shooting and go to a five-ounce flyrod with #10 yellow poppers for bluegill, which I enjoy anyway. cliffy
 
this is the best small scope, and cheap, made today. it is a Tasco 3x9x32, it is air rifle, adult, spring piston rated, it has an ajustable ao, it comes with rings/mounts, and it is prllax free down to 7 ft!!!! awesome, since it is adult spring piston rated, you know it can take some serious recoil, which a 22 doesn't have anyway, but you know your recoil will never knock these reticle wires loose.
http://www.opticsplanet.net/tasco-3-9x44-titan.html
opticsplanet_2009_401068623.gif

they have two versions of this golden antler, do not get the other one, it has no adjustable objective.
 
Thanks for all the replies, suggestions and links. I will study them all when time allows.

Loner,

That old scope you posted a pic of is more along the lines of what I think will work on my rifle. Well, I call it a rifle. It's actually a combo gun. A Springfield M6 (.22LR over a .410). This has been my favorite tramping around gun for a while. I use it for protecting my stock to plinking to busting squirrels. Springfield sells a scope rail for this gun, but I'm not happy with it. I mounted the 4x scpoe on it and it's just huge in relation to the compact little gun.

I'm currently having my tooling guy at work make a custom scope attachment rig that I drew up. I'm looking for a slender scope because I'm trying to allow for a peer-through base (for the iron sights-for the .410 side) and keep the scope down as close to the bore as possible. Plus, at the ranges I'll be using the .22 bore I really don't need all that much magnification. I've thought about a red-dot type scope, but most I've seen are also 1" tubes.
 
then , I think ultimately, you want an old weaver , 3/4 inch scope; they came with a variety of mounts, singles, double mounts, bridges, over the sides, you name it. look on ebay, or gunbroker or auction arms, for various OLD weaver scopes, they should be solid steel, and El Paso made.
the one pictured above looks that way. It looks very old, as you can see the brass caps on the ends of the scope.
 
Don't buy cheap in optics . . . that's what you'll get. Tasco, though better than their same-priced couterparts, . . . cheap. You can still find the little thin tube Tascos if you want one, though.

I have a buddy that keeps to the romantic notions concerning his firearms . . . no choke tubes in shotguns, no synthetic or laminate stocks, no big optics. Though his guns are "traditional", he can't shoot with us who have moved into this century. I believe that Stadivari (Stradivarius . . . Violins) would use every bit of new technology to craft his instruments were he alive today . . . why not step up to new technology in Optics.

A couple of reasonably priced small but super optics for a rimfire are made by Leupold . . . a 2-7x VX-I and a 4x FX-I . . . $219 for either. You won't regret it.
 
I'm currently having my tooling guy at work make a custom scope attachment rig that I drew up. I'm looking for a slender scope because I'm trying to allow for a peer-through base (for the iron sights-for the .410 side) and keep the scope down as close to the bore as possible. Plus, at the ranges I'll be using the .22 bore I really don't need all that much magnification. I've thought about a red-dot type scope, but most I've seen are also 1" tubes.
Click to expand...

You might consider one of the micro-sized red dots like the Burris Fastfire. If you have someone who can make a custom mount for you, you might be able to get it mounted low enough that you can see the iron sights through the window of the optic. Although, I think a dot sight would work OK for shotgunning anyway.
 
I have had a Tasco 3-9 X(I forget) on my Remington 511-X for YEARS and have done 3/4" groups at 100yards with it. I can do 1.5" groups at 100M all day if I want at my current range. It's nothing fancy, just a duplex, but its repeatable and it stays on Target. It's the second scope I have ever had on it and it just worked, so I left it on.

my .22 isn't a competition shooter either, its a "clay pigeon at 100M" killer.....lol.....

here she is (she's almost 40!):

 
I am soon to be 63 so know about the eye problems, plus some. My 22's sport Leupold 4x rimfire specials, a small 1"tube scope with excellent optics and fine duplex crosshairs. One custom Ruger 10-22 in stainless has a Nikon rimfire stainless scope , only because I could not get the small Leupold in a silver color. It seems to be ok. I even have one of the little Leupold's on a CZ 22 Hornet and it is fine there. The two Marlin levers have on one a Marbles tang sight, the older having a Lyman receiver sight. I do like the longer eye relief of the tang but it is not as precise as the receiver sight. A good receiver(peep) sight can shoot with the good optics. I was on a smallbore rifle team over 40 years ago when in college, shooting Winchester 52's and Rem 40-X rifles with Redfield International receiver sights and the level of accuracy is almost unbelievable. I actually prefer the peep sights to scopes, but will concede for some small game hunting such as squirrel, a scope is better.
 
I've got a little 1/2" tube BSA 3X7 "22 scope" that works just fine. I got it at Wally World for about $17.00. I've got a Bushnell Banner just like it that I probably paid about $10.00 for, but that was 20 years ago, that works just as well but has been retired to the top of the gun cabinet.

DSCF0003.gif

Now, frankly, I wouldn't recomend it for your Browning. It's a top of the line gun that deserves a better scope than a $17.00 BSA. But it does work just fine as far as I can tell.
 
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