Thread: Looking for a scope for new rifle

It has been a good scope for the money to me. When I bought mine it was on sale at BPS bad cheap. Nikon are great scopes no doubt. Lot depends on your budget and how serious the shooting your going to do is. My recommendation is get on the net and search out reviews on anything your thinking of buying. If I was doing it over I would go with the 40.

I own several rifles and have several different brands of optics. Being a shooter in the Marines, I relied on my optics more than anything. I used to be a die hard Leupold guy however there are a lot of other companies that I turn too now. Nixon has been my go to as of late along with Burris on a few. That being said, I too own a Savage 17hmr. I have a BSA sweet 17 scope on mine with adjustable turrets and parralex. For the money, this is a great scope for that gun. I've had it onboard for about 4 years now and have had no issues.

It really depends on what you are trying to do. I'm not going to give you a shooting lesson here but to give you an indication of how well this scope performs... here goes:
First, buy about 5 different boxes of shells for your gun. Whatever scope you mount, shoot a 5 shot group with each type of round and determine which one performs the best (for that gun) regardless of scope.
For me, two rounds shoot really well. Hornady 17gr and CCI 20 grain. The 17gr will hold a .75 MOA at 100 yards (about a 3/4 inch group). When sighted in dead center, the CCI will shoot 3 clicks high and 3 clicks right at 100 yards and will put out a .85 MOA (less than one inch group). I have this written on my gun. So, I zero my gun at 100 yards with the Hornady rounds and if I shoot the CCI, I will drop 3 clicks down and go three clicks left and still shoot dead center.

My furthest kill shot with this particular setup (BSA scope) is 287 yards. I regularly shoot 150 yard shots on squirrels of my back deck without issue. With the 20 grain CCI rounds, I've taken two wood chucks (ground hogs) at over 150 yards. Both with killing head shots.

If your goal is to shoot long distances, buy the biggest variable you can get. I believe mine is 6-18x40

I've had some decent luck with both low-cost Barska and high-end ATN scopes. Barska is well known for their budget friendly scopes. Great to maximize light gathering and for optimum optical clarity in the fading low light of early and late day, Barska Hot Magnum is the affordable scope I prefer to use on my .17 HMR rifle when hunting.

If memory serves me, I think Barska is a subsidiary of Bushnell. I have a set of Bino's in Bushnell and a buddy of mine has an identical pair in Barska. Even came in identical boxes just labeled differently.

I was always told spend 2x`s what you payed for the gun. If you want to shoot LR buy the best you can afford. If just plinking a low end will keep ya on paper. Bushnell is a good lower end, Nikon or Leopold being better for LR accuracy. just my OP.

Nikon Prostaff is a good economical option. I have their 3x9x40 on my 10/22 and it is a good scope for hunting and plinking. I also have a 4x32 on my Henry it is a great squirrel gun. I would steer clear of the Barska, Simmons, Tasco scopes that are tempting you with a low price tag. Once you add that cost onto what you are going to spend on a good scope you would have wished you would have spend a bit more in the first place instead of buying two scopes!

Look at the Mueller line of scopes, very good glass for the money IMO. As some have mentioned parallax can be an issue with some scopes. The Mueller I have will focus down to less than ten yards if needed. I like mildots too, handy for holdovers.

Not being up on the latest scopes I won't comment. What I have found recently and have found a large following of them is the Dednutz Game Reaper mounts. I bought one, after several recommendations, for my Remington 700 sp Varmint and love them. One piece of aluminum and it's both rings and base in one. No chance of anything moving at all. If you do more rough and tumble they may not be for you but the folks I spoke with had them on most everything they shoot. About $60 and you're done. My gun is heavy enough that I don't need to add to it. For what it's worth.........Skeet