Varmint Scope Choice

[dave]

Hi all,

Well im hopefully going to take ownership of something ive been after for a long time and thats a ruger no1 in 22-250. Now ive got a few scopes to choose from was interested in what you guys thought of them,
- Nikon Monarch 6-24x50 (640ish US)
- Weaver Super Slam 4-20x50 (550ish US)
- Leapold VXII 6-18x40 (530ish US)

Ive been told long eye relief is good on theses rifles as you have to mount the scope a fraction further forward, the leupold will be good for this but im not 100% sure on the others, would kind of like a bit more magnification or is it not worth the extra $ for a little more?

Cheers
Dave

[kjd]

Hi Dave,

I'd be inclined to go the Nikon, bigger objective and more magnification is what appeals to me. The Leupy would be good as well, they are all good choices but I think I'd go the Nikon.

[Brad Y]

Dont discount the sightron SIII 6-24x50 either. They are great scopes.

[adamjp]

On a Ruger No.1, even the 'V' model, eye relief and tube length are important.

The best advice I can give you is in three parts.
1) Don't consider a scope with a 30mm tube. You probably won't be able to get it low enough.
2) Take the rifle with you when you look at scopes. Any gunshop who won't let you sit the scope in the bottom half of the rings is not worthy of your business.
3) If you get jammed up looking for rings for a No.1, PM me. I've got a few spare sets (including 30mm ring sets from almost every manufacturer).

[SW-Hunter]

+1 for the Sightron, had mine for about a month now on the .204, awesome scope for brightness, clarity and adjustments. They have a 6.5-20x50 with a 25mm tube in the SII range. Mine is 6-24 and i havent used it past 20x daytime and 16x under the light on shots out to about 200m. FOV decreases are quite minimal past 25x.
Clint

[Ackley Improved]

Mate

I recall seeing a Sightron SIII 6-24X50 on usedguns for $650. If it has not sold do yourself a favour and grab it.

I have not owned any scope under a Nightforce for a long time now... am a firm believer you get what you pay for with optics. My favourite is the S&B PII series... but recently decided I didnt want to knock around out bush a high end scope.

I didnt want a heavy rifle or a custom rifle build for my backpack hunting with I am about to start... so have just bought a Remo LTR in 308. I was after a scope around the 2-10X40 something area for small and lighter weight!

I bought the Sightron SIII 3.5-10X44 mildot milrad scope. In all honesty it has really impressed me! All for $700. I dont know how well it will track.. but reviews say great... or how robust it is.. time will tell... but optically... I like it. I was hesitant to say the least about buying it... but now no problem at all.

Sightron 3.5-10X44 set on 10X


Nightforce 5.5-22X56 NXS set at 10X


S&B 3-12X50 PII set at 10X


Distance is 1100m, lots of mirage which makes the house look distorted!

CHeers

[MISSED]

Dave didn`t you have a Sightron and sell it .I have a 3-12 and 4-16 in the S11 Bigsky series and 6-24 and 8-32 in the S111 series.The S111`s have mildot reticles which are allright but sometimes I think they are a bit coarse for longer shots but the dot at 500m does not cover a rabbit on 32 power. . Great value for money optics another selling point for the Sightrons is there generous and constant eye relief which is a big plus for the rifle you are going to buy.Of the scopes you have listed I would go for the Weaver Grand Slam I have had one and would not hesitate to buy another.

[1kshot]

Dave if your spotlighting as well you are gonna do yourself a big disadvantage going with a high magnification scope even 8 x can be too high and you will find yourself having to search for the animal especially if they are under 50m, have a close look an AI’s pic on 10x you can just about make out the resistors on the power lines and if it was better conditions you could almost 1/4 a brick on that house in the distance on 10x (certainly on 20x) and split it in two and that’s at 1000+m weather conditions will play more of a roll than magnification and will only let you zoom in so far anyway and quality glass will ALWAYS outperform magnification with my Zeiss or Swaro’s on 12x I can see and ¼ a medium game size animal out to 1000m no problem, nothing wrong with going for more magnification and on target work it is critical... but for hunting quick sight acquisition and field of view are critical not magnification so don’t forget the low end of the magnification as well and out to 300m a 12x is plenty enough to pic a bunny and put a pill in its head, it is nothing like aiming at rings on a paper target, also under a spotlight most bunny busting with a 3-4 power is enough and a good 3-9 or 4-12 is about perfect, sure they will look BIGGER (when you find them) on 12x but that’s about it..., just cause all us idiots have got high magnification scopes don’t think it’s an answer to all your problems, it’s probably not because we need them or think they are the answer but that we use more specific type rifles eg scrub guns, spotlighting guns, varminting guns, L/R guns, goat guns, pig guns, dear guns, get my drift... what I’m trying to say is make sure what you buy goes low enough as well e.g. 3-4, and if you are hell bent on spending a lot of cash buy a S&B, Nightforce, Swarovski or Khales in a lower magnification, anyway just thought I might give ya my 5c incl. GST worth...
Cheers.

All the best
John

[dave]

Yeah sure did had a Sightron SIII 8-32x56 it was a great scope, best ive had since selling a NF scope few years ago. Main thing im looking at is 1" scopes to suit the standard ruger rings that the no1 has and to keep it low enough withough causing to many problems. Will use this as a sit and shoot bunny patch rifle as i dont want to scuff up the timber too much, il use the howa 22-250 or 204 which ever i dont sell as a spotlighting rig. Cheers guys love the input!

[Brad Y]

If thats the case I would be going for the weaver grand slam 6-20x40. You can mount it low, has 1" tube, great tracking same system as the T series scopes. Get the crosshair dot reticle. For a 22-250 and its flat trajectory, you just put the dot on fur and touch the go button.

[kjd]

I rarely go below 9x when spotlighting, I like to hover around 10-12x I have never understood the desire to go on a lower magnification when spotlighting.

People swear by 6 power scopes for spotlighting but I just don't see the benefits.

[Brad Y]

Yup 12 or 14 for me, sick prick... like to watch. The only problem with good glass is you can zoom up to 20 or so under the light and think its a close shot only to watch the bullet hit a lump of dirt under your furry target

[MISSED]

1" tube for standard Ruger rings
Sightron SII Big Sky 6.5-20 X 50 Black Matte, Dot Reticle, SF, SIIBSS652050D, Rifle Scope
or
Sightron SII Big Sky 6-24 X 42 Black Matte, Target, Dot Reticle, A/O, SIIB62442D, Rifle Scope

Both have Target turrets for dial up

[macca]

I used to use 8x in Kahles for spotlighting when I did it to pay the bills but now I like a variable power because you can locate on the lower and dial up to the higher if you need to.
Since you said this is a sit and shoot we are talking day time so get the one with the best optics.The sightron or the nikkon.
I won't buy another leupold scope.great warranty but mine spend a lot of time using it.
I have a nikon(the only rifle not sporting a Nf, at the moment came on the rifle and I haven't found a need to change) on my 22-250 and optics are good for the money.Probably not as robust as the sightron which has excellent optics.
cheers

[1kshot]

Well if it’s not for spotlighting and your just sitting on a patch you’re sorted go as high as you like.

As for spotlighting and I would like to point out it is just my 5c worth and it works for me and I know that your system may work best for you. I suppose the theory is... mind you I really don’t know what the theory is because it’s always just been practical and I have never actually had to think about it, but I will try and explain it and sorry Dave I don’t want to take over your thread.
The reason that I brought up higher magnification is

1st that if your just sitting on the tracks and shooting at the DB’s (dumb bunnies) as we call them that’s the ones that just sit out in the middle of the paddock waiting for you to shoot them, then a higher magnification scope is fine but if you go off the tracks and skirt the tree line where you get your bread and butter rabbits, you will find the paddocks that gave up 2 or 3 rabbits suddenly are giving up 9-10 rabbits depending on the size of the skirt of course, then you will find yourself a lot of the time shooting at distances under 50m and a higher magnification is a disadvantage more than giving you an advantage.

2nd Also while you are shooting at 1 bunny you keep your eyes on the rest of the warren or base of the tree near the warren etc. for movement and often you will find yourself already cycling another round and moving onto the next target before the bullet has hit home (ok maybe not that quick) but you’re not looking at the bunny through the scope after its been shot that’s for sure, you know its hit him in the head so you move to the next one, this is where a large field of view is so critical, and if you work as a team the spot lighter does his job and mentally records where it was hit, while you’re going about your job. If you are zoomed in too much you will miss movement or other sight pictures and often you will even find yourself having to be guided to a rabbit by the spot lighter, loosing valuable time.
like I said my favourite spotlighting scopes are in the variable 3-12 range, when we are first entering a clearing it’s on 12 etc. bail up the 1 or 2 DB’s then we continue to skirt the tree line and I drop the power right back. If I had to choose a fixed power 6-8x would be about spot on. 2 bunnies at longer ranges is still less than 10 at short ranges so even if you pass up the 2 because you can’t pull a scope on them due to them being too small in the scope at 150m max...? and like macca said if your hunting for bunnies in the bag you are still up by the majority of closer ones, Ive used higher magnification scopes for spotlighting but just don't like it and missed a lot more bunnies,
Like I said it works for me but obviously not for some and I love looking at things out of MY box anyway and seeing what other guys are doing and why.

I might take out the 204/leupy 8.5-25 out this weekend and give it a crack under a light.

All the best
John