Two questions. Which red dot for Steel challenge rifle, and a mounting question.

Red Dot; Bushnell TRS-25 or the new -26. The first is down below $50 on Amazon last I looked. And there are QD rings to fit it. Others might say the new Sig Romeo sight but you won’t need more than the TRS.

I can’t answer the question about how far off the scope will be with those rings. But I’ll tell you a set of Warne QD rings are inexpensive and will return the scope to zero every time.

If you want a tube type the trs25 works, it comes with a pic mount. for a holo site the Burris ff3 is what I use. Either of these should mount directly to the10/22 factory rail.
make sure for steel challenge you get a 4 to 8 min dot. I had a 2 min on my sw mp22 and was too small, swapped it for a 4 min dot.

Detritus, have you made up your mind on this?

I've always been partial to the leupold vertical split rings if you need rings. I like the value of the trs-25 a lot.

Just remember if you want to shoot carry optics the sight has to be rail mounted on a center fire pistol.

The two most popular rimfire rifles in Steel Challenge are the Ruger 10-22 and the S&W M&P AR-15-22. I personally use the AR style S&W but I think I know enough about what works in this to make some suggestions.

jak67429 makes an interesting observation. The Bushnell TRS25 is as he states a tube type sight. He also mentions that he uses a Burris FF3. Allow me to say that if you look closely at what is being used in open rim fire rifle you will see 25 reflex type dot sights for every tube style. To be even respectable in this you will find it most beneficial to keep both eyes open, this makes using a tube style sight more difficult. Not impossible .....but you get my meaning.

On my AR style rimfire rifle and understand that I mainly shoot center fire SCSA but I dipped my toes into Rimfire Challenge this year and had the AR. I put a $40.00 sight mark dot on it to test the waters and used it twice. It has this gigantic cross hair which completely covers the target or a dim 3 moa dot that you cannot see in bright sunlight. What I have found and may also use is an 8 moa dot. So, what I ended up doing is taking a Burris FF3 off of my open rimfire pistol, using a pic rail mounting and put it on my AR. The Burris is a decent sight but will cost about $225.00 or so. I had to put a 3/4 inch riser on the gun rail to get the diminutive FF3 high enough to use.

So that was me but here is my advice free for your consideration. The 10-22 has literally one quadtrillion aftermarket accessories. Consider getting either a picitiny rail and use a C-MORE railway mount dot or get a mount that allows use of the slide ride dot sight. I think getting the slide ride is a better choice but the railway isn't bad.

The C-MORE is about $250.00. They have a bright red and very crisp dot. Also, you can change the diode for $50.00 and change the dot size if you decide the 8 moa is not for you. Please note that I'm not trying to sell you anything just offering food for thought. But using ring mounted tube scopes will not make you happy in SCSA trust me on this. If you want more info feel free to ask. SCSA is a lot of fun BTW.

I shot my first ever steel challenge with this JBM Bullpup 10/22. It wears a Pentax Gameseeker I had laying around. Our steel challenges are simply fun, lots of ribbing, lots of compliments, timed, but no win or loss prizes. I did have the pure pleasure of having the single best time of the day, though I was nowhere near best overall, as there was about 5 shoots of 20 rounds each, so you have to be consistent. Still, I think this gun has the potential to be my go-to at the steel challenges. I used my Gold Cup Trophy the last time, and didn't fare quite as well.

The Pentax is no longer being made, but it was only 55 bucks when I bought it. I doubt I'd spend any more than that, as my GSG-5 still wears a 30 dollar Tasco Pro-Point that has never failed and is extremely accurate at SC distances. The TRS-25 was mentioned-I'd have to agree this would be a great choice.

I have used the cmore and the burris ff3 side by side, and the cmore is a significantly better optic. Even with my astigmatic eyes the dot was crisper, the view through the glass was bigger and brighter, it was just better.