Handgun scope recommendation

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Scoping a Ruger Mark IV Hunter with a rail attached. Have Leupold QD 1" rings for it. What would you recommend that's currently available? I know some say never to go over a 2X scope on a handgun, but I'd like a little more mag for shooting between 25 and 50 yards.

And BTW, I'm not that crazy about putting on a red dot or reflex scope....and if I do, I know what I'd want....so please don't suggest them.

Thanks to all.
 
Red dot. The Aimpoint 34 stokes my interest, but because I use my red dot for concealed carry, I don't have one, but a smaller Trijicon. For hunting, I'd get a the bigger one. Get a small dot -- like 2 MOA.
 
Not many options for handgunners anymore. I like the older Leupolds and Burris scopes. Have a Bushnell that has been great and solid. Don’t be afraid to go higher than 2x in magnification. You may have to look on Fleabay for used bargains.
 
This is a Nikon 1.5-4.5 at 60 yards, those are 8” plates.

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You can compare that with no magnification.

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More magnification does allow more precise aiming but the trade off is perceived stability and finding your target in a timely fashion with the reduced field of view.

What is your intended use? I have a Leupold 1.5x I use shooting at old golf balls. I can still hit them fairly consistently out to 50 yards, the firearm it’s on doesn’t have enough inherent accuracy to need or use more magnification that that.

If you want to go more than 2x, I would highly suggest a variable.

If you put something like a 2.5-7 Burris on it, it’s going to look comical as there will be more optic than gun.

E77F1003-4E14-40DE-B7BA-1071807833F7.jpeg
 
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Leupold VX-3 2.5-8x is my favorite handgun scope. The Bushnell Elite 2-6x (discontinued) is a great scope as well, and a significantly better scope than the Simmons ProHunter 2-6x, which itself is a better scope than the Bushnell Trophy 2-6x, which is a very usable optic for its price point, just has some lensing. Burris pistol scopes tend to have really, really short eye relief, which is fine for the bench, but not so much for offhand shooting, so I don’t use them much - but the Burris 3-12x44AO is really fantastic if you’re shooting from supports and can creep up on the pistol (high magnification only allows half of the low mag eye relief, and is about 1/3 too short for extended arm offhand firing). I only recommend Burris handgun scopes when you’re shooting from a bench, and any offhand really begs for a receiver mounted optic rather than barrel mounted, moving their short eye relief back a few extra inches.

For my money today, the Leupold gets it, and if I’m saving money, I drop down to the Simmons. If you don’t want to drop so far, the Burris’ are great, just have the complication of shorter eye relief.

Reminding here: increasing magnification does NOT increase your wobble zone, it simply improves your ability to observe it - which also improves your ability to manage it.

I’ve never been satisfied by fixed 2 power scopes. No disrespect to the FX2 2x or 4x, but I can’t make use of them the way I shoot my pistols.
 
I was going to try the “rim fire reboot” with it this weekend, so it was in the truck but this is my MarkII with an M8 2x.

Much more than it and I do better with a rest.

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Thanks for all the comments. In answer to jmorris, my purpose is that I want to see what this handgun can do, 25 and 50 yards, likely from a rest.

I'd hoped to hit up the Bushnell Outlet in Kansas City today, but they had no handgun scopes at all. On the way home, I tried a gun shop that I don't often visit and had a choice there of a used silver Bushnell Elite 2-6X ($150) or a NIB black matte Nikon Force XR EER 2.5-8X 28mm ($280). Online, the Burris 2-7 was running $327 or so as best price on Ebay, $369 on Midwayusa. So those were my three options and of the two in hand, the Nikon was much clearer....so I'm now the proud owner of my first Nikon handgun scope. I'd like to have gone with the Elite because it was smaller and silver, but I just couldn't see through it and the Nikon was crystal clear.

Yes, it's now more scope than gun. But hopefully the QD rings will stay zeroed and I can occasionally relieve the Ruger of it's overhanging load.
 
Mind sharing where this was? I might need another Elite at that price!

Taylor Made guns, Manhattan KS. It’s a good price and looked to be in good shape, but I’m not sure it wasn’t whacked up; hard to hold it up and see clearly…but maybe it’s just me inexperienced in looking through handgun scopes. It included silver scope rings.
 
Thanks @berettaprofessor - I have some people in Manhattan still, so I’ll have someone take a look at it before committing. The Elite pistol scopes were solid, and $150 is a steal - but good looking out if it’s wonky.
 
Not many options for handgunners anymore. I like the older Leupolds and Burris scopes. Have a Bushnell that has been great and solid. Don’t be afraid to go higher than 2x in magnification. You may have to look on Fleabay for used bargains.

I agree there are fewer options for telescopic sights -- scopes. That is because handgunners overwhelmingly prefer dots -- of which there are more choices than ever. Of course, I can't speak for every one of them, but as a market segment they speak for themselves with their purchases. Scopes may have their place, but most people using an optic on a handgun are still shooting within 100 yards or less or they are shooting a big target like a deer at a little bit farther. Precision is important, but magnification isn't necessary and mostly interferes with target acquisition. We could have a LPVO for handguns, but a consumer might have to pay a lot of money for the option to 'zoom in' that they rarely use.

The Ultra Dot is a popular reflex sight for handguns. I suggest checking that one out. Earlier, I suggested the Aimpoint H34S. There are tons of other options out there because reflex sights for handguns are hot sellers right now and lots of new companies have come on the scene to offer even more options like Sig and Holosun, and there are great sights from the traditional marks like Leupold, Burris, Vortex, Trijicon, Aimpoint, Crimson Trace... The mini sights for duty and carry guns work great for precision shot placement, but I think there are real advantages to the larger tube sights if their size and height are acceptable. They are typically preferred by handgun hunters and not so much for duty/carry. Because handgun hunters themselves aren't as big of a market, the tube-type reflex sights are mostly advertised for carbines, but they can be made to work just fine on a handgun with rings or a rail.

That's about the extent of my knowledge. Other people know more than I. If this is something compatible with your use, re-phrase your inquiry and ask about red-dot or reflex tube sights for handguns. There are handgun hunters on here that have experience with several different ones.
 
I agree there are fewer options for telescopic sights -- scopes. That is because handgunners overwhelmingly prefer dots -- of which there are more choices than ever. Of course, I can't speak for every one of them, but as a market segment they speak for themselves with their purchases. Scopes may have their place, but most people using an optic on a handgun are still shooting within 100 yards or less or they are shooting a big target like a deer at a little bit farther. Precision is important, but magnification isn't necessary and mostly interferes with target acquisition. We could have a LPVO for handguns, but a consumer might have to pay a lot of money for the option to 'zoom in' that they rarely use.

The Ultra Dot is a popular reflex sight for handguns. I suggest checking that one out. Earlier, I suggested the Aimpoint H34S. There are tons of other options out there because reflex sights for handguns are hot sellers right now and lots of new companies have come on the scene to offer even more options like Sig and Holosun, and there are great sights from the traditional marks like Leupold, Burris, Vortex, Trijicon, Aimpoint, Crimson Trace... The mini sights for duty and carry guns work great for precision shot placement, but I think there are real advantages to the larger tube sights if their size and height are acceptable. They are typically preferred by handgun hunters and not so much for duty/carry. Because handgun hunters themselves aren't as big of a market, the tube-type reflex sights are mostly advertised for carbines, but they can be made to work just fine on a handgun with rings or a rail.

That's about the extent of my knowledge. Other people know more than I. If this is something compatible with your use, re-phrase your inquiry and ask about red-dot or reflex tube sights for handguns. There are handgun hunters on here that have experience with several different ones.

Excellent points. Dots came along after I’d done most of my serious shooting and started a family, so my experience with them is very, very limited. I like the idea, but I’d just have to try one to see if I could gain a comfort level with them. And it all depends on your intended use, of course.
 
Thanks for all the comments. In answer to jmorris, my purpose is that I want to see what this handgun can do, 25 and 50 yards, likely from a rest.

That’s why I put the scope on the one above. I’ve put 10 into 3.5” @100 yds with it after I added the scope.
 
That’s why I put the scope on the one above. I’ve put 10 into 3.5” @100 yds with it after I added the scope.

Yeah. This is why I asked not to recommend red dots; I'm fully aware of them and have them on other handguns and a rifle or two. I wanted something different. Red dots a) don't usually magnify, unless you add a magnifier to the rail as well (exception; I had a Tru-Glo that was a 2x red dot) and b) If I have a 2MOA or 3MOA red dot, I'm betting that one can never, except by accident, shoot better than 2MOA or 3MOA. I want to try better. But some want to add their opinions even when asked for something else. I'm not a complete idiot. I already know about red dots.
 
Thanks @berettaprofessor - I have some people in Manhattan still, so I’ll have someone take a look at it before committing. The Elite pistol scopes were solid, and $150 is a steal - but good looking out if it’s wonky.

Just FYI, there are a number of gun shops just down the road in junk town. The military base helps those businesses thrive. Ive never been out to any of em though.
 
Just FYI, there are a number of gun shops just down the road in junk town. The military base helps those businesses thrive. Ive never been out to any of em though.

Definitely different up there these days. I lived in Manhattan for college and part of grad school, leaving right about the time the Big Red 1 came home to Riley. Back then, the only gunshop in Manhattan was kind of a crook, and the old dude running a shop in Ogden wasn’t terribly better - but of course, that was all during the ban era as well, and shortly thereafter, and entering into the housing market crisis (hence why, in part, I took my leave of the area).
 
Just FYI, there are a number of gun shops just down the road in junk town. The military base helps those businesses thrive. Ive never been out to any of em though.

If you mean in Ogden, they're all gone, I think. In Junction City there are several but none of the commercial shops has reloading stuff so I don't frequent them. There is a guy who sells reloading powders and such that you can call, must run stuff out of his house, but everytime I've called, either no answer or doesn't have what I'm looking for.

Varminterror, "Pat's Gun Shop" sold out to a father/son, and then closed down quickly some years ago. And I agree with your sentiments on the original old guy in Manhattan; walked in there once, had the guy yell at me, never went back. There's a great pawn shop, American Cash Exchange, which has lots of reloading and guns at great prices, and then there's Taylor Made Guns on the north side, which used to be Santa Fe Guns and was in Junction City, and then there's Patriot Guns; run by a guy I like and carries suppressors, but high prices.
 
Yeah. This is why I asked not to recommend red dots;

I understand.

You have them already and probably know but there is quite a difference in “red dot” sights too. That Cmore, in the second photo of #5 has a dot lot smaller than this one, despite neither being close to the resolution the scope offers.
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The one in #5 allows a more precise aim point but isn’t quite as fast to acquire (without around 10,000 draws) as the larger one; however, I can hit those plates with similar consistency if I adjust the large dot so I am not “center/aim point” shooting rather putting the plate at 12 O’clock on top of the big dot, like an “8”.
 
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If you mean in Ogden, they're all gone, I think. In Junction City there are several but none of the commercial shops has reloading stuff so I don't frequent them. There is a guy who sells reloading powders and such that you can call, must run stuff out of his house, but everytime I've called, either no answer or doesn't have what I'm looking for.

Varminterror, "Pat's Gun Shop" sold out to a father/son, and then closed down quickly some years ago. And I agree with your sentiments on the original old guy in Manhattan; walked in there once, had the guy yell at me, never went back. There's a great pawn shop, American Cash Exchange, which has lots of reloading and guns at great prices, and then there's Taylor Made Guns on the north side, which used to be Santa Fe Guns and was in Junction City, and then there's Patriot Guns; run by a guy I like and carries suppressors, but high prices.

Junction city area is what i meant. I just knew there used to be some out there, but thats 75 miles west of me so i dont get that way unless im heading to CO. Only name i can come up with is Godfrey's and thats just a shooting range i think.

The Integrity G&Ps here in Topeka have some decent reloading stuff if you are in the neighborhood.

As for pistol scopes, there just isnt that type of market here in my area. The one place i know would've had something like that closed their doors ten years ago. I found a Leupold M8 EER on proxibid a while back that was well priced and in great shape.
 
If you try to use the Burris 2-7x or similar variable at 50yds at higher magnifications, parallax is going to frustrate you. On a .22, if you're going to a 4x or above, I highly suggest finding a used Burris with an adjustable objective.
 
8C64BA20-9B7B-46BD-B536-AB5BEF70AA60.jpeg C5644964-99FC-4FCE-94B4-3C53A946DD5A.jpeg 1670A746-CA1C-400A-8332-3FE76C84560B.jpeg All 3 are Burris . Ruger is the only 2-7 . Other 2 are 2 power . Probably why people suggest not going over 2 power is as you crank up magnification eye relief shortens and the sight picture is harder to pull up . From a rest not a big deal at all . From normal standing handgun shooting more of a problem . All 3 at 2 power the sight picture pulls up quick and you get used to it quickly .
 
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