suggest a scope for a 22-250 varmint rifle

Which varmints?

I find the higher magnifications, say above 12x, make the placing
of crosshairs on little critters like gophers a challenge. Maybe I should practice more.

check out leupold's VX-L scopes

Click to expand...

I have a VX L-3 4-14x50 on my CZ in .204 Ruger. Quite impressive. Got a screaming deal on it on a for sale section at another forum

Have a B&L 4000 (now Bushnell iIRC) 4-16x50 on my 22-250. It is also superb. IMO it's hard to get too much power on that flat shooting of a rifle

They deserve good optics so you can see little bitty stuff way off

I have a number of slightly older Leupold Vari-X III, 4.5-14X scopes - one of them on a .22-250. Although very nice, I find myself wishing for even a little more magnification sometimes. I have older eyes though...

I've been doing Ok with a Bushnell Elite 6-24X. It was the best scope I could find for about $350. I prefer Leupold, but would have had to spend twice the money. The scope is mounted on my Kimber 84M .204. I have killed a number of prairie dogs out to 300-350 yards. But I have also killed quite a few at that range with my Remington 700 VLS .243 with a Leupold VX III 4.5-14X. If you can find shooters who have these scopes and you can look through them in real outdoors, you'll see pretty quickly what is best for you. By the way, I'm 68 years old with tired eyes too.

In a 40mm, it would be tough to beat http://www.midwayusa.com/product/13...justable-objective-matte?cm_vc=ProductFinding for the money. I have four .22-250s, and find that there is not much point in having more than 18x unless it's too cold to enjoy it anyway. A 40mm gets a very small field of view above about 14x.

leupold has my vote . If you can't see it , you can't hit it . The 20- 25 power variables are great . You can dial it back if needed , but you can't add it in the field . [power]

There are tons of options out there. Unfortunately, you do not mention a budget. I like the Leupold scopes, starting with the VX-3 and going up from there. If you're a bit more price conscious, the Bushnell Elite scopes are tough to beat.

George P.

If you would like to save a little cash you can always give Vortex a try. I've got a few, but I'm not totally committed to them yet. I've had some problems, none of which Leupold has ever given me.

I'm still very loyal to Leupold, never had a bad one, and they always take care of me when things do happen that are my fault.

GS

Nikon

All Nikons with BDC's on my rifles. Love them. For the price can't beat them.

The guide for prairie dogs we used the last two years recommends using 12x and our shooting ranges were out to 500 yards or so.

We set our variable scopes to 12x and it seemed to work fine. My friend was shooting a 22-250 and 12x worked well for him.

Leupolds or Nikon Monarchs would be my choice.

I put a Leupold VX3 6.5-20 40mm AO on my 22-250. No complaints and worked well. Nice bright scope.

You may want to take a look at the Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50. It's in the magnification and objective range you'll want and just slightly over your budget. Vortex has been a hot selling company for us lately, make an awesome product, and offer a lifetime warranty.




Mike C

OpticsPlanet,
I'll have to second that opinion of yours!! I just put an exact scope on my 788 Remington .223 this past Fri. , what a difference!! At the 50 yard setting, I shot to get it on that paper, final 3 shots were into "one" hole. I went to 100 yards, made a couple of corrections after the first 3 shots there, shot 5 more rounds, "almost" into the same hole, one shot was cutting the other 4, just not into the hole. I am totally impressed with this scope, never having this quality of scope before. I'm glad I spent the extra monies and got this one, I am an outfitter at Cabela's, got a good deal on it.

I use Leupold almost exclusively. On my 22-250, their 6.5-20 x 40 is ideal. For varmints, assuming you are shooting in broad daylight, a 40 mm objective is fine. I like the variable since I can go to 20x for load development. In the field, I dial back to 12x or so especially if mirage is an issue. 6.5x is good for rockchucks at closer ranges. I've never had a Leupold go bad on me and they don't move the point-of-impact with magnification changes.

I expect you'll get many opinions on recticles. For me, simple is best. Mil-dots or graduated recticles are too busy and I find myself struggling to decide which dot or line to use. I'm better off judging the distance and applying some hold-over. I generally know the size of the target and have an idea of how much bullet drop to expect and go from there. So, to your question: A duplex or plain crosshair works for me. Also useful is a plain dot on crosshairs.

Leupold