suggest <$70 scope for 597 for plinking?

[blue86buick]

On thursday I picked up a Remington 597, have shot over 250 rounds, and so far have been rather happy with it. However, I'd like to be able to get a scope for it. This is just going to be for plinking cans, bottles, targets, etc. I have a scope...a 4x15 I paid 7 bucks for at walmart. It's crap (mostly due to the x15 IMO). I figure a 3-9x40 would do the trick. Any recommendations for a decent (not great) scope for $70 or less? I've found the following....how good are they?

Simmons 3-9x40 for $35
Bushnell 3-9x32 Sportsman or $40
Bushnell 3-9x40 Sportsman for $60
Bushnell 4-12x40 Sportsman for $70

Not sure of the model of the simmons, I couldn't find it on their website. Guess the only other ones I've found at that price are the Bushnell Sportsmans....how good are they? Will they do the trick?

 

[SapperLeader]

I have a BSA x4 .22 scope I picked up for 25 dollars at Sports Authority, it has worked great for plinking, and will probally pick up one of thier 3x9 scopes for the nef .223 my brother is getting.

 

[Hot brass]

If you can spend the money you will not look back. Natchez has the Bushnell Trophy 4-15x40 on sale for $120. Buy a scope once.
Or after paying for cheep ones over and over, you will have paid for the better scope and still not have what you want.

 

[blue86buick]

so the advice is, stick with the wally $7 crapovision 4x15 (or iron sights) until i can afford a decent scope?

might not be a bad idea...

 

[rebbryan]

i too have a 597 and am "rather happy" with it too, the magazines suck like crap though.

i bought onna those wally world scopes to put on my pball gun and the durn thing wouldn't adjust left or right, the screw things wouldn't work so i just took out the crappy reticle thingy and essentially made it a spotting scope.

you could try the $40 dollar ones they have that have the hardwoods camo on them. if i ever get a decent scope for my .270 then i'll take the stock one off that and put it on there.

 

[blue86buick]

you didn't make the mistake i did...and try to adjust it by turning the caps that are OVER the screws, eh? I didn't think it was correct when it would barely turn one direction, and a long ways the other....and make NO difference on the paper.

 

[rebbryan]

LOL, nope never did that. the screws were made out of some crappy metal like aluminum or somethin and after turnin them a bit they wore out to where they were hard to turn. ya get whutcha pay for, i'd get onna the 40 buckers

 

[blue86buick]

aaah, just chekin

I agree, you do get what you pay for. Amazingly, this scope is decent enough to get the job done most of the time. The only real problem I have is when it starts getting dark...(IMO) due to the small objective (15mm), when i can still sorta see w/ iron sights, I can't see shyt through the scope.

Don't get me wrong though...as soon as I can afford it, I'm getting a $40ish x32 or x40, in 4x, 3-9x, 4-12x, or somewhere in that range.

 

[rebbryan]

truth be told, i put the scope on my pball gun and it's actually quite good. i use it for spotting and for shooting. my pball gun doesn't shoot in the exact same place everytime and the scope give me a "range" of will it will hit, so it's actually quite convenient. it also fits on my dovetail mounts and it's just the right size to fit on my gun. while i hated it for my bb gun, it's actually quite nice for my pball gun.

the 40ish ones look like they'll do good

 

[Kharn]

Sorry for jumping in a little late...

I have the Bushnell 3-9x32 Sportsman on my 597 in .22lr (baseline model) and I've found its a rather large scope for the rifle. I had to move the rear sight pretty far forward on its track to be able to remove/replace the front lens cap. Considering my shooting ability, its a tack driver with 1" groups at 33 yards all day long (dont ask about my performance with other rifles, I dont want to be laughed at... ). Anything bigger than 32mm would probably be hard to fit on the rifle without completely removing the rear sight (or just going to polarized lens caps and leaving them on).

Lately, I've been thinking of pulling the scope off and putting it on my FAL, but I havent decided yet (and I dont have the FAL scope mount at the moment), as I think I would be better served by using the iron sights while building my rifle skills.

Kharn

 

[blue86buick]

Hey, np, I appreciate the helpful words.

I agree with you (at least what you implied), the 597 is a very accurate rifle. As I'm just using the iron sights though, I'm able to get 1" groups (mostly) at 33 feet, rather than yards. You said the 32mm scope is quite large though...I was originally considering a 40mm...guess I should get the smaller scope.

Have you considered see-thru rings? They would let you use the iron sights, as well as raising the scope higher to give a better fit (or allow a larger scope!)

 

[MLH]

see-thru rings

Are a good idea because if you shoot at anything close (such as a rat at twenty or thirty feet) you'll shoot under him and the little sucker will get away. Did that myself just the other day (didn't realize I was that close) .Scared the out of him though.