Thread: Centrefire scope on rimfire?

It seems like I may have got some bad advice when I bought a scope for my CZ452 .22LR. I wanted something reasonably decent, so went for a Leupold VX1 3-9x40mm. I'm pretty happy with the results, good groupings at 25, 50 and 75 metres, but the occasional shot does seem to go astray and I've missed the odd bunny when I was convinced it was in the bag, so it got me thinking.

I emailed Leupold and they confirmed that the parallax is set to 150 yards, way beyond 75 metres which is my comfortable shooting distance. Questions are:

1) Do you think parallax is that big a deal?

2) If I replaced it with an adjustable objective "centrefire" scope would this solve the problem? Would there be any other issues with this kind of scope on my .22LR?

3) This is just out of interest, for those shooting 100 metres plus with a rimfire, say a .17HMR, what parallax setting do you go for?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think this is about "rimfire scopes" versus "centrefire scopes", it's just a matter of where the parallax is set. I understand there may be issues with putting a rimfire scope on a centrefire rifle with respect to recoil/durability, but my interest is in the other way round.

If I end up replacing the Leupold, I'm not too concerned as it will go on a centrefire rifle which I will buy in due course.

Very curious with this thread as I just put a vx 1 on my 10/22 and sighted it in last night at 25 and 50m and am yet to take it out looking for anything.cits the 'missus' rifle that gets used for long range targets and possums on the island

You will probably find you don't really have a problem. Surprised Leupold said 150yds. Obviously they should know ha ha. I would have bet on 100yds. B4 heading off to get a dedicated rimfire scope or a scope with parallax correction you should first set your rifle up in a solid rest and sight at targets @ 25, 50, 75 and 100 meters with your scope set on max power. Move your head side to side up and down whilst sighting and see how much the reticle centre moves on the target. I doubt there will be much, maybe some at 25 and negligible at 100 meters. I could be totally wrong though given Leupold's stated 150yds. Try it and see. You can also adjust the parallax on a fixed parallax scope by screwing out the ocular lens - probably not something you would want to do on a newish scope though. Parallax (and focus) is usually an issue for higher magnification scopes 12x and upwards.

I'd just use that scope on it what kind of ammo are you using sometimes you'll get the odd shot that will go a bit off with the cheaper ammo

Always used centre fire scopes on my .22 rimfire, at present a leupold m8 6x42 and previously a Swarovski, rimmy ammo is notorious for throwing flyers, what ammo are you using.

Cheers chaps. I'm using CCI subs.

Mate has a CZ452 with same VX1 scope on it - no issues.

I would not expect this to be a scope parallax problem. I would think occasional flyer in the field is pretty normal - could be either ammo or shooter. Can also happen if barrel due for a good clean, or if it has just had one and needs to relube properly.

You mean you clean your rimfire 22 ,

Leupold can adjust your scope to be parallax free at a specified distance. You can also do this yourself if you're so inclined - several DIY guides on YouTube. Personally, I don't think it's a problem for rabbit shooting etc. Even if you've got your head out of alignment with the scope and can observe some small amount of parallax, you'll probably still be in the kill zone on your target.

As others have said, the odd flyer won't be due to the scope.

This isn't a big issue. If your head is in the right place then there will be no parallax. My standard approach is to buy a half decent scope for a centerfire and then move the worse one onto a rimfire. I have never brought a rimfire scope so everything I have ever used has been centerfire.

careful on definitions here too. Rimfire scopes are simply a description of scopes with a closer objective focus. Adjustable Objective focus scopes are normally suitable for both. I have AO on almost all my rimfires. Best value for money would be the Nikko Stirling AirKing. Note also 800 fps and over spring airguns will damage both rimfire and centrefire scopes. The vibration recoil on these is nasty so any scope that is designed for Airguns should cope well on rimfire.

In saying all that, the comment about the flyers being ammo is more likely to be a major part of the issue. And Parallax will be more pronounced with higher magnifications. On 3x it will be negligible but on 9x it will be more dramatic.

i would look at head position . .. i remember having problems awhile back in the field when taking quick shots that drove me nuts, at the range was fine, no trouble in the past with other scopes on top . . seemed to be no reason for the misses, must be me.
Took a good look at my head position one day, the medium rings were making me lift my head higher on the stock more than was natural, a low set fixed it and now its a much better setup that i have confidence in .. an idea

R.

Originally Posted by Taff

You mean you clean your rimfire 22 ,

My JW15 suddenly started tumbling subs at 50 yards recently. It was so bad that the holes were actually more like staple holes than bullets.
Cleaned the barrel and she is all good again. Rifle is only 3-4 months old and probably only fired 400 ish

I find centrefire scopes can have a slightly floaty reticle when shooting at 50yards when on full power, but if you have a consistent check weld it shouldn't be too much of a problem. But I have two Burris centrefire scopes on 22s that don't give me any trouble.

I would guess it is likely to be the ammo, 22 ammo can be horribly inconsistent, even with decent ammo like CCI.
If you are shooting good groups most of the time it's likely to be be: ammo, bad check weld, bad trigger control or bad follow through after pulling the trigger.

Tighten the bloody lock ring, problem solved.