Thread: is a 3-9x40 scope an overkill for a .22?

3-9x40 ideal for a hunting 22LR.

We shoot bunnies by tens of thousands down here in Cantab and in this high volume situation our gear - rifles and scopes etc - is tested to the maximum. With scopes 4x32 is ok, 3-9 or 4-12 is ideal. Our average bunny kill distance for many years was 70m per shot, and accurate well tuned 22s nail this easily. All boys expect to drop everything to 100m with 22LR. Commonly with 22s we will shoot with scopes on 5-6x which covers shorter ranges plus 100m shooting. No problem at all. We very seldom have time to adjust magnification. 4-12x and 4-16x better for shooting precision groups at 100m.

If you are shooting very low numbers like 3-4 bunnies 3 times a year etc, and have lots of time, plus calm, still, windfree conditions to take long range headshots, then a higher magnification may be fine.

For routine bunny bowling 3-9x40 ideal. The wee Bushnell spot on for this job. Go for it!