Thread: whats the cheapest scope you run

Originally Posted by 6x47

The difference between std and "rimfire" versions of the same scope is often only that the parallax is set to say 75yds on the rimfire one. The mechanicals are otherwise the same.

The fixed parallax settings are a bit illogical in some cases. Bush hunters shoot at short range with their centerfires, and some rimfire users shoot way beyond 100 metres. I don't think parallax error is significant for most of us, but I do like to have a non-blurry view of my target. Maybe that's just me? AO?

Originally Posted by MightyBoosh

The fixed parallax settings are a bit illogical in some cases. Bush hunters shoot at short range with their centerfires, and some rimfire users shoot way beyond 100 metres. I don't think parallax error is significant for most of us, but I do like to have a non-blurry view of my target. Maybe that's just me? AO?

In part I agree. In general though, most centrefires are set to 100m because in almost all situations if you are shooting at targets closer than that, in centrefire applications, the margin of error for the intended target is usally much smaller than the target....(Who cares if you are 4 MOA out at 50 metres when the part of the pig/goat/deer you are shooting at is about the size f a dinner plate ( 12 inches wide at 50m is about 24 MOA....) so close shots wont matter. Rimfire at a rabbit or a rat on the other hand.....

Most people use the 22s at around 25 to 50 metres much of the time, so for the best results it would make sense to have a rim fire scope set to that distance. AO is also good, but once set to 50 or 7o metres, how many people actually bother to adjust it? A few, I expect, but not many

Fixed parallax for rimfire is quite an interesting topic. Most serious rimfire hunters who demands consistency of hitting killzone of rabbit sized game at 70-100m will probably go with scopes with 12+ magnification and parallax adjustment anyway. Most serious rimfire target shooters (25-100m) will go with target class scopes of at least 16x, usually 20x magnification (or more, I use a 32x scope on one of mine). These scopes always have parallax adjustment.

The only people who would buy fixed parallax "rimfire scope" are plinkers or less demanding hunters who do not mind if they missed half their shots and/or do not own a very accurate rifle anyway. These people would be shooting 25-50m a lot more than 50-100. As such I personally think that the ideal fixed parallax setting for rimfire scope is about 35~40m. Fixed parallax at 75m would only be suitable for 17hmr/22mag/17hm2, which are a far smaller minority compared to 22LR.

Have had dozens of cheap scopes go through the gun cabinet on various 22s I'm playing with. Good reliable ones are older Tascos, Nikko Stirling, Mueller, entry level Bushnells eg Banner. All very good on the 22, but if you want to dial spend some more $$.

Originally Posted by Ultimitsu

Fixed parallax for rimfire is quite an interesting topic. Most serious rimfire hunters who demands consistency of hitting killzone of rabbit sized game at 70-100m will probably go with scopes with 12+ magnification and parallax adjustment anyway. Most serious rimfire target shooters (25-100m) will go with target class scopes of at least 16x, usually 20x magnification (or more, I use a 32x scope on one of mine). These scopes always have parallax adjustment.

The only people who would buy fixed parallax "rimfire scope" are plinkers or less demanding hunters who do not mind if they missed half their shots and/or do not own a very accurate rifle anyway. These people would be shooting 25-50m a lot more than 50-100. As such I personally think that the ideal fixed parallax setting for rimfire scope is about 35~40m. Fixed parallax at 75m would only be suitable for 17hmr/22mag/17hm2, which are a far smaller minority compared to 22LR.

If you can't hit a rabbit sized kill zone at 100m with a 4x32, you are not a good shot. You may want all that magnification, but it is not required at all. You can shoot comfortably to 75m with open sights. Low magnification and large exit pupils on small scopes mean you do not need to worry about parallax. There are advantages is to low magnification and teh human eye can hit small things with crude sights even if it seems like it won't be able to.

My most expensive scope always goes on my 22LR. Makes sense to me!

Agree with Tussock... shot umpteen thousand bunnies usually with 3-9x or 4-12 scopes on the 22s, but almost never go beyond 6x power. That's fine for dead bunnies at 100.