Help me pick a fixed power rimfire scope for my 10/22

[Totem Polar]

Pretty much per the thread title. Preference for small and light, and fixed 2.5-ish for my application—which is on a 10/22 takedown carried in a copper basin rifle backpack for use at the range; for plinking cans and tennis balls during outdoor camping season; as a talisman against very scary looking raccoons with no tails, unusual size, and no fear of being out amongst people during broad, mid-morning daylight hours... you know, typical greasy 10/22 stuff.

Aside from simple and lightweight, my eyes are in roughly similar shape to Janitor’s at this point, so a premium on clarity in a wide range of lighting, and a fat, big print reticle would be good.

Bonus P-F karma points for links.

Thanks a ton in advance for your expertise, I appreciate it more than you know.

[LittleLebowski]

Well, it’s not fixed power but this Leupold 2-7x (https://amzn.to/2I5zKl7) is what I have and it’s a known good.

CS Tactical

[Shoresy]

It's a bit unconventional for a 10/22, but you might look at the Burris AR-332 (https://www.burrisoptics.com/sights/ar-sights-series/ar-332). I've only used it in normal sunny conditions, so can't attest to any level of awesomeness in abnormal lighting conditions, but it's 3x with a hard-to-miss reticle. Illuminated red or green as needed.

[NH Shooter]

Leupold 2.5x20 (https://www.leupold.com/scopes/rimfire-scopes/fx-ii-ultralight-2-5x20mm) is what you're looking for.

I'm using one on my AR and very much like it: long & non-fussy eye relief, generous eye box, great clarity, custom shop reticle options, six ounces.

https://i.ibb.co/GP2K408/rifle-2.jpg

[littlejerry]

How about the Weaver 1-3? I have one on a lever action 22.

https://www.amazon.com/Weaver-V-3-1-3X20-Riflescope-Matte/dp/B0000V2EBM

Made in Japan for $190.

[Totem Polar]

It's a bit unconventional for a 10/22, but you might look at the Burris AR-332 (https://www.burrisoptics.com/sights/ar-sights-series/ar-332). I've only used it in normal sunny conditions, so can't attest to any level of awesomeness in abnormal lighting conditions, but it's 3x with a hard-to-miss reticle. Illuminated red or green as needed.

Probably overkill for the 10/22, but I think you just saved me the trouble of starting a "help me pick a fixed power for my PCC 9mm takedown" thread. Much obliged.


Leupold 2.5x20 (https://www.leupold.com/scopes/rimfire-scopes/fx-ii-ultralight-2-5x20mm) is what you're looking for.

I'm using one on my AR and very much like it: long & non-fussy eye relief, generous eye box, great clarity, custom shop reticle options, six ounces.




Also a great looking contender for both Ruger takedowns.




How about the Weaver 1-3? I have one on a lever action 22.

https://www.amazon.com/Weaver-V-3-1-3X20-Riflescope-Matte/dp/B0000V2EBM

Made in Japan for $190.


Ditto, above.

Thanks for the great ideas thus far!

[oregon45]

The Leupold 2.5x fits perfectly on a 10/22 take-down. Have one set up that way right now.

[CS Tactical]

That Leupold looks like it would fit the bill well, unfortunately that item in back ordered for me at the time :(

[willie]

Any higher grade shotgun scope.

[okie john]

Good suggestions thus far. I'd be tempted to consider a Scout-type mount since the rifle is a takedown and zero might wander.


Okie John

[farscott]

If you are going to use a regular (parallax set for about 150 yards), the scope does not have an adjustable objective, and the shooting distances are fifty yards or less, I would suggest manually adjusting parallax. It is not difficult.

I am a huge fan of buying used (as they are out of production) examples of the Leupold M8-series of fixed-power scopes. I suggest hunting samplelist.com, eBay, and the EE on AR15.com for these. $100 for a M8-4X is my usual threshold; the 2.5X and 3X are rarer and may command a price premium. Being patient but persistent is key to finding s good deal. Even if the scope has a functional, not aesthetic, issue, Leupold will fix or replace it for free. That fact makes buying a used Leupold risk-free. It may not perform as well as new scope, but for a .22, at short range with live targets, it is more than sufficient.

I bought my last one for $100 delivered with rings: https://www.ar15.com/forums/equipment-exchange/-/163-1881588/?

Something like this may be of interest: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Leupold-M8-3X-Rifle-Gloss-Duplex/153513822028?hash=item23be23074c%3Ag%3AD34AAOSwOPx c9qYx&LH_Auction=1 The current bid is $110.50 and includes rings and shipping.

SWFA and the Leupold Custom Shop did a run of a modernized version a few years back. I have not run across any of them for a year or so.

[Chuck Whitlock]

The old Montgomery Ward single shot .22 that rode behind the seat of my grandfather's truck for years came to me with a rusty, pitted exterior and a busted-off front sight. A 3x turkey scope found at an LGS or big box store at the time fit on the .22 receiver rail, and worked well enough to teach a couple of the kids how to shoot. My oldest son now has the rifle, and AFAIK the scope is still going strong.

[Totem Polar]

Well, it’s not fixed power but this Leupold 2-7x (https://amzn.to/2I5zKl7) is what I have and it’s a known good.


So, I went to the sporting goods place down the way to have a look-see at (and through) some scopes in person, neophyte that I am. Out of a number of good contenders, I ended up coming away with a Leupold freedom 2-7x 33mm just like LL said. So hat tip to the new overlord.

I love it when my picks line up independently with people who actually know what they’re talking about. Pretty much kills any buyer’s remorse in the egg.

I’ll mount this thing tonight.

[Totem Polar]

OK, I think I had best come back here, hat in hand and ask for some more advice, rifle novice that I am.

Back in the dark ages, when I was a sprout, we'd mount scopes by just throwing the things on there, hillbillies that we were, and go sight them in for deer season, or whatever. Figuring that tech and knowledge may have advanced a little since then, I hit youtube to check out "how to mount a scope." Clearly, there are many different tiers of detail on this; from rednecks who obviously grew up in the same era I did, up to pros who use levels and torque release drivers... Man... Larry Potterfield... I get that he sells all this kit for a splendid living, but by the time I got past the alignment bars and matched twin level set, and past all the work with a lapping bar and lapping compound on the rings, I figured I'd be better off turning down youtube, and dialing this place up.

So, bottom line: find a pro to install the scope and rings, or can I just mount this thing old school, like it's a Crossman 760 pump or something? It's the Leupold 2-7, above (with aluminum rings) and my 10/22 takedown.

Thoughts?

LittleLebowski

[littlejerry]

No need to lap. A torque driver is recommended to avoid stripping aluminum rings.

[whomever]

Not an expert, but I think the answer is to some extent 'it depends'.

For example, think about an old milsurp bolt gun with two piece bases. They weren't built with mounting scopes in mind, and the two mounting surfaces may not be very parallel, so the rings may not be parallel (I've seen ones that were way off). That might call for lapping. With a one piece rail on a modern rifle, or something like an AR where the rail is integral, the rings shouldn't be pointing in odd directions.

Other considerations would be how severe the recoil is (because less than 100% contact might make it easier for the scope to slip) and the quality of the rings (those $10 no name rings might not have bore and mounting surface parallel), etc.

Brownell's et al sell some rods to check alignment - just a pair of 1 inch (30mm, ...) rods with one end turned to a point. You mount one rod in each ring, points toward each other, and see whether the points align. If they do, I don't lap. I have a lathe, so I just made a set out of scrap.

I'm anal-retentive enough to use torque drivers, but I don't think it's crazy not to. If you overtorque you buy new rings, if you undertorque the scope moves. For a 10/22, probably no one dies if either of those happens :-).

[Totem Polar]

I appreciate the input, folks. Sounds about the way I thought.

[BN]

I use feeler gauges between the scope bottom and the rail to level the scope.