Scope for my new 15-22

[sbmessing]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my previous post about which model 15-22 to buy. I wound up picking up the Sport instead of the Performance center model my son and I took it to the range and love it.

I'm now interested in getting a scope for it to be mainly used at the indoor range, which goes to 40 yds. And occasionally be able to take it to an outdoor range to about 100 yds.

I found the Nikon Prostaff Rimfire II 3-9x40 can be had for $89 and wanted to see if this was way to much scope for a 40 yd. range.

Thanks,
Scott

[GhostMutt]

In my opinion you can have too little scope but never too much

I have an MTC Viper Connect 3-12x32 on mine and its great from 10 yards or 100 yards. So i would say a 3-9/3-12 power scope would be great for your requirements.

I've heard good things about Nikon Scopes, you might also want to consider, abiding by the 'buy once, cry once' motto.
Vortex scopes are highly recommended and a Vortex Crossfire or Diamondback are great mid priced offerings. Remember that when buying scopes the higher up the price bracket the better, for an extra $50 you could get significantly better quality glass and build. Also don't forget about your mounts

Expect a flood of advice....there are many on here who have trodden down the path of confused excitement, that is choosing and mounting a scope. It's a problem but a nice problem.

[sbmessing]

Thanks Ghostmutt. I looked at the Vortex also and found that in the many reviews/ opinions I have read, the Nikon and Vortex seem to be a toss up between the two. I figured with Nikon offering a $30 instant rebate that the Nikon would be a great deal.

[Horn]

Originally Posted by sbmessing

Thanks to everyone who responded to my previous post about which model 15-22 to buy. I wound up picking up the Sport instead of the Performance center model my son and I took it to the range and love it.

I'm now interested in getting a scope for it to be mainly used at the indoor range, which goes to 40 yds. And occasionally be able to take it to an outdoor range to about 100 yds.

I found the Nikon Prostaff Rimfire II 3-9x40 can be had for $89 and wanted to see if this was way to much scope for a 40 yd. range.

Thanks,
Scott

Have you considered a red dot sight in place of the usual "scope"?
They can be inexpensive to very expensive. (Like our military use)
Google red dot sights.
I have the Sport model 15-22 also. I chose the "Primary Arms Advanced Micro Dot With Push Buttons And 50K-Battery Life"
Yep! That's actually all of that in the model. This is less than $200
and is excellent for the money. I can see my iron sights right through the red dot sight (If I raise them up) if you want to see
the dot and the iron sights. The dot works at a close distance and way out to hundreds of yards. (A wee much for a .22 LR caliber)
For an in door range it'd be great and takes up lille room on the
rifle.
G'luck
Poli Viejo

[rbpwrd240]

Red dot for up to 40 yards and a good scope for further shots, I shoot 100 yards with a mil dot 3-9x40 Burska. Mil dots are great with a .22. If you zero at 50 yards then one dot over is 25 yards and one dot under over is 75 yards and two dots under is 100 yards. on the cross haires would obviously be 50 yards.

Bullet drop at 100 yards is 7" with a standard velocity .22lr each mill dot is 3.6" @ 100 yards. It all works very well together. I run a berska CQB .22LR scope with a BDC knob that has a mil dot reticle. I can adjust the point of impact with the BDC or the mil dots. The gun becomes very accurate with this scope. Id also look at the redfield .22 scope and the nikon scope you mentioned. You cant beat nikon glass but for a plinker any of the above scopes in this post and the ones others have mentioned should be plenty. I would just highly recommend getting a mil dot scope. With some practice and a bit of math you can easily judge the yardage of an object and therefore your hold over or under. Nothing makes a young shooter better then learning the true mil dot ways. It will also help gain an appreciation for how much goes into a well placed shot.

For practice I use a 3.5" sticky shoot and see attached to a 3.6" circular piece of cardboard. You can now go set these out and practice understanding the mil dots, judging yardage and accurately compensating for bullet drop. I take three or four targets and go put them from 25 to 150 yards for a good shooting drill. When you look at the targets in a mil dot scope if it fills one gap between mil dots then the target is 100 yards away. Two mil dots is 50 yards. Four is 25 yards. Half a dot is 200 yards and one and a half dots would be 75 yards. Just a thought....

[jagular]

Up to 100 yards only? I'd recommend a fixed 2.5-3.5 from primary arms or Nikon p223. Cost is a little more than what you're looking at now but would serve you well. I run the primary arms on mine and it's perfect for similar use.

[rbpwrd240]

Originally Posted by jagular

Up to 100 yards only? I'd recommend a fixed 2.5-3.5 from primary arms or Nikon p223. Cost is a little more than what you're looking at now but would serve you well. I run the primary arms on mine and it's perfect for similar use.

Of course it can shoot further but the bullet drop and groupings fall apart after about 100 yards. If I cant hit three shots inside a half dollar I wont take that shot while hunting so I dont bother practicing it.

One could of course ignore this logic and still have a blast at further distances.

[jagular]

Originally Posted by rbpwrd240

Of course it can shoot further but the bullet drop and groupings fall apart after about 100 yards. If I cant hit three shots inside a half dollar I wont take that shot while hunting so I dont bother practicing it.

One could of course ignore this logic and still have a blast at further distances.

The OP never said anything about hunting with it. My suggestion was under the auspice that it was a plinker where precision was not the name of the game. I'd recommend a. 2-7 or 3-9 for that.

[Blackstuff]

You really need to know what you're mainly going to be doing with the rifle before buying a scope for it.

If you're just going to be plinking with it then any of the above variable mag suggestions would be fine IMO. If you're going to be speed/action shooting with it you do not want a scope that cannot be dialed down to 1x. I would recommend a red dot and 3x magnifier for that sort of shooting.

A good compromise 'do it all' scope is the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6x. Remember though, while you really do get what you pay for when it comes to optics, you're putting glass on a .22lr non-precision semi-auto, you do not need to spend $$$'s

[SgtStone]

Originally Posted by sbmessing

...I found the Nikon Prostaff Rimfire II 3-9x40 can be had for $89 and wanted to see if this was way to much scope for a 40 yd. range.
Scott

I have almost the identical scope on my 15-22; the 4-12x40 Nikon was on sale at the same price as the 3-9. I mounted the scope w/ Nikon P-series rings. I have never felt "over scoped". At full magnification the Nikon becomes a spotting telescope.

My Nikon fits securely on the rear portion of the top rail with plenty of space to clear the charging handle. I added snap-on lense protectors to the Nikon. I usually shoot my 15-22 from a bench rest at cardboard or steel targets from 40 yards to 150+ yards.

I get the most fun with my 15-22 + Nikon scope shooting steel spinners & gongs at about 40-50 yards (meters). This scope is easy to zero & adjust for wind/elevation.

One fun exercise: fire below center on a 4-8"" gong hanging on chains at a safe angle. Fire again as the swinging gong comes closest to you & begins to swing away. The force of the bullet adds to the swing of the heavy gong. I like to use long chains -- long swing -- to practice breath control.

BTW I usually open both eyes while using the Nikon between 40-100 meters. Keep both eyes wide but focus on the large image in the lense in front of you.

[sbmessing]

Thanks for all the replies. I only plan on using the rifle and scope for Target shooting, no hunting. I already have a Bushnell TRS-25 red dot on my Ruger MarkII and I use iron sights for my 12ga and 40 cal. The idea behind the scope on the 15-22 was for more precise target shooting at the range (40yrd) with the occasional ability to go to 100+ yards.

If I was just shooting at steel targets at distance, the red dot would be sufficient, but when shooting at paper targets at 40+ yrds, the scope seems like it would allow me to be more precise. My eyesight just isn't what is used to be.

[Smokey74]

I recently added a UTG 3-9X32 BugBuster Scope, AO, RGB Mil-dot, QD Rings. Sweet little scope with lots of options/accessories on it that I only found on more expensive and larger scopes and it fits nicely on the 15-22. I had to add a half inch riser to clear the rear sights as I wanted to keep them too. I shoot mostly indoor on a 40 yard range but will be going outside to longer ranges when it gets warmer.

Here is a link to where I got it: UTG 3-9X32 Compact CQB Bug Buster AO RGB Scope w/ Med. Picatinny Rings, 2" Sunshade