Old eyes took open sights out of my bag of tricks years ago, I hate peeps and so scoped everything. The Hornet is a very capable cartidge for small game, varmints and some predators, but a scope makes them even better, especially when the target is small and the range long. There are many small profile scopes that work well on Contender carbines and take nothing away from their being very handy in the field. If you can find them the old model Burris Compact 2-7, 3-9 and 4-12 are excellent scopes for the carbine and were very well made. Which one depends on your primary use... the 2-7 for jump shooting, the 4-12 for longer range and the 3-9 as a compromise for both. I had a 2-7 on one of one of my 22 Hornets because I used it for jump shooting jacks, and a 4-12 on my 17 Ackley Hornet that was mainly used for long range ground diggers. Their new compacts on the other hand are not worth the price of addmission though. Another good choice for small Hornet carbines is the old Weaver steel K and V series scopes. My old BRNO ZKW 465 Hornet (c. 1949) still wears one, a 3-9, its the perfect size for the rifle and does fine on the tiny GS's around here.