Author Topic: whats a good cheap scope for squirel hunting (Read 969 times)

forum052001 · « **on:** January 20, 2004, 09:08:39 AM »

I have been looking but have found no cheap scopes for squirel i like.If anybody has a suggestion tell me thanks. :x

BruceP · « **Reply #1 on:** January 20, 2004, 10:30:32 AM »

I have the Weaver 2X7 rimfire scope on my Remington 541. I put this scope on as a replacement for a Leupold 4X compact. So for I really like this scope. The optics are good and from the bench I have not got any unexplained flyers like I did with a few other scopes I have tried over the years. The Leupold is a great scope but I wanted more magnification for shooting groups at the bench.
BruceP

forum052001 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 20, 2004, 01:38:09 PM »

I was thinking about a bushnell 3200 3-9-40 with the firefly reticle. Does anybody have one or know if ther any good.

Zachary · « **Reply #3 on:** January 21, 2004, 03:44:15 AM »

I have a 3200 1.5x-4.5x-32mm with Firefly on my .375H&H Mag! :eek: Is it a good scope? YES. Does the firefly reticle really work? YES.

Do I recommend the Elite 3200 3x-9x-40mm? YES.

I recently bought my Elite from Jon at www.theopticzone.com. Take a look and see what he has.

BTW, on what gun will you be mounting it?

Zachary

Graybeard · « **Reply #4 on:** January 21, 2004, 05:18:13 AM »

On my rimfires I have some old Leupold Compact 3-9 AO extended focus range scopes. Don't even know if these are still made but definitely NOT cheap.

We had a Weaver 2-7 rimfire scope on my wife's rifle but have now replaced it with a Bushnell Rimfire scope which is of much better quality.

You really need to think on this one. Do you really want to mount a scope with parallax set for 150-200 yards as are those made for centerfire rifles? I don't unless the factory will reset it to 50 yards for free. Pretty much all rimfire scopes are set to be parallax free at 50 yards. I use only those or scopes with adjustable parallax settings on rimfires.

Take a look at the Bushnell Rimfire scopes. If you still want a Weaver I have one I'll sell you for $100. It used to be on my wife's Rem. 541-T. It was only used by a little old lady on Saturday mornings. :-D

GB

forum052001 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 21, 2004, 05:29:46 AM »

Zachary I am going to mount it on a .300 mag

forum052001 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 21, 2004, 05:34:10 AM »

Thanks for the offer but i think I will take a look at the bushnells.

Graybeard · « **Reply #7 on:** January 21, 2004, 05:51:12 AM »

You are going to shoot squirrels with a .300 mag? What kinda squirrels are you shooting? Not tree rats I hope. :eek:

GB

Zachary · « **Reply #8 on:** January 21, 2004, 09:34:16 AM »

What are tree rats? I have heard this saying before, but I don't know what it means, or what they are. :oops:

If the gun for squirels IS a .300 mag, then I agree, it is WAYYYY too much gun. Heck, a .300 Mag is too much gun even for deer.

A .22LR - okay. .223 - big, but okay. .300 Mag - Oh my gosh!

I'm sure you were kidding about the .300 Mag....right? :grin:

Zachary

forum052001 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 21, 2004, 12:32:47 PM »

OOPS!! i ment a .17 HMR :oops: A tree rat is a squirel

Swamp Fox · « **Reply #10 on:** January 21, 2004, 09:46:10 PM »

BSA makes a scope specifically for the .17. It's called a "Sweet 17".
The parallex is correct and it hase a BDC for this round.

This is the link to the scope at Midway.
http://www.midwayusa.com/rewriteaproduct/341304

Graybeard · « **Reply #11 on:** January 22, 2004, 04:27:18 AM »

You DO NOT want a BSA. Practically everyone I've spoken with or heard from who's bought one says they are junk. I've not used one and from the reports I've heard WILL NOT be using one. I've now tried the entire Bushnell line from the Elite 4200 at the top to the lower priced Sportsman and Rimfire scopes. They are uniformly excellent buys in their price range. I can recommend them from experience.

GB

Swamp Fox · « **Reply #12 on:** January 22, 2004, 12:38:23 PM »

Grey Beard,

Your advice on the Bushnell is right on. I have one and am extreemly happy with it. Also happy with Nikon and Leupold.

However forum052001 specifically asked for a cheap scope. A cheap scope by any other name is still a gamble. Sometimes you have to let someone fight with a cheap scope to learn the importance of value. (Like I did.)

By the way I hear the rainguard is worth the price of the scope. I may have to find out after I finish my current project.

WNY_Whitetailer · « **Reply #13 on:** February 09, 2004, 05:57:36 PM »

Forum052001,

I recently purchased an H&R Ultra Varmint in 223 Rem and I wanted to buy a scope that I could use for Varmints and Target but wouldn't break the bank. I purchased the Tasco 6-24x42 Varmint/Target scope. With shipping it came to $71 or so from www.dnrsports.com. This scope has Supercon/multi-layered, fully coated lenses that are very clear and bright. It also comes with a adjustable objective lens so that you can dial out parallax problems.

Good luck with whatever you choose....

Mueller Optics · « **Reply #14 on:** February 10, 2004, 04:24:54 AM »

After reading the post above, I found the terminology of Tasco's lens coating to be a little missleading. In my opinion they are using trick terminology to fool the user in thinking they are fully multi-coated when in fact they are just fully coated. For those who dont fully understand the terminology and to get a better understing of lens coating I will explain it below.

Lens coatings range in quality as follows (least to best): Coated - Fully coated Â– Multi coated Â– Fully multi coated.

Coated-means at least one lens has some type of coating on at least one lens (more than likely it would be a single layer on one lens).

Fully Coated- is one or more lenses having at least a single layer of coating which could range from one to all of the lenses, keep in mind this does not always mean they have multable coatings but they could have multable coatings on just one lens. This one is the most difficult to understand because the term has many different applications.

Multi coated-means one or more surfaces of one or more lenses have been coated with multiple film.

Fully multi coated- means all air-to-glass surfaces have multiple films.

Both multi-coated and fully multi-coated are very good choices. Fully multi-coated lenses give the best light transmission and brightness images and therefore is the most desirable.

The Tasco mentioned above has fully coated lenses. Its pretty rare to find a scope that has "Fully Multi-Coated" optics priced under $100
It gets pretty confusing and if someone can explain it even better please or if I left something out please let me know.
MO

WNY_Whitetailer · « **Reply #15 on:** February 10, 2004, 07:17:48 AM »

I agree that the description from the Tasco web-site(that's where I took it from) can be a little misleading...The way you explained it is just the way I understood it. I didn't expect the optics I purchased to be fully-multi coated. I know that it is rare to find that for under $100. Tasco throws the term Supercon in there and people think that they are getting more than they really are...Granted the scope is exceptionally bright for the price I paid I am under no impression that they will compete with Bushnell Elite scopes, Leupold, Nikon or the like...That's not the reason I purchased it.

HogSniper2 · « **Reply #16 on:** February 11, 2004, 10:53:25 AM »

Don't forget to look at Simmons scopes. Good and clear. Not expensive .

lilabner · « **Reply #17 on:** February 14, 2004, 04:28:48 PM »

Squirrel heads are pretty small. Get a scope with adjustable objective feature - you aim at the target, turn the objective lens until it is in sharp focus, and no parallax to spoil the shot. I don't know how good it is, but Bushnell makes a 3-9x32 with AO that sells for about 60 bucks. There are others in the $100 or so price range.