Thread: Mil/mrad scope for 22lr?

Originally Posted by Ultimitsu

As a broad general proposition this is not wrong, but as is the case for all general propositions, in reality things are more nuanced. In my all small game hunting I have never once felt I needed more Field Of View...

Yeah nah maybe

I also use my scope on high mag most of the time, because usually it's a one bird one shot type scenario at longish range for a .22LR.

But sometimes there's a whole bunch of bunnies only 30-40m away, and with subs I've got a good chance of getting 3 or 4 of them before they bugger off. So I need a much wider field of view to see what's going on. That's when the 3x or 4x is invaluable - wouldn't want it any other way. Nothing more irritating than waving your rifle around looking for the next target but the magnification is too high...

Ultimitsu - I sometimes wonder what world you live in. Field of view is critical for hunting/field shooting of any sort, and as I've mentioned the top gong shooters I know run scopes at pretty modest powers for stages that involve switching targets under time pressure.

Moving away from the OP sorry, but it's fascinating how much variation we all have in our shooting styles. I can understand why @Flyblown wants high magnification for shooting birds at long range (for RF), but I don't follow @Ultimitsu at all with not needing wide FOV. Most of my 22lr pest control is hares in establishing forestry or possums, for both uses my 1.5-4X scope almost stays on the 1.5X setting. I find 22lr marginal for hares so usually pull the trigger twice to be safe (BX trigger on 10/22 makes that second shot very close to same placement as the first). Wide FOV and low magnification means you can do your follow up shots very safely in pest control situations, and semi auto means there are enough rounds for multiple targets, or fast follow ups if you need them. Different styles of shooting for different purposes I guess. I've had many occaisons when I've shot hares on the run with the 10/22 that would have got away if I'd been using a high magnification precision shooting style. To me 22lr is a close range round, high magnification makes more sense with centrefires.

Originally Posted by Tentman

Ultimitsu - I sometimes wonder what world you live in. Field of view is critical for hunting/field shooting of any sort, and as I've mentioned the top gong shooters I know run scopes at pretty modest powers for stages that involve switching targets under time pressure.

I live in a world where I find the animal before it runs away and I shoot it while it is still. I am able to relatively quickly acquire my target through my scope so I dont find FOV important in my hunting. Some people hunt moving animals, they need good FOV, that is fine. I rarely hunt them moving.

I have never been to a gong competition so I dont know if they shoot at lower mag. But as I said if you shoot from fully supported position you can get away with less magnification because you rely less on pulling trigger at the perfect moment with a moving crosshair.

Originally Posted by Ben Waimata

Moving away from the OP sorry, but it's fascinating how much variation we all have in our shooting styles. I can understand why @Flyblown wants high magnification for shooting birds at long range (for RF), but I don't follow @Ultimitsu at all with not needing wide FOV. Most of my 22lr pest control is hares in establishing forestry or possums, for both uses my 1.5-4X scope almost stays on the 1.5X setting. I find 22lr marginal for hares so usually pull the trigger twice to be safe (BX trigger on 10/22 makes that second shot very close to same placement as the first). Wide FOV and low magnification means you can do your follow up shots very safely in pest control situations, and semi auto means there are enough rounds for multiple targets, or fast follow ups if you need them. Different styles of shooting for different purposes I guess. I've had many occaisons when I've shot hares on the run with the 10/22 that would have got away if I'd been using a high magnification precision shooting style. To me 22lr is a close range round, high magnification makes more sense with centrefires.

Just so that we are clear what we are getting at: I am not advocating a fixed 20 powered scope for hunting. I am saying, if you can focus down to 10 or 15 meters, having a scope with minimum power of 6 is fine.

Has there been a situation where 6 power was too much for you for follow up shots? If you have then good for you. I am by no means a pro pest controller, I am a weekend warrior and have shot thousands possums and rabbits. I have never once encountered such a situation. Sometimes animals are far enough away that shooting one does not upset the others, but in these situations I would be shooting at maximum magnification.