Thread: Rimfire suppressor and Rimfire specific scopes

Hi all

I’ve tried a quick search but no joy for this technically challenged. I’ve just picked up a new .22 and like most of us I’m always trying find the best cost benefit ratio.

Rimfire suppressors - they range in price from $29 to $160+ . Is there a big difference in quality and effectiveness?

And

Rimfire specific scopes . I know there is a difference in fixed parallax setting but does this make a difference in real world usage ? Just for plinking and shooting small fluffy things.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts .

Yes massive difference in suppressor performance and size, as with many things you get what you pay for. I make high quality K baffle suppressors but they are at the top end of your budget....check out fss on facebook for details.

You can get by with a cheaper scope on a 22 but again you get what you pay for and depends on the distance you want to shoot.

Cheers

Parallax setting in the real world? No drama apart from your targets will be blurry at short range. If you can't live with that, any scope that has an adjustable objective (AO; sometimes called EFR on Leupold scopes) will make a good rimfire scope, so the world is your oyster. I generally avoid scopes labelled as rimfire models as it seems to be another way of saying cheap trash. Personally, I want my best scope on my rimfire. Targets are small!

For suppressors first determine if you need one. Popular idea in the last 5-6 years is that you must have a silencer for every 22LR. No you don't. If shooting anywhere near housing, or in smaller confined blocks like orchards then yes. If shooting open farm country - no. Have shot umpteen thousand bunnies and very rarely use a silencer on the 22s.

You do not necessarily need to spend big bucks on 22LR scopes given the max 100-110m range you'll normally shoot. Some good reliable makes are Nikko Stirling, Tasco, Hawke and Bushnell (sportsman/banner/trophy etc). An AO or fixed parallax won't make too much difference for a hunter, as often when shooting large numbers you don't have time to adjust AO for each rabbit.

My son has a suppressor that came on his rossi 22lr semi. I can't distinguish any difference in volume between his rifle and my unsuppressed 10/22.

As for scopes, it depends very much on what you want to do. I've seen a guy with 14X mag on 22LR who couldn't find the target when rabbit shooting due to the hugely restricted FOV, and given the trajectory of the round I have no idea why anyone would want this magnification. I use a 1X 3moa bushnell trophy red dot and find it near perfect, sight in at 50m and the bullet lands in the kill zone of a rabbit anywhere out to 60m reliably, and has dropped down about 12cm at 100m. Every now and then I put a scope on my 10/22 but get sick of it pretty quickly and go back to the red dot.

My favourite rimfire scope would be the Nikko-Stirling Airking 2-7x32, about $150ish new.

Buzz - the idea of a dedicated Rimfire scope is a bit like someone trying to sell you a Toyota branded battery
There is an element of manufacturers trying to segment the market and leverage that into more sales in some way

Your best bet is to have a try on your mates" 22s and see what you think

A 22 doesn't have a long range so you could do well to look at a smaller magnification range, say a 1-6 or thereabouts

As noted earlier in the thread, a really high magnification may be great for counting the hairs on a rabbit's bumhole but finding that bunny quickly in the field can be like scrubbing down the Taj Mahal with a toothbrush if you are stuck up on 16x power or some such

I use mainly 3-9 scopes as they're a good general purpose range but only ever used 3X on rabbits for the reasons everyone else has stated. The option to go up to 9X comes in handy with my aging eyesight after I think I've found one.

Hey thanks all. Good to hear.

I’m glad to hear I wouldn’t be shortchanged by going with a standard (non-Rimfire specific) scope. It opens up many options. I was mainly looking at 2-7x30ish models. I’ve used family member’s Rimfires in the past but they were all older models and couldn’t be sure how they compare with modern optics.

I’ll look up the FSS suppressors. I like supporting local.

I,

Originally Posted by 308

Buzz - the idea of a dedicated Rimfire scope is a bit like someone trying to sell you a Toyota branded battery
There is an element of manufacturers trying to segment the market and leverage that into more sales in some way

Your best bet is to have a try on your mates" 22s and see what you think

A 22 doesn't have a long range so you could do well to look at a smaller magnification range, say a 1-6 or thereabouts

As noted earlier in the thread, a really high magnification may be great for counting the hairs on a rabbit's bumhole but finding that bunny quickly in the field can be like scrubbing down the Taj Mahal with a toothbrush if you are stuck up on 16x power or some such

mans a bloody poet but agree with whats said -laughed at the way it was put -just now cant get that bloody rabbit image out of my head

I use DPT suppressors on all my 22s.

Originally Posted by mudgripz

An AO or fixed parallax won't make too much difference for a hunter, as often when shooting large numbers you don't have time to adjust AO for each rabbit.

For me, it's not about adjusting AO for each rabbit, it's more about getting it in the ball park of range. I usually set it to 50 yds and leaving it there on my 22LR. As said though, if the OP wants to stick on a scope with a fixed parallax setting (most scopes seems to be 150 yds), then that'll work.

As a rule of thumb, AO becomes more important once your scopes magnification is greater than 10x. On a 2-7 it won't be very noticeable.

Surprised the rossi silencer is shit. There is bugger all between a small silence that works and one that is passable.
I've been playing around with them for a bit and even the one I made for kotoku (apart from a baffle strike, I was trying to keep the hole size tight but easy fixed) was pretty good.
If its a little silencer it may not have many baffles in it.
As for scopes I do like a vari power but that was only for looking at possums in trees you couldnt get too.
Realistically a 4x would be fine.
The old hubertus I had on my stirling was more like a 3x than a 4 and I thought I could shoot miles away with that.
Very disappointed when I tried it out after coming back from oz 10 years later and it was quite shitty.
I will say that some of the newer ballistic mil dot scopes for 22s seem interesting for longer range stuff as long as they match the trajectory.
Would love to have a crack at rabbits but need to do a mission for those.
Bugger all close

I made a few suppressors from a short length of 40mm plastic plumbing pipe and 2 end caps. No internal baffles. Was a simple push fit on to barrel end.
Deadly quiet!
On my wee Martini you could aim at a target, fire the shot, and only hear a faint 'click' from the firing pin, then nothing until a 'thump' from the target showed you hit it (sighted in on a gum tree I didn't like).
I don't see how anyone can't make them that quiet these days.
Is it the metal can allowing the noise to come through?
I have a modern screw-on .22 suppressor that is meant to be an OK NZ made one (stuck it on my JW15), and it's way noisier than my plastic jobby (and yes...same ammo used).