Another scope recommendation with a twist

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rodjava

Member
Sep 6, 2021
691
518
San Francisco California, 94134 United States
www.allcalibers.com
HI,I am "brand spanking new" in the air gun world.

However, since I was a little boy I was fascinated with long long distance shooting.
I'm not talking "sniper shooting" but long distance target shooting.

Now that I am retired and with lots of time on my hands, I'm planning to learn about long distance target shooting.
For my first pcp air rifle, I'm basing my shooting abilities around a newly purchased BSA R10 SE at .22 caliber.

I'm likely to only shoot targets at a range that offers targets as far as 200 yards. So I'm looking for a perfectly matched scope for my BSA .22 caliber
Of course, staring at 50 yards and working my way farther.

The "twist" is that my budget for a scope maxis out at $400 and my eye sight is that of a 65 year old man.

Any useful information would be appreciated.
Rod in San Francisco
 
100 yards, with the right tuned equipment for .22 pellets is the "gold standard" for most. For actual accuracy/precision with pellets, look more at about 60-75 yards for your extreme range. Of course, some will differ on that opinion, but pellets are not designed for distances much farther than that. Although, there are some out there who do shoot them farther with a level of (claimed) accuracy/precision that amazes me. (smile) Not to mention EBR competitions. (Extreme Bench Rest) not Evil Black Rifle. LOL!

If you really want to stretch out past that, you will need to look into using slugs and that is yet another rabbit hole. I hope you have deep pockets! (chuckle)

Good luck!
 
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Thank you to everybody that chimed in so far.

Just to clarify, my local range has targets at 200 yards. I would never attempt a 200 yard shot. I'm aiming for 50 to 100 yards max.

My original question to the membership is, "what scope will best match up with my BSA R10 .22 for 50 to 100 yard targets with a $400 budget? As a new member on the great forum,
i don't want to be rude, impolite or offend anyone, but would be great if your replies stay on topic.

Rod in San Francisco
 
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Thank you to everybody that chimed in so far.

Just to clarify, my local range has targets at 200 yards. I would never attempt a 200 yard shot. I'm aiming for 50 to 100 yards max.

My original question to the membership is, "what scope will best match up with my BSA R10 .22 for 50 to 100 yard targets with a $400 budget? As a new member on the great forum,
i don't want to be rude, impolite or offend anyone, but would be great if your replies stay on topic.

Rod in San Francisco
Click to expand...


Sorry...

Do you plan on using holdover or clicking for range? Many scopes are good for up to 100 yards if you use holdover, but not all of them are repeatable if you are going to click for range.

And, BTW, I use holdover so I don't know what scopes would be good if you are going to be clicking. For that matter, I don't know what scope(s) I would recommend if you are going to use holdover either. I only know what I have. Aim Sports Alpha 6 4.5-27x50 SFP and Athlon Argos BTR 8-34x56 Gen1 FFP. The Aim Sports Alpha would NOT be good for clicking, but is adequate for holdover once it settles in for zero... if you get a good one. The Athlon might be good for clicking, but I have never checked its tracking to see. It is good to excellent for holdover, but only focuses down to about 15 yards. The Alpha 6 focuses down to 10 yards.

JFYI, I paid $332 for the Athlon Argos BTR and $210 for the Alpha 6 a couple/few years ago, that includes taxes and shipping. Both were new, not used.

Good luck!
 
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rodjava.

Welcome to AGN. Glad to have you as a member here. Retirement has it's benefits, congratulations, time is one of them. There have been many similar questions asked within similar parameters as yours here under this and different post headings. Answers to your question and proceeding dialog will vary to extremes due to the nature of optics and the individual eye behind it. Your price range of $400 offers you quite a few options over and under your budget parameter so no worries there. I recommend researching our many members past and present recommendations to give you/us a baseline in which to carry on meaningful dialog for all to learn from, leading, hopefully, to a satisfying purchase.

Patrick
 
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Lots of good intel from membership so far. Thank you.
Because I'm new at this sport, i have to apologies for asking a vague question. The more I read other members post on their scopes, the more I understand what I might need to satisfy by reequipments.

Backstop: I'm sorry I didn't understand your references to using "hold over or clicking for range" I will have to study up on both techniques.

I think my main question is narrowed down to the scopes magnifications. Is it reasonable to think that the greater the magnifications is better for 50-100 yard targets?
I have narrowed down a few scopes that are 5-30x56 or 4-24x50. Which would be a better choice and why? Both are within my $400 budget.

Please excuse my ignorance if my questions are silly.

Rod in San Francisco
 
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Lots of good intel from membership so far. Thank you.
Because I'm new at this sport, i have to apologies for asking a vague question. The more I read other members post on their scopes, the more I understand what I might need to satisfy by reequipments.

Backstop: I'm sorry I didn't understand your references to using "hold over or clicking for range" I will have to study up on both techniques.

I think my main question is narrowed down to the scopes magnifications. Is it reasonable to think that the greater the magnifications is better for 50-100 yard targets?
I have narrowed down a few scopes that are 5-30x56 or 4-24x50. Which would be a better choice and why? Both are within my $400 budget.

Please excuse my ignorance if my questions are silly.

Rod in San Francisco
Click to expand...


No problem. Personally, I LIKE high magnification even at short distances (~15-50 yards). My thinking is aim small/miss small. However there are problems with that.

First, your field of view is much smaller, so gaining a sight picture of your target, especially if it is moving, is more difficult. However, I only shoot in my backyard and almost exclusively from an improvised rest. I don't own any sort of bench rest, I just use what I have available... step ladder and throw cushions, outside trash can... and throw cushions, etc. However, since I already know where my pest are likely to be, getting a sight picture is not really a problem for me in my situation.

Did I say short distances and list ~15-50 yards? Well, I no longer have access to shoot at 50+ yards, or at least not very often. So my usual shots are usually between 15 and 35 or 40 yards. For me, anything over about 45 yards is long distance as it requires more holdover. My zero PBR is ~15-35 yards. Or it was. I have adjusted the scope more for longer shots (30-40 yards) recently, but don't know the exact zero anymore. I suspect it is around ~30 yards. In any case, I have gotten used to it enough that I don't need to reference a range card for most shots and the holdover for shots outside of my PBR (Point Blank Range - put the crosshairs on the target) is easy enough to remember since I am shooting in my backyard where I pretty much know the ranges.

Anyway, I have read that some people have a harder time getting precision with higher magnification (20x and higher?) because they claim the higher magnification makes them more shaky as they try to stabilize the crosshairs. I have never subscribed to that theory. You are either stable in your hold or you are not. If you are shaky at higher magnification, you are just as shaky at lower magnification. You just don't see that shakiness in as much detail at the lower magnifications. JMHO YMMV

Again, I shoot almost 100% of the time using some sort of rest, so I am not talking about off-hand shooting for the most part, although I can sometimes pull off an off-hand shot with great accuracy/precision. I just don't try it very often these days because I know I can't hold the gun steady enough for consistent shots.

Well, believe it or not, I have lost my train of thought (lucky you!) so I will stop here. (senior moment?) LOL!?

Good luck!


 
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I just got into the PCP Air gun game myself. I was lucky enough to have a shop, Trenier Outdoors, a couple hour drive away. He allowed me to shoot his scope and view many others that he had in stock. Originally I was looking to stay around 18x max but ended up liking the Element Helix 6-24 x 50 in SFP. I can see a .25 pellet hole in a paper target at 100 yards, no problem.Clear reticle for these old (65) eyes and the ability to click or holdover.

Good luck in your venture. Research FFP and SFP so you can decide what is best for your situation. Lots of information on YouTube and Internet.


 
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I'm 70. Luckily my eyesight is still pretty good. I have a Hawke Sidewinder 6x24x56 on my FX Boss (.30) & routinely make 100+ yard shots. I've seen them for sale in the classifieds here for around $300-$325 a few times. The vast majority of my shooting is for hunting/pesting purposes, hence the long distance shots. The Hawke has held up incredibly well & it's ruggedness has made it a great match for my gun(s). Had it for about 4 years now & would highly recommend it as an option. 
 
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Find a pellet for short to medium distances and a slug for the farther distances. It takes some work to find the right slug weight and diameter for your barrel. NSA offers sample packs BTW. Shooting pellets past 125Y or so can become a frustrating experience. It's actually pretty crazy how well a great shooting slug will perform even at 200Y!

IMO the best scope for the money as far as used would be a Athlon Midas TAC 6-24x50. You can get into one used for just a tad higher than your budget. This is a superior scope compared to most, if not all of, the competing scopes on the market.

I also like the Helos G2 6-24. I like it better than the TAC except for weight and the glass is just behind the 6-24 TAC. It has more travel, locking turrets, illumination, along with the ARLR6 and APRS6 reticles which are reticles similar to those available tier 1 scopes




 
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 More great intel! Thanks everybody.

Just by the comments, most members suggest a magnification of around 6-25 or about. Opposed to 4-14. Is it reasonable to thing that bigger is better with it come to long range shooting? I have advised by many rile and air gun enthusiast, to buy the best scope I can afford. Rather than buy cheap and upgrade several times. So my original budget was $300 and it's now bumped up to $450 max.

After many hours of internet research and watching hours of YouTube vids. I have narrowed down to a few scopes. One in particular is the DISCOVERY OPTICS ED 6-24X50 SFIR WITH EXTREMELY LOW CHROMATIC DISPERSION FIRST FOCAL PLANE RIFLE SCOPE and priced at $420.

Any member have any experience with Discovery Optics?

Rod in San Francisco


 
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I bought a 6 - 24 ED a couple of years ago and was less than impressed. It was heavy, not clear, and vague turrets. Wouldn't want to depend on it's precision, either. The Midas Tac blows it out of the water. Not even close in any way. Of course , mine could have been the bad one of the lot and they could have improved them by now but that was my experience.
 
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I feel that Discovery is a decent value when you are looking at their $200 and less offerings. I would much rather have a Athlon or Hawke if you’re looking for something better. Athlon has a lifetime warranty that follows the scope to whoever owns it. You don’t need a receipt, or even the box it came in. With that said, I would check the classified for a used one in good shape. Make sure you are buying from someone that has good feedback in the classified if you go that route. Also only use PayPal goods and services not friends and family.
 
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To All:
According to my in-depth research into the Discovery line, I made the following conclusions for the ED 6-24-50 $420 

Lifetime warranty
Has all the same if not better features of scopes in the $1000 price range.
Seller : airgunopticsplus.com is based in the United States and handles all warrantee work if any.
So far good communications with owner of airgunsopticsplus.com, Charlie Sexton.

$420 without 10% coupon code . $378 with coupon . Seller will include free scope rings. FREE USPS Priority shipping.

I plan to wait a few more days before placing my order. Perhaps the membership will make me reconsider.



Rod in San Francisco
 
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I also have a more inexpensive Discovery scope (VT-T 4.5X18X44) on my .25 Royale. Am very pleased with it. It's the first FFP scope that I've owned & really, all aspects of it such as clarity of glass, crispness of clicks & reticle design work well for me. I, personally, wouldn't hesitate to buy another Discovery. We're lucky to have so many more options nowadays in regard to relatively inexpensive scopes but it can be confusing. Don't know if this might help you but the FIRST thing I look at when it comes to scopes is the RETICLE. Even if I like everything else, if the reticle doesn't appeal to me (too thin, too thick, too busy & complicated, etc.) I won't buy it. 
 
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