Scope for a .17 cal

[hawken]

What scope would you pick for a .17 cal?
Leupold VX II 3-9 X 40 ( That I all ready have )
Or Barska .17 Hot Magnum 6 X 18 X 40
Or any other Varmint scope

[munyee4321]

3-9 will work fine but i lernt the hard way that taking the long shots on gophers its better to get a scope with higher power. I have a cheapy tasco 6-24x42mm with mildots on my 17 and i hardly use past 14x but it helps with the 100yard+ shots.

[IR_mike]

Depends on what kind of shooting you are doing. For a .17hmr you want enough magnification to see the gopher/magpie/ starling etc at distance.

I have owned one since late o2 (christmas present to self) and found the 3 x 9 was not enough. I then tried a cheapo 6 x 24 that screwed up immedeitly and then a bushnell legend 5 x 15 x 40, great scope but hated the front mounted AO as well as the size and weight of it. I know I might get slammed for this, I bought a simmons aetec 4 x 14 x 44 wide angle and love it. The 4 power is low enough for the close stuff and the 14 power gives you the magnification for the range of the calibre. I find the glass is good and bright, the w and e adjustments consistent and the scope has never screwed up (neither has my other 2 simmons and I am a leupold owner as well!!).

I seem to like shooting crows and magpies when I get the chance so the side focus is a bit of a impediment on quick shots at various ranges.

I was not able to find one at the time but simmons offers a 4 x 14 x 44 in the prohunter line that has paralax set at 50 yards....no side focus, this is what I would like and would recommend. Good magnification range and no SF to fool with. my 2 cents

[222rem]

Originally Posted by hawken

What scope would you pick for a .17 cal?
Leupold VX II 3-9 X 40 ( That I all ready have )
Or Barska .17 Hot Magnum 6 X 18 X 40
Or any other Varmint scope

How deep are your pockets?
If you are on a tight budget use what you have .
If money no object Schmidt & Bender.

[sbtennex]

Light and cheap. Not enough recoil to work much of anything loose and it`s not like you need superb low light capability. An S&B on a .17HMR would be like 10K worth of wheels and tires on a `72 Beetle.

[raised by wolves]

A compact 4X is more than adequate for a rimfire of any kind. I have a Banner 6-18 on my 17HMR. It was great for the open country shooting, but I have been using this mostly on rabbits in the bush so I am planning on a smaller scope.

[Twisty]

I have a Nikko-Stirling 6-24x44 on my CZ Varmint 17HMR.
It's a great scope for the price. Check it out at kinneysshootingsupply.com
This is were i got mine from. Patrick is a great guy to deal with.

[Canuck44]

I would say a 4-12 power minimum. to me the more zoom the better on a varmit gun, I put a 6-24 power on my 17. I have a 3-9 on my 22-250 and its not enough imo.

[JET1]

decide what its use will be and buy something with a paralax adjustment knob that will adjust down to less than 50 yards if you buy a high powered hunting scope it may be usless at less than 50 yards where you will probably make 30 percent of your shots i bought a leapold VX-L beautiful scope in 6.5-20 power but the paralax only adjusted down to 60 yards so shooting a 50 yard target i could see the crosshairs moving rendering it usless so its mounted on my 22-250 and i bought a cheep BSA sweet 17 for my HMR and it will adjust paralax down to 10 yards and the power goes up to 12X if the crosshairs wernt so thick i would say its the perfect rimfire scope with mag to shoot out to the distance the 17 will reach

in short the 17hmr is a strange caliber that its close range practical use combined with its potential to shoot out to a distance makes it tough to pick a scope that will do double duty

[25-06rem.model700]

i would buy that BSA sweet 17 if i had a 17 hmr i looked through one once pretty clear for the money. plus it is a ballstic compensater

[Jeromeo]

Originally Posted by 25-06rem.model700

i would buy that BSA sweet 17 if i had a 17 hmr i looked through one once pretty clear for the money. plus it is a ballstic compensater

I've got a BSA sweet 17 6-18x and it works great. Haven't really used the Ballistic Compensator yet. Never really had to. Scope it clear. Some people say you can get good ones and bad ones. From my experience and that of my friends who own the same scope, all experiences have been good.

[fishinmatt]

I've got a Leupold VX II 3x9 ultralight 32mm with paralax adjust on my 17hmr. Pretty much designed for that exact application as far as i'm concerned. If you like the VX II then this would be something to look at for sure. not sure if they make it or not but the same specs in a VXIII would really be the cats meow. a 4x12 would be nice but as a 200 yd rifle the 3x9 is fine with me.