UPDATE--What Power Scope for 223 Varmint Gun?

[Idaho-Lefty]

I like the variables up to 20-25x the best.

Yup,.. this ^^^
I have, a 1" tube, 6 x - 20x, 40mm on a .22-250 Rem 700, Med bbl, Sporter ( Good out to, 350 yards or, so on Rats ).
And on my, 2, MOST Accurate L R, Rifles, the 6 XC and my 6.5 Creedmoor, I have, 30mm, 6x-24x-50mm, Vipers and they ARE,.. Clear, bright and HAVE, very "Precise" Turret, "Dials".
You CAN'T Hit, what you DON'T,.. "See",.. Well !
And repeatable "Dialing",. HAS to Be,.. "Good" on my, LR Rifles.

 

[sw282]

View attachment 1655522

At almost 79 l sometimes feel like a zombie. l'm still shooting tho!

 

[Whisky Tahoe Foxtrot]

After reviewing all the posts here, I'm surprised no one is mentioning Field Of View. Or if they did, I missed it.

Before I started varmint hunting, magnification was the key for me but lately I want Field Of View more than I want higher magnification.

With latest scope designs, you can get both.

3-24x56 is what my discounted Bushnell Forge offers and it's become my favorite.

Recently I had a chance to go through hundreds of 22 rounds thinning out pivot rats on a farm. My 22 has an old B&L 6-24x40 on it. While the glass was clear as ever, I found myself wanting wider FOV.

The other thing I didn't see in the posts was a mention of adjustable parallax. Sure it's just another knob for some people, but I find it helps when the target is completely in focus.

The last thing I'll mention is it's nice to pair your binos with your scopes when they have the same magnification. Makes finding that target you just spotted in your binoculars easy when the scope is set to the same magnification. Not required, but I noticed it helps.

 

[1ofU]

I use Bushnell XRS 4.5X30X50 mm both scopes has the G2 reticule
good glass makes a big difference when you spend hours looking
through them , I never have sore eye's or headache .

 

[COLT45SA]

Sounds like your on track 8.5x25 would be a great choice

My B&L 6-24 handles that task quite well.

 

[Lefty2506]

That was not my understanding at all.

Same here. I used to buy the B&L Elite series of scopes for my hunting rifles and noticed that they switched to the Bushnell name at some point (Elite 3200). My understanding was that it was just a branding thing. Same scopes built with the the same glass (B&L), just a different name on it. With that said, I'm pretty sure the Elite series has been gone for over a decade now so maybe B&L got out of the game all together at that point and that's what brought an end to the Elite series of scopes. Too bad too, they were some of the toughest darn scopes you could buy, and they were reasonably priced.

 

[COLT45SA]

Same here. I used to buy the B&L Elite series of scopes for my hunting rifles and noticed that they switched to the Bushnell name at some point (Elite 3200). My understanding was that it was just a branding thing. Same scopes built with the the same glass (B&L), just a different name on it. With that said, I'm pretty sure the Elite series has been gone for over a decade now so maybe B&L got out of the game all together at that point and that's what brought an end to the Elite series of scopes. Too bad too, they were some of the toughest darn scopes you could buy, and they were reasonably priced.

I don't know about "tough", but I do know they are beautiful, bright, and clear. Mine has fine cross hairs I would like it even better if it had a target dot.

 

[ISS]

If I had a full custom 223 I would be tempted to try a Sightron SIIISS 10-50X60mm on it. I tend to go with the theory that you cannot hit what you cannot see clearly. I really love the crosshairs. I do have two, but they are going on a 6-284 and my 257 Banshee when it is finished.

This has been a great thread. Lots of valid but differing point of views.

 

[marchx]

If I had a full custom 223 I would be tempted to try a Sightron SIIISS 10-50X60mm on it. I tend to go with the theory that you cannot hit what you cannot see clearly. I really love the crosshairs. I do have two, but they are going on a 6-284 and my 257 Banshee when it is finished.

This has been a great thread. Lots of valid but differing point of views.

I shot this one hole group with a 223 rem yesterday. At 50m off tripod. Magnification x4. Great round up to 50m.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

All my rat rifles wear Leupold's. Over 60 years I've tried others and have always come back to Leupold. All my 223 HB varmint rifles all wear Leupold VX3 6.5-20X LR 40mm with the M1 elevation turret, as I'm a dialer. Just some Cooper's shown, there's more.



With a laser rangefinder, good dope from a ballistics program (Sierra Infinity for me), first shot hits out to 600 yards is entirely do-able on a regular basis. I put my come-up chart on each scopes ocular flip cover for instant corrections in the field. Hold dead-on after dialing, allow for wind and shoot. Works great with the Alumna alloy magnetic flip-covers. Good glass is imperative looking through a scope for hours. Eye fatigue is a real bummer. Good glass costs for a reason.

Had this pic handy. It's the come-up chart for my 20VT in MOA. One for every caliber/rifle:



The 223 could be the very best all-around caliber for what we all do in the field, and there's not much chance of the brass supply ever drying up either. I've got four 223's if that says anything.

 

[Lefty2506]

I don't know about "tough", but I do know they are beautiful, bright, and clear. Mine has fine cross hairs I would like it even better if it had a target dot.

I still have a B&L Elite 3000 3-9x40 on my Savage smokeless ML. They are known for eating optics. The only ones that seem to have held up are the Elite series and Zeiss which is out of my price range. There were a lot of guys putting Leopolds on them back in the early 2000s only have to use their warrantee (over and over again). I run Athlon optics on most of my stuff now, but I'm not shooting anything with serious recoil to it (other than the Savage ML). I've settled on their Ares 4.5-27x50 for my PD rifles and anything I plan on shooting past 200 yds. I can normally find them used for a pretty reasonable price, and I've really come to appreciate how easily I can make adjustments on the fly using the Xmas tree reticle. I've looked through some more expensive glass, but its hard for me to tell much of a difference. If I were spending 10s of thousands of $$ on a once in a lifetime hunt, I'd go with Nightforce, but I'm not so I don't because I simply can't afford to spend a grand or more on glass for every rifle (I know that's still cheap for a lot of folks).

 

[Websurfer]

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/what-power-scpoe-for-223-varmint-gun.3950860/

l posted the first thread two years ago. Experience, opinions, and choices have CHANGED since 2018.
MY 22 caliber holes are easier to see with a 6.5-20 than a 3.5-10 or a 4.5-14 scope at 100 yards!!
My 223 Rem Varmint Gun now has a 6.5-20X40 VXIII. The 30mm tube resembles a Big Screen tv after looking thru 1inch tubes all these yrs. The Fine Duplex reticle helps too. After a June2018 trip to New Mexico a 22-250 came to live with me. A 6.5-20 vxiii is on it too. My little 221FB still has the 3.5-10vxiii... That could change shortly, for l found an 8.5-25x50vxiii that's looking for a new HOME

 

[Websurfer]

Have used Leupold 6-18 1” scopes on all my dedicated varmint rifles for years, and see no reason to change. From prairie dogs to coyotes, I’ve never needed anything else.

 

[Jrjones]

I dont shoot far because of terrain features. I have several vx3 6.5-20’s i use for varmints. I also have several weaver classic V 4-16 fch dot. Nikon 6.5-20 fch. The japan weaver and nikon scopes have worked very well over the years. Just as good for what im doing. Imo. Them japs make good stuff too. I bought 2 jap weavers for the cost of one leu. Varmints never yelled back and said your scope was cheap. Use what works for you and your wallet.

 

[AWS]

If on a budget I'd look at the Sightron S-tac, I have a couple 3-16s for n a 20P and 22-250AI and like them a lot. I really like my Weaver V-16.

 

[Hunter2678]

4-16x44 with fine crosshair is a real good start IMO

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I've had a Sightron stac 4-20 duplex on my 22-250 since the new Lilja was put on(5+ years). Zero has not been adjusted since and I dial for about 240 yards and out.

 

[tjtjwdad]

In the past several years I have relegated myself to Zeiss, Leupold and Swarovski for varmint work. I know there are others out there that are new in comparison so I can't comment on them. In reference to good glass vs eye fatigue, that can't be overstated in my opinion, especially when you're looking through the scope for hours on in.

Although I have variable scopes up to 25x, in the pivots I keep mine on 10-12x and only use the 25x for identification/verification purposes. For second focal plain [SFP] scopes keep in mind that as one zooms in & out, the zero points shift; not so with first/front focal plain [FFP] scopes although the reticle zooms in/out as the magnification is changed.

I've never heard of tapping the scope just in front of or behind the turrets after scope turret adjustments; interesting, I'll keep that in mind for the scopes I have that are-not etched. Since all of my varmint scopes have etched reticles I'm presuming this isn't necessary for those.

 

[Idaho-45]

I have several 223 rifles. My Remmy 700 LVSF wears a Leupold 4-12. My Remmy 700 Milspec 5R wears a Nightforce NXS 5.5-22. Each works well the way they are setup. The 5R doesn't get packed very far because of weight.

 

[carbon]

Like a couple of posters, I am a fan of first focal plane (FFP) scopes vs second focal plane (SFP). I love that my holds stay the same regardless of the zoom magnification in a FFP.

My main experience with varmints is pdogs and burrowing rodents with a 204 (300-450yds, usually) or 17 or 22 Hornet for closer in ones. Rimfire too, of course.

On all those guns, a 5-25 is ideal for me, and I want to try a 7-35. I like tree reticles, but lately am experimenting with dialing elevation and holding wind (don’t like it, but will continue to try). Currently use a Razor 4.5-27 and a S&B 5-25.