What is Your favorite Groundhog or Varmint rifle scope??

[sscoyote]

I'm showing my age but my favorite has been a Leupold 24X M8 fixed power that I've owned since 1978. I do have a newer rifle with a Leupold 6-18 VX2 and can't complain about it.

Ha--had one of those 24X M8's I bought in 1977 in Suter's Gun Shop downtown Colorado Springs. Guy behind the counter said it was too much for prairie dog shooting, but I sure loved it.

 

[JEFFPPC]

I have killed a couple of thousand groundhogs in my life. Most with 12x Luepold with dot and target knobs.

 

[Jimmy76]

NF 5-25 ATACR, SFP with very fine (MOAR-T) reticle. Not only is it great glass, but it is heavy (39 oz.), which helps with seeing your hits, and it has a built-in throw lever, which is important to me because I use my scope for scanning, and not binoc's, like some guys do. Has a great illumination system if you want to shoot in a low-light situation. The SFP keeps the reticle out of the way when I turn down to scan for targets.

Out of focus camera but this is what it looks like in use:

I really like your rifle/scope set up! Very classy look! Would you mind sharing the rifle specs? Thanks Jim

 

[geralton4]

I usually stick with scopes that go between 4X16 and 6X18 for most of my groundhog needs, I have a couple scopes in the 6.5X20 to 6X24 range but dont use them a great deal, the areas I hunt the average shot might be between 100-125yds and a long shot might be 300 so a good middle ground scope is almost perfect.

 

[KY_Windage]

I really like your rifle/scope set up! Very classy look! Would you mind sharing the rifle specs? Thanks Jim

It is a Cooper in .204, about a 26" bbl, stock except for being threaded for the suppressor and I added some lead to the butt to help keep it still. I have been thinking I should sell it as it is still not quite heavy enough to suit me.

 

[biggun2869]

All my scopes are antiuqe but you'll have all you can do to keep up w/me. Yeah Iv'e had a couple but--- my top of the line is Leupold 6.5-20. Gary
It never ceases to amaze me that some people try so hard to out equipment your ass!

 

[biggun2869]

I probably shouldent have commented. I mean well!

 

[Big_Daddy]

I switched to NightForce years ago and have never looked back.

My "go to" scope is the 5.5-22x56 NXS.

 

[Jimmy76]

It is a Cooper in .204, about a 26" bbl, stock except for being threaded for the suppressor and I added some lead to the butt to help keep it still. I have been thinking I should sell it as it is still not quite heavy enough to suit me.

Nice bud! What stock does it wear? I’ve just started researching PD hunting as I haven’t been before but always wanted to lay into ‘em! I’m in South Louisiana so we don’t have them but I’m loving my new NF 15-55 Comp with the DDR-2 reticle (dot). I can imagine seeing the red mist now! Haha! Jim

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Nice bud! What stock does it wear?

Cooper is a factory rifle manufacturer and they make their own stocks.

 

[KY_Windage]

Cooper calls that stock the "Phoenix." They say this about it:

• Hand-laid synthetic stock, reinforced with Kevlar that surrounds an aircraft grade aluminum bedding block

 

[KY_Windage]

Nice bud! What stock does it wear? I’ve just started researching PD hunting as I haven’t been before but always wanted to lay into ‘em! I’m in South Louisiana so we don’t have them but I’m loving my new NF 15-55 Comp with the DDR-2 reticle (dot). I can imagine seeing the red mist now! Haha! Jim

Come on up to South Dakota and we'll paint the prairie!

 

[Jimmy76]

Come on up to South Dakota and we'll paint the prairie!

Thanks for the rifle info and I might take you up on that offer! PD hunting seems like a good time and I’m all about that! Jim

 

[284winner]

Boy I hate to simplify the ground hog rifle/scope package but after using several different cartridges for it, I've settled on my old trusty 6.5-284 w/140 Amax/ELDs. Shots to 1200 yards are pretty rare but available but 500-1000 are common. Out to 500 the .223 w/53 Vmax is good stuff. My LR ground hog scope is the Leupold 6.5-20x50 Mark 4. Excellent glass even tho by today's glass it's old school. My son's .260 wears the Mark 4 4.5-14x50 and it's plenty for Hogs out to 1000 easily. Good glass for LR is more important than magnification within reason. For the ranges we shoot, it is. I've used power mag beyond 25 with no difference in success on kills. With the duplex on a 14X Leupy, there's plenty of animal on both sides of the cross hairs. With a new 25-284 in the works running the 131 Blackjacks, it may be my next Ground hog rifle. Should be much flatter than my 6.5(284) beyond 600 yards. Look forward to bullet performance on those Hogs also.

 

[geralton4]

I switched to NightForce years ago and have never looked back.

My "go to" scope is the 5.5-22x56 NXS.

I own at list 7 NF scopes, All solid with excellent reticle. No doubt NF makes one of the finest scopes.

 

[coldboreshot]

Horus Vision 5-20x50 w/ H25 reticle on an AR15 platform "dawg" gun. H25 is great for fast follow-up.

 

[Intheshop]

A cpl pages back,a stupid shiny Redfield, 4-12 was my pick;

Going back a cpl,few years I lucked into a pretty durn clean/straight B$L 3-9X40 on evilbay,"broken,selling for parts". I bought it,for the parts at a whopping 15$ to the door. Some gorilla had fouled the windage knob.... took a 1/2 a day to fix along with a good argon fill. And will say it has done a superb job at maintaining zero and is great,compared to some certain high $$$ scopes..... to repeatability when dialing.

I put it on a brandy new stainless SPS 7-08. This has been my,"it can't rain/sleet/snow hard enough to not drag this rig out",medium caliber varmint paste'r. Loaded to starting jacketed book loads,the 130g Lee cast with Varget has been a bone collector. Was out yesterday in a medium freezing rain with it for a cpl hours.

Well,hot diggity dog.... yesterday,found another old, pretty close to mint,4-12 Redfield. As much as I hate to do it.... the B$L 3-9 is getting replaced.

 

[6MMsteve]

back in the 80's it was a 24x unertl or a 24x loopy target on a 250 or swift then I got a 308 baer and a 264 win mag and started shooting way out there...down here in ky you had to find a hog in a bank then drive 2 roads over for super long shots..lobbing them in from way out there got close but never got one at super long range..threw dirt in a few faces..good ol days you could pull up on the road and let it fly...now days the cell phone is quick on the draw and game boy comes fast

 

[VaRandy]

I shoot Groundhogs out to 700 yards in most of my spots.

older 5 to 22 night force wil do you well.

 

[VaRandy]

HillbillysniperSWVA, since you asked...my first question would be what average distance do you shoot Groundhogs? Out west here for GS's, my favorite scope has been the Swarovski Z5 series 5-25x52 or the 3.5-18x44...both with the BRX (not the BRH) varmint reticle. For my eyes it is the best optics. I go out to 5-600 yds quite often on the "Sage Rats". I just got back two days ago from my annual long range PD shoot in Wyoming. We don't shoot anything below 700 yds. My best with the 20/250 was 1135 yds (3rd) shot. My best 1st shot kill was 948 yds (a lot of 7-1200 yd shots) with the 22/243 Imp. Both verified by my shooting buddy on a spotting scope. Both rifles have Nightforce NXS 8-32's with the MOART reticle (.062" reticle thickness). I tried several other long range scopes, but the Nightforce have worked out best. My friend shoots a NF 5.5-22x56 on his 22-243 Imp and really likes it. If you are shooting shorter ranges the Swaro 3.5-18 (BRX) is a great scope in my opinion. Good luck on your decision. 7315br