Buying a Rifle Scope

[Axe]

A friend of mine has very kindly donated a rifle to me. Though it is a budget rifle, I am sure that it will offer me the chance to see if Airgunning is for me. As with all my sports and hobbies, I like to do them properly. Another buddy of mine who has some experience has suggested I purchase a better set of Rifle Scopes, to give myself a fighting chance.

 

With this, I have looked on the internet and through the Airgunner magazine and have come to the conclusion that one: I've no idea what i'm looking for and two: there are far too many scopes on the market for me to make any sensible decision. I would like to budget myself under £40 and would think my quarry would be mainly Rabbits, Squirels and Pigeons, shooting at day and night.

 

 

Can anyone offer me any advice on this subject or recommend a suitable scope?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Axe.

[dibbz2000]

Ive been using a Simmons 4x32 I think there about £30-40 Its a good enough scope as my main quarry for my air rifle is pigeons, squrels, rabbits etc. The scope does the job anyway!

 

D

[1 of 5]

At £40 your choice is pretty poor. The AGS saphire 3-9x40 is almost certainly the best at that price. You also need to add £13 or so for decent mounts. If the £40 has to buy mounts as well then you're looking at a Nikko mountmaster which is barely one up from a toilet roll!

[Axe]

Thanks for the advice, assuming that one doesnt want to get entangled in toilet paper and found a pile of 20's burning a hole in the pocket, what would be a better alternative and why?

[hill billy]

What gun is it ? i ask this because i started shooting with an old hw95 and like you i had a budget of £40 to £50 how ever it was not choosing a scope to be a problem but finding one that would last a desent amount of time because with spring air rifles you get a bit of recoil from the spring which i found broke a couple of my scopes inside making them loose, in the end i saved up a bit more money and brought a nikko sterling gold crown that was shock proof and it is still going strong to this day. so my advise would be to maybe if you can spend a bit more and make it last longer.

[Axe]

The rifle I beleive to be an SMK? Like all things i've learned fairly quickly that I would be better getting a good second hand riffle and kit. But, 'only fools rush in' and I want to get a feel for the sport before I start getting to committed financially.

 

The only reason the rifle was donated to me was due to the fact, my buddy was sick and tired of the scopes jumping around on it and chose to purchase an HW57 instead!!!!

 

The scopes fitted to the riffle at the mo are quite frankly, cheap and nasty and look like a glorified cigar tube!!! However, they do seem to stay still and offer, if nothing else, playful target practice.

[1 of 5]

Best budget scope is the AGS 3-9x40 with mil-dot reticle for £50. It's upto the job on a spring gun and is better than most scopes twice the price. They are exceptionally well made for that money and have good optics. The only downside is the mil-dots are a little far appart. The SMK is likely .22 so the drop will bring the dots into play more than a .177 would. I wouldn't put anything more expensive on an SMK as they kick like a mule. As a minimum get good quality double clamp mounts which should be £15 or less. Better still would be a one piece mount but that'll set you back £25 or so. Get your gun chronoed before hunting with it as many SMK jobbies are well underpowered - often down at 6ft/lb or less which is simply not upto the job and will result in wounded quarry. Without wanting to sound snobbish the SMK could well put you off airgunning rather than draw you in. They are VERY nastily built.

[roblade]

hi there,

 

please dont take any offence at this reply but it need to be said.

 

the opoint of pest control by the use of airrifles is top make sure the animal suffers as little as possible, while it is possible to do this with a well tuned SMK rifle it is very unlikly you would be able to do it with a standard one, the SMK is designed to be a back yard plinker (a fun gun) and that job it does extremly well, i have one myself but i would never dream of taking it to the field with me. the best grouping i have managed with mine (regardless of what pellets i use) is about 6" and when you consider that a rabbits head is nearly half that size most of the time you will just be sending it back to the warren in a lot of pain and possible to die there.

 

ok little moan over now on to the seriouse LOL

 

my advice would be a fixed power scope 4x40 hawke usewd to have one on a PCP S200 and couldnt miss anything with it no PA to mess about with and no zopom to get you confused on hold over/under if you are new to the sport start with the basics.

 

but the best advice i could give you: please do not take this rifle to the fields keep it in the garden (as long as your pellets dont leave your garden) shooting tin cans. save the money you would have spent on a scope and get a second hand air rifle they can be found on this and other forums from as little as £75 for one that will shoot and hit the target everytime.

 

hope this helps you out a little

 

ROB B)

 

PS with regards to the best scope if money were no object how much time have you got?? almost everyone on here will tell you a different scope LOL

 

my personal choice is bushnell trophy 3-9x40 i have two of them new price about £130-£160

 

you will be very hard pressed to find two people who acctually agree on the best scope no matter what price bracket you are looking at.

[Axe]

Thanks to all who have replied, the general gist I get is that I do need to get a second hand setup. So, assuming that I manage to get further land permission I will make the investment.

 

As far as the rifle's performance so far, my shots on a tin can at 30 yards are about 80% where the remaining 20% was just shy above the target at around 2-3 inches. Power wise, i take heed of the comments and will definately get it chronoed. So far, in comparison to an HW77 Carbide shooting at the same targets mounted on 1 inch ply , the pellets seem to do the same amount of damge.

 

Thanks once again.

 

Axe

Edited February 28, 2005 by Axemaniac

[stupidsalmon]

I suggest that before you actually go out hunting you are sure of your accuracy. For a beginner i would say that its best to be zeroed in at about 20 yards, making sure that you can get good groups within a 2 pence coin. Once you've accomplished this, if you havent already, you'd be adequetly accurate to go out and shoot some quarry.