Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins
I don't think there is any facet of rifle shooting that is generally more misunderstood than the scope sight. I firmly believe that most shooters today have lost sight of its primary function - it is an aiming device. Most folks today seem to treat them as a viewing device. There is a world of difference in philosophy and function.
The manifestation of this misunderstanding is found in the ever increasing magnification many feel is necessary in their scope sights. In other words, most rifles today are vastly "over-scoped", carrying far more glass than necessary. This works well enough at the range, where the rifle is fired from a rest with all the time in the world to find the target in the scope, line it up, and fire. In the field, however, the reduced field of view necessary in a high magnification scope can be a real liability. It can be damn hard to actually find the target in the scope.
The "optical triangle" is familiar to most riflemen. Essentially, is consists of magnification, field of view, and eye relief. Any increase in one leg of the triangle necessitates a decrease in one, or both, of the others. Since eye relief on standard rifle scopes must fall within a finite range due to mounting and safety considerations (avoiding "scope eye" wherein harder kicking rifles drill the scope into one's brow), we are left with two variables that can be changed that impact one another. Magnification and field of view. More of one means less of the other.
You have probably guessed by now that I'm an advocate of lower power scopes. In addition to providing a greater field of view, they tend to be smaller and lighter than the higher powered models. They add less weight and bulk to the rifle. They upset the balance point of the rifle far less. They are simply less obtrusive. They are secondary to the rifle, serving only to aim said rifle.
With the larger, more powerful scopes, I'm always left with the impression that the rifle serves as a pretty big, awkward, heavy handle with which to carry around a nice piece of optical viewing equipment. The scope takes over from the rifle. Folks are easily fooled by these nice pieces of optical equipment, assuming because they can see better, they can shoot better. Well, I'm here to tell you, that just ain't so.
Anyway, more to the point, I don't think you can go wrong with a fixed 4x on any .22. The Mini-14 should be happy with a variable 2x-7x, 3x-9x, or at the most a 4x-12x. Look for one advertised as a "compact"; the Mini-14 is a very small rifle. A big scope will really be awkward on one.
I'm a Leupold man through and through. They are on the spendy end, but their quality and warranty are second to none. They are truly a "lifetime" purchase; in anything ever goes wrong, they fix or replace it no questions asked, with no hassles whatsoever. If they are a little more than you would like to spend, my choice in a "budget" scope is Weaver. I've had Tasco, Bushnell, and other scopes in that price range, and have been most impressed with the Weavers. They are a great value for the money.
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bushnell 4x on 10/22's if yer kids using it. why? cheap and pretty idiot proof. as higgy said im a leupold man myself. best bang fer buck and UNREAL WARRANTY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE!
traded my buddy a leupold 6x fixed that i had hammered the snot out of over 25 years of use for a red dot i wanted to try on my K22/45 stainless bull ruger. the 6x was kind of blurry to me. he took it and sent it back to leupold and they asked him simply "what finish would you like on yer new juan?" "matte black/stainless/gloss black?" he asked for matte and they shipped it to him free of charge. no fuss no muss.
bushnells worked perfect for kids. easy 1/4 MOA comeups 1/4" = 1-click windage or elevation. they are waterproof and they is CHEAP! wally world is where i got mine. too simple and sooner or later you'll be replacing juan when you or him fall down and go boom on some slippery rock and the rifle goes tumbling. even though no juan wants to admit it, everyjuan falls down and always the rifle and scope take the brunt of the embarassment.
low power on the mini cuz its a .223 round and you aint shooting past 500yds (if that) effectively ever. if you went 3 x9 its kind of going to look big as higgy said. compact is where its at. small and light.
my suggestion is dump the bucks on a "return to ZERO" scope mt. ie. you can place it on and off and always retain yer zero. these are spendy because of tight ass machining tolerances but they are the nicest due to ability of retaining zero and keeping zero is a pain in the ass at best on rifles that are used alot and banged around thru lifes lil bumpy roads.
remember and higgy will attest to this im sure. wooden stocks swell and yer ZERO CHANGES. synthetic stock and a "return to zero" scope mt, stainless, and your gonna have a fine weapon you can be proud of and it will do what you want time and time again.
i use my weapons. ie. they are bounced to hell on a quad, on a horse, on a dirt bike, in a jeep, on my back and they get beat up.............alot. but my zero dont change and i have never missed a shot due to a click situation or my scope or mts failing.
learn yer weapon............know your weapon........make love to yer weapon........know yer come-ups.............know your ammo..............cherish yer magazines and never ever drop them............AND CLEAN THE DAMN THING EVERYTIME YOU SHOOT IT NO MATTER WHAT AND IT WILL OUTLIVE YOU IN SPADES!
when ya buy a cleaning kit..........buy kleenbore.com's field kit. everythang ya need and they even come in camo if kalifornia allows that???? LOL!