dogbluehunter

I need to put a scope on my .17 HMR. Most scope manufacturers make rimfire scopes that have a parallax set at 50 yards, with a 3-9 magnification. This is good as I will be hunting squirrels and rabbits.

Note: standard centerfire scopes have a parallax setting of 100 yards.

However, whenIgo hunting ground hogs or target shooting past 100 yards, do I need a different scope based on the need for more magnification and/or an adjustable objective (parallax)?

I guess I need a 6-18x scope with an adjustable objective (down to 20 yards), preferably around $150 or less. I have ruled out BSA.

Need some help........

bigbulls

Nope, you need some more money. A 6-18X scope of any quality is going to cost you more than $150. You will need at least another $100 to get you into a Bushnell elite 3200. A decent varmint scope starts at about $250 and goes up from there.

You also can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't expect to have a 6-18X scope paralax free at 20 yards. It isn't going to happen.

A 17HMR isn't a long range cartridge. You will have better results for your wide range of criteria with an all around hunting scope in the 3-9, 3-10, or 3-12 power range. Another plus is that with lower power scopes you can get a much better scope that is much closer to your price range.

stubblejumper

The elite 3200 4x12x40 would be a fine choice.

trailer

I have a Bushnell Trophy 6-18 x 40AO on my 17 HMR and it works very well for my rifle. It might not be top of the line but it’s an excellent choice for $ 219.99 at Cabela’s.

mossy33oak

not necessarily, Simmons makes a 4x14 AO (down to 25 yrds) in their ATV line that has good glass. I have 2 of them on my 22 mag and my 223 and they are priced around $150. In fact my freind has this exact scope on his 7mmremmag and it holds up to that abuse also. Not saying you are wrong Bigbulls, but there are options in his price range.

Dukebh40

u need a bushnell banner 6-18x-50. i have one on my 17 and one on my 223 and its a great scope for the money!!

missed_another

a 3-9 power ismore than a enoughfor a woodchuck even out to 300 yards with a bigger gun. at times we use a straight 6 power for that distance. as for the parallax distanceon a scope. that just gives an idea where the scope will have the least amount of parallax error. on a 50 yard parallax scope you will not be parallax free until you get outaround50 yards or more. same with the 100 parallax out to a 100 yardsyou will have some error. people tend to worry about the parallax way too much. the error is usually so little than most people would never know the differance. now a target shooter needs to get rid of that error because he is the guy that needs the very small groups. but in most everyday hunting shots and the size of the kill zone the shooter does not need that pin point shot. a 1/2 or an inch off would not make any differance.

Paul L Mohr

Remember the parallax problem will be worse at higher magnifications. With a 3-9X it probably will not be an issue at the lower end of the range. If you get a larger scope like 4-16 or 6-18 or higher it will be a problem if you crank them up.

Parallax is simply the amount of error a scope has at a certain distance. It does not mean the scope is actually off. If you have proper form and line up on the scope the same way everytime it will not be an issue. An easy way to check it is to put the rifle in a rest and move your head around while looking at a target. If it is not parallax free at that yardage the cross hairs will move around on the target. The amount they move is the amount your shot could be off. If the cross hairs do not move (welded to the target) then the scope is parallax free at that distance.

I would say if you are going to squirrel hunt a nice 3-9 or even a 2-7 would work nice. But if you want to target shoot or varmint hunt a nice higher powered scope with an adjustable objective would work. You can get a decent varmint scope for around 150 bucks if you look around. They won't have optics as good as a scope for twice the money, but they should function and work well.

I would stay away from the BSA sweet 17 scopes that are made for this gun. I don't have a big problem with BSA, I have owned a few that worked very well. However they were all the higher end models. Very comparable to a Aetec or 44mag in my opinion. I have talked to guys that have the Sweet 17's and they like them but I looked at them and they are based on the lower priced models in BSA's line up. The optics were not that great. Certainly not what a 17HMR deserves. I wish they would have based them on the Platinum, Catseye, or Panther scopes and charged a bit more. These all have a bit better optics than the cheaper scopes. Truth be known you don't need the bullet compensator with this round any way. It shoots pretty flat out to the ranges it is effective.

You should be able to get a really nice 3-9 hunting scope for 150 though. Like said a 3.5-10 might be nice as well. You could also get a lower power scope with AO and keep the power down and the AO set at 50 yards or so for squirrel hunting and it should work ok.

I have a high powered AO scope on mine; a 6.5-20x44. I will be honest, I had to spend quite a bit more than I wanted to find one I was happy with. I ended up with a cabela's Alaskan Guide brand scope and it cost me around 400 bucks with the scope and rings. I tried a few in the 150 to 200 range and they were ok, but didn't have the resolution I was looking for at the higher powers at 100 yards. However many have scopes in the 100-200 dollar range at rimfire central and are very happy with them.

If you are on a budget I would suggest the bushnell Trophy scopes as well. I have a 1.75-4 on my slug gun and it is pretty nice for 100 bucks. I have a buddy that has the same scope in 3-9 and he likes it too. There are others that are simular as well. Just remember the more power and options the scope has the more money it should cost. Good optics cost money, period! If you see a scope that you think should cost 3 or 4 hundred dollars for 100 bucks there is most likely a reason. They are cutting corners somewhere. Either the glass and coatings are poor, or the quality control is low. Getting a low dollar varmint scope is sort of like a crap shoot. You might get lucky, then again you might not. On the other hand $150 for a lower powered hunting scope you almost can't go wrong. Pretty much all of them in that price range will be pretty good scopes.

Also remember some companies will preset a parallax for you at the factory. If you want it set at 50 or 75 yards some will do it for you. There is even a way you can do it yourself.

Check out this link.

rimfirecentral

They have forums specifically for the 17 HMR and scopes here. Tons of info and you can see what others are using. This topic has been discussed at length several times.

Good luck,
Paul

zepchuk

I have a Simmons 3-9x40 scope on my 17 hnr that I took off my 300 win mag and I like it better on the 17 which is as big of a scope as I personally would put on the 17

j. plate

I'll probably get flamed for this, but here goes:

I had the same questions when I was going to put a scope on my .17. I started with a 3-9x32 Simmons 22mag. That scope didn't end up having enough power for my tastes.

I didn't want to put a ton of coin into a scope for this rifle. I ended up looking in the Sportsmans Guide and finding a Barska 4-16x50 AO (25 - INF.). Now, I know....you get what you pay for. You can get one of these out of SG for about $59.99 right now. Believe me, I had my doubts.....but the .17 has no recoil. This scope doesn't get beat up at all on my .17 and has held up very well out hunting through all the banging around in my vehicle.

I've been pleased with my purchase....much more than I thought I would. I've shot woodchucks and tree squirrels from 10 yards to 100 yards, on 4x all the way up to 16x. My POI has not changed with any magnification change. As was said, for hunting purposes.....that's all I'm looking for.

I took a chance on a production line scope and was pleasantly surprised, even when I was told by the masses not to bother with them. Did I get lucky.....maybe.