smcrea

I want to thank you guys for the great advise.. Although differing slightly I'm beginning to get an underlying feeling that everyone is saying that the 3 x 9 is a good size for hunting with the .308 and that I should get some experience under my belt before shelling out the big $ on a high magnification scope that I may never need.

Believe me when I say that I have lots of other things to spend my gun budget on other than a scope that I don't really need! :-)

The Burris 3x9 is a pretty reasonable price. You can get them below $200 if you look around.

I do really need to build the varmint rifle.. but I will probably use that for Coyote hunting. I live in the San Diego area so semi desert hunting is a reality. The other varmint I go after is rabbit.. but I recon the 12GA is probably better.

I do have a .22 Ruger 10/22 that I actually bought this past Christmas to teach my kids to shoot. But its really there rifle and I don't want to put a scope on it yet because I want to teach them to shoot with iron sites first.

So that brings me back to the AR15 varmint rifle that I'm building. I actually have 5 stripped lowers sitting in my safe.. so I feel the need is for a small caliber varmint rifle.


So I'm thinking of a plan.. please let me know what you think.

I could buy another Burris 3x9 which is a good budget scope and fit that onto the new AR varmint

I could spend a couple of seasons more hunting Deer with the .308 and Coyotes weith the AR and Rabbit with the shotgun.

If after a bit more experience I feel that I need a bit more magnification in either the .308 or the AR then I get something stronger and put the Burris 3x9 that I take off onto my kids .22 Ruger 10/22

If I need to replace both then I'm only $200 in the hole on the 2nd Burris and I can either keep it or sell it? or even put it on a 2nd AR varmint if my kids want one for hunting.

Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

Thanks again!

Big Uncle

You are going to have parallax problems with that scope shooting at normal .22 LR ranges. Most scopes of this type are set for around 150 yards, and most .22 scopes are set for something inside of 50 yards. Either a scope with AO or a scope marketed for .22s would be more appropriate.

homers brother

The 3-9x won't be ideal on a .22 for the reason already cited.

Otherwise, I don't think you're plan is unreasonable. One of my coyote rifles wears a 2-7x and is just fine, the others are 4.5-14x FFIIs but most of the time I leave them set on 6x. I get some long shots in now and then, but most tend to be between 75 and 150 yards.

Sheridan

+1

That is a "rockin" deal !!!



Just to reiterate;

Big targets under 300 yards = 3X-9X

Small targets at + 300 yards = 12X or more


BTW - I live / hunt in San Diego

emtrescue6

I see more people "over-scoped" than under powered...99% of hunters could hunt their entire life with a 3-9x40 successfully. I am guilty of this from time to time which is probably why I have more than a couple higher power scopes occupying boxes now....hahaha. I'd spent my money on higher quality glass before larger glass (took me awhile to learn this myself). It's like the 1st time muscle car builder, he thinks a Holly 850 double pumper is what his 350 Chevy needs, regardless of everything else...LOL

My hunting 308's mostly wear 3-9x40 (older vari x iii's) except one that wears a 4-12x44.

Something else to consider is weight...nothing discourages me more from hunting with a couple of my rifles than the fact that they are heavy....nothing enjoyable about packing a 10 pound rifle...and those larger scopes are freeking heavy and add up quickly to overall weight.

rockport

I find the higher power good for dialing the scope in. Its screwed up my hunting more than its helped......you know go out hunting and pull up on a deer at 40 yards and realize your scope is on 10 power.

I do like my 3.5-10 scopes but I do most of my deer shooting at 3.5

slowr1der

Unlike many of the guys here I prefer higher powered scopes. I've really gotten away from 3-9's, although my main hunting rifle does still wear one. I think it's mostly a personal preference. To me something in the 4-16 or 4.5-14 range is nearly perfect for hunting. I can zoom in for long range situations, but still zoom out enough for close shots. I almost never turn my 3-9 below 4x anyway. To me once you start getting the minimum magnification over 5x though, it's way too much for close range hunting shots especially if the animal is moving. In the area I hunt, the shots presented are often at running deer. If I was in a stand watching deer that weren't moving I could likely deal with a higher low end power and be just fine.

That said, if you can expand your budget a little, the SWFA SS 3-15 would be nearly ideal imo. I've been considering replacing the SWFA SS 3-9 that's on my main hunting rifle with one of these, but I just haven't done it yet. It's got the low end for close shots, but still enough magnification to be useful at longer rangers. Plus it's got reliable repeatable turrets which is the most important thing in a long range scope.

redgreen

All of my scopes are higher magnification because of the terrain that I hunt. You should be able to find a Leupold vx3 in the magnification that you are looking for. If needed, you can crank it up for a longer shot and turn it down for a short one. I like the 6.5x20x50 AO and have a couple spares if needed. I use a fixed 6x on the 22, and the rest have a hubble telescope on them. Reason for this is that most of my shots are 300+ yards. If you are shooting 300 and under, a good 3x9 will do all that you require. I also use Unertl scopes, but that is for varmits and bench rest. Check out various makes and models and grab whatever floats your boat. Don't scrimp on the glass, or you may regret it.