The other thread on what brand scope for a 10/22 got me thinking. Ruger is just coming out with a left handed 10/22. I have very limited experience with any kind of optics, I have iron sights on most of my rifles. I am not familiar with the variety of new optical sight that seem to be coming out all of the time. I mostly shoot my .22s offhand, at 25 yards. Some times 50 or 100, but mostly 25. Generally paper targets, but some times cans or broken clay pigeons. So what is the latest and greatest sight to put on a .22 rifle that comes from the factory with no sights? Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

I have red dot sights on a couple of rifles, but not on the ones that I want to use for precision shooting at longer ranges. The primary advantage of a sight like an Aimpoint is fast target acquisition and engagement at relatively close distances (or with large targets) along with unobstructed field of view and extreme ruggedness. The illuminated reticle is also good for low light situations.

My 10/22 has a conventional Leupold 2-7× scope sight. It doesn’t have to be extremely rugged or be usable under low light conditions, but it permits much more precise shots and at the low power setting still permits fast target acquisition and engagement.
One of my drills is to set up a line of bowling pins at 20-25 yards and knock them down as quickly as possible with “head” shots. My 2-7× Leupolds work fine for that on both my 10/22 and a 77/22 bolt action.

Nonmagnifying sights with illuminated dot reticles are great for some applications, but not all. Unless I were limiting my shooting to soda cans or similar targets at no more than 25 yards, I wouldn’t chose one for a gun like the 10/22 which is capable of much more than what such a sight allows.

I have 2 10/22 rifles. One is the Takedown with Magpul Backpacker stock, standard barrel. That one has the Burris red dot on it.

The other is a tricked out "precision" rifle with Vorquartsen carbon fiber barrel, Vorquartsen trigger, etc. I put the Leupold 2-7x Rimfire Scope on it.

As it was mentioned above, your expected use would dictate what you put on the rifle. For general plinking I really like the red dot. I take out and shoot the Takedown more than the precision one, for what it's worth.

I am a fan of Tasco 4x40 world class scope for my 10-22,,out to 75yrds it's just the right mag for small animals,,rabbits ,,Different folks like differant scopes ,,With such a large selection everyone can choose the one they like best.

I'm glad that some asked this question because I've been thinking the same for my Ruger 10/22.

A red dot is something I've never owned or for that matter used, but would be interested in one for fun, informal 22 plinking. What is the farthest distance from the eye that a red dot can be located and function as designed? Sorry if that's a dumb question but...I REALL'Y DON'T KNOW!!! LOL Thanks

The red dot can be mounted at any distance from the eye. Counter to conventional wisdom, I like them mounted closer for a better FOV through the sight, but it isn’t important.

The farther from the eye, the smaller the window will appear and the harder it will be to find the dot. The closer, the lager the window will be and easier to find the dot but the sight housing will obstruct more peripheral vision with both eyes open shooing. I prefer the trade off of the latter.

I have a modestly updated 10-22, which I consider almost a mandatory firearm to own. I have a variable 1.5 to 4.5 Bushnell Banner (pretty vanilla) scope for it, which I got myabe 8 years ago. I mostly keep it dialed up to 4.5. If I could do it again, or upgrade, I might get one that goes up to 6x, but what I have is thoroughly acceptable, so an upgrade is very low priority...

50 yard shots or less red dot.

75-100 yards, you can still do a 2 moa dot, but a good scope really comes into its own at this distance.

Based on my experience given what you say you will do with it, you will be way happier with a 2-7 or 9x or so rimfire scope. If the majority of the time you have paper targets the variability of of a red dot will likely feel frustrating. I have quite a few 10/22's in all kinds of flavors as it is really an erector set waiting for you to spend money. The best 'on average' setup is with a rimfire 2-7x scope.
Now I do have them with red dots and other lower power optics (really good for working with newbies and speed and fun with like cans etc.) but the 2-7x rimfire leupold really works the best on this gun (i.e. one that really won't be a long range choice or a tactical choice or anything but a fun gun).

Red dots are pretty much a no-go for me and my astigmatism, given how I shoot and use .22LR rifles, which is geared towards repetitive accuracy (I'd like to use the word 'precision' in describing this, but that part is still very much a work in progress).

I've got a couple of 3-9x40 rimfire scopes on a couple of my 22LR rifles. A Nikon and a Zeiss; both exceptional rimfire parallax scopes and sadly both out of production. For myself I prefer the slight increase in magnification over the 2-7s, so if and when I were to put glass on either one of my 10/22 11100 Takedowns I'd likely look at Leupold's VX-Freedom 3-9 scopes rather than the 2-7. YMMV of course.

quote:

Originally posted by monoblok:
Red dots are pretty much a no-go for me and my astigmatism ....

This is something that people who don’t have that problem may not consider when giving advice about sights. A clear round 3 MOA dot can be used for a degree of precision shooting that a blurry blob may not be. This was really driven home to me very recently when I acquired a P320 slide with Romeo sight and was trying to zero it.

I suspect there are a lot of shooters using illuminated dot reticles who don’t know that a blurry blob isn’t what other people have to put up with and assume that “If they can do it, I should be able to do so as well.”

I have 3 10/22's. The one I got when I was 10 still wears an el-cheapo Simmons 4x on it that has served me well. One more tactical builds has a Primary Arms red dot, and the other has a Nikon P22 2-7. All work for their intended roles, no complaints.

I run 1-5 or 2-7 for my hunting .22s, I use 16-25 power for target 22's, red dots on the 22 pistols and rifles that are shot at a bigger target or where speed is more of a concern over precision.

quote:

Originally posted by WARPIG602:
I run 1-5 or 2-7 for my hunting .22s, I use 16-25 power for target 22's, red dots on the 22 pistols and rifles that are shot at a bigger target or where speed is more of a concern over precision.

Pretty similar for me - the lower power ones are the best for hunting. Since it's a 10/22, it's not really a distance match type gun and won't benefit from the bigger, heavier and more magnified scopes. A red dot is ok for hunting but honestly, for what the 10/22 does, I find the good old irons work just fine.