[spam4einstein]

I have some experience with the simmons deerfield, Very nice scope for the money, the crosshairs are kinda thick for verry serious target work, but the optics are quite clear and bright, Not a lot of people here have them, so you wont find much on them, but I like the one I have, the Bushnell I have is the sportsman supposedly sold at exclusively at wallmart but i think they have them at www.swfa.com (4-12x40 AO), its a little less bright, about as clear as the deerfield, Its AO bell is thicker and caused some clearance problems with my cz, but most likley not a problem for you, the sportsman I have has much finer crosshairs than the simmons. I have no experience with the others, I did have a simmons .22mag 3-9 and it was pretty decent, but once again it had thick crosshairs. The bushnells have lifetime warranty's, mine is there right now as a small metal chip was loose in it. By the way, both are not being used, if you decide to go with either, let me know and Ill be happy to make you a deal. Basicaly, the two are both nice choices for the money, If you are punching paper outdoors, then Id go with the bushnell sportsman if thats the same as sportview only b/c the crosshairs are finer...It was something like 75.00
I did pick up a used Japanese tasco world class for 130.00 (see below) and love it. If you can find one on e-bay its worth it. They are not made any more. If you are really serious about this, then something like that is without a doubt the way to go. I hear the Weaver grand slam 24X is a winner if you want to go over 200 a bit. But the Jap tasco world class scopes do come up on e-bay pretty often and sell in the 100-150 range. IMHO the best thing you can do for yourself in the price range you stated. I was just shotting today and with a 12x and the 24x and its a huge improvement. Look back through old posts here and you will find a wealth of info. And if you follow the advice of the more senior members like Viper, Big Mike and others, you will make the right choices.

 

[spam4einstein]

I failed to mention, the simmons target scopes also get a lot of kudos. check the past posts!

 

[obgmc]

Wayne,

Of the four you mention, My opinion is the Trophy is the best. It is made in Japan and focuses down to 10yds. The deerfields were indeed made for mass marketers such as Walmart, K-Mart etc. I have an old 4X Deerfield that is good & was made in Japan. (I also have a Trophy 1.75-5 that is good) but don't know anything about the newer ones. I think SWFA currently has The Deerfield 4-12 on sale cheap. You may be interested to know www.natchezss.com has the discontinued Trophy 4-15X40 AO on sale for $119.95. I'm considering that one myself. I have not seen the Trophy 4-12 less than about $160.

I'm sure you know as a general rule, the optics experts will always say buy the best within your budget because it will save you money (& frustration) in the long run.

 

[bigdaddytacp]

Hi!!! Welcome to the club......it's hard finding something to do with all that time isn't it? no court on days off and calls in the middle of meals.......Just wanted to say Hi....have similar background but got medical retired.......have been thru a bunch of scopes but none of the ones on your list so I can't be of specific help........but there are a bunch of great shooters that visit here and are always willing to help......enjoy the new life and good luck and good shooting!!

 

[mrmarklin]

I'd try to get something a little higher quality than the scopes you've mentioned. Surely, as a former police officer you can see the value of a quality product, as far as service life, etc. etc.

1st I would suggest that you don't really need a 12x scope for a .22 LR. Even at 100 yards 9x is more than enough. 100/9=11yards perceived distance. You could club something at that range.
2nd, thick crosshairs are an advantage when hunting, enabling you to hunt in lower light, and also help with target acquisition.
3rd, try Leopold. They have a lifetime guarantee, are better than the scopes mentioned by you, are more rugged and have superior optics. Remember your scope is only as good as the glass and coatings, and it is what you see through.

A VX-I scope in 3-9x is around $199, within your budget. The VX-II which has fully multicoated optics on the exterior lenses is $264. A stretch for your budget, but will end up being a lifetime purchase you could even use on a big game rifle in the future.

For accuracy, these scopes will hold up.

 

[vmaxx]

Wayne

I know what it means to be on a budget. If you want to stay under $200 I would get the busnell trophy. I have the bushnell 4x12 sportsman and though its a good scope for the money I Wish I could have afforded the tropy. The sportsman is easy to parallax. It hits right on the numbers and I would imagine the tropy will do much of the same and have a bit higher quality glass. just my opinion. I have owned two simmons prohunters and the plastic ring that held the front lenses in place were were glued in, this may not be the case with all simmons. It is just what I experienced.

 

[Blackhawk]

Simmons 1022T

I have a little experience with this scope and it is great. I am a hunter and every once in a while I like to try and make a small dot on a piece of paper at 25 yards. The simmons 1022T will give you the versatility of some light target work and it is great for hunting. I was considering a 4-12x AO when I got the 3-9x AO Simmons 1022T. For squirreling and some target work and some plinking these are good magnifications. THe AO is great for us accuracy buffs

 

[amax155]

I would have to go with a Bushnell Scopechief 4x14x50 for 119.95 at www.natchezss.com

 

[OldSwede]

Swift Premier 676.... AO, Gloss, Matte or Silver. Lifetime warranty. $119.00 .

 

[gmcfixer]

Wayne Dobbs,

Welcome to RFC! And thank you for the police work you've done too!

Now on to the scopes. There is a fair amount of scopes on the low end including the ones you mentioned. You stated this will be for a field/range rifle and not a match rifle, with that in mind I would suggest going as close to the low end as you can for now. Reason being if the rifle will see a fair amount of field use the gun will also see a little abuse maybe? What I mean is why put high dollar optics on a gun that gets banged around a little in the bush. My wife's 10/22 has a Simmons 3X9X32 on it (not the AO model) and has performed quite well so far for under 50 bucks. Sometime in the future once rebarreled and a few other mods have been done we'll upgrade the scope too. Its really brighter than I expected too. I've had a couple Bushnells in the past and they have performed well too.

My suggestion is hit the next gun show and look through some scopes. See which reticles you like, twist the power rings to see which ones feel smoother to you. Which one looks clear and which ones don't. Maybe check some gun shops and sporting goods stores and look through the scopes.

Hope this helps. Dave Z.

 

[Moorespeedr]

Scope vs. $$$

Welcome to the club Wayne.
I was in Allen, Plano, Garland, & Denison for the last 3 weeks doing some work because of that hail you had on 4/5/03. I loved it out there! The place was nice and the people were great!:t
As for your scope situation...spend the money on the scope. I don't mean to say that you need a German on your 10/22 (it would be nice though). I bought a couple of cheap scopes for my 10/22 and now they are on a shelf, in the safe after only a couple of weeks duty on the rifle. If you plan to shoot in the on-line matches, get some power! I have one of those Deerfields that made me go cross-eyed while trying that USBR target. If you get a high power scope that is cheap (like I did), you will again go cross-eyed (looking through yellow glass makes for a headache).
You might check out SWFA or natchez. Look around, write down the models you consider after checking them out on those sites, and then do a search for those models here on RFC.
Good Luck.:t

 

[chundoo]

Wayne,

Welcome aboard! This is an addictive thing and you're probably going to end up spending more than you started out to. I recently picked up a used Weaver V-16 for $200. You can sometimes find them for that on ebay and I can highly recommend the scope. I have pretty tired eyes and need all the extra help I can get in the seein' department. I've also come to realise that it's not going to get better, only worse. So for my hard earned money I tend to go with quality on scopes and have never regretted it for a minute.

Hope you have some fun with the rimfire and good shooting!

 

[KF9VH]

Bushnell Trophy 4-12x40 AO

I have one of these and wish I had one on every rifle I own. Great scope for the money.

I have the rimfire/air rifle one by the way.

 

[spam4einstein]

Hey, Wayne Dobbs

Are you getting the kind of info you wanted?

 

[Wayne Dobbs]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the advice and experience that you've furnished! It has been a big help in making this decision. BTW, if any of you are living in the DFW area, particularly in Plano/McKinney/Allen areas, I would love to get with you and pick your brains on your experiences/opinions.

Thanks again,

Wayne Dobbs

 

[Moorespeedr]

Plano/Allen

Hey Wayne,

I don't know yet, but I may be back in your area next week. I don't know what you (a retired officer) could gain from my experiences (me being relatively new to this "high end" rimfire stuff). If I do go back out there, I will PM you.

Oh yeah, Natchez has a special on a highly respected Simmons 800116 (8-32x44) for $144 (I wish they shipped stuff to GA, but I respect their decision not to do so).

 

[ddhotbot]

ok natchez also has a simmons 8x32x44 on closeout for $69.99 on there front page.what is the difference between it and the simmons for $144.00?thanks don