Dialing scope for trainer

[H80Hunter]

I’m looking for a dialing scope for a rifle that will really only be used to shoot steel in a cornfield. No competitions, just a trainer out to 600 yards or so.

I’m leaning toward either a Vortex DBack tactical or fixed SWFA 20x or something. I know what the feedback on those two scopes will be I just figure this isn’t likely to ever be used in a serious capacity just practice rounds. I wouldn’t trust a $400 dialing vortex to hunt with (personally) but I don’t need to on this gun. So I don’t want to pay the premium for like a higher end scope since if I have issues with it the consequences are very low (vs hunting or competition shots).

Any recommendations?

 

[H80Hunter]

I see a couple Arken models that are reasonably priced. I feel like I’m asking the wrong crowd, but for doinking steel in a cornfield it seems like it has some decent features for the money. Backfire had a decent review, most of the negatives are only really dealbreakers for a hunting scope.

 

[Mountainrancher]

A 10x or 12x swfa is probably what you want

 

[Northpark]

Bushnell Engage or forge series are pretty solid. I’ve got two engage (when they had turrets not capped like now) scopes with turrets. One 4-16x44 and one 3-12x40. For the money they are great. I think I bought one for $300 and traded for the other one at a $200ish dollar value. Neither one has failed me. I use them for long range practice.

 

[Lawnboi]

Swfa 10x in a couple weeks during the Black Friday sale for 199$

 

[blairmckenzie1]

Buy a higher quality scope used or switch the good scope you have between rifles. it usually doesnt take much to re-zero and you would get more time training with the reticle/scope you are gonna hunt with

 

[justinspicher]

I don’t understand this concept. You are willing to spend more money on two scopes than just buy a better scope in the first place? You want to “train” but you are going to do it with a self admitted lower end scope and hope to achieve high end results?

Do what you want, you don’t have to listen anyone on the internet, but that seems whack to me.

 

[Wapiti1]

One of the S-TAC scopes from Sightron would do well in that role. The SWFA 10X is also a good suggestion.

Jeremy

 

[H80Hunter]

I don’t understand this concept. You are willing to spend more money on two scopes than just buy a better scope in the first place? You want to “train” but you are going to do it with a self admitted lower end scope and hope to achieve high end results?

Do what you want, you don’t have to listen anyone on the internet, but that seems whack to me.

I understand the sentiment. I guess I just meant actually: I have other guns for killing stuff reliably and even another one for technical long range. This is something I don’t necessarily want to spend a lot on because I’m using it for practice.

Sort of the same logic of: I don’t have a $1000 scope on my .22 LR but I can still practice at 100 with it and develop some skills. I wouldn’t hunt with my .22 scope on a deer rifle.

Also, I don’t want to buy two scopes I already have good scopes I need one for this rifle, I’d like to dial to have some fun but if I have a lower hit rate because of the scope I don’t really care.

 

[Wapiti1]

Forgot about the Meopta Meosport.

Jeremy

 

[Choupique]

Man this is the reason the fixed 10x SWFA is made in the first place.

 

[The Guide]

I understand the sentiment. I guess I just meant actually: I have other guns for killing stuff reliably and even another one for technical long range. This is something I don’t necessarily want to spend a lot on because I’m using it for practice.

Sort of the same logic of: I don’t have a $1000 scope on my .22 LR but I can still practice at 100 with it and develop some skills. I wouldn’t hunt with my .22 scope on a deer rifle.

Also, I don’t want to buy two scopes I already have good scopes I need one for this rifle, I’d like to dial to have some fun but if I have a lower hit rate because of the scope I don’t really care.

Why not just swap scopes from one gun to the other? Then you are practicing with the same scope that you hunt with. Once you have a known load in a gun you can rezero the scope with just a couple shots or don't even change the zero from your hunting rifle and just put the zero difference (also called zero offset) into your ballistics app and dial from there. We make things way too hard some times. Pull the scope and rings off one pic rail and put it on the other rifles rail. Shoot a quick group and put that info in your app and get to shooting!

Jay

 

[AlpineAssassin907]

SWFA 10x for fun. Can’t go wrong there. Hint….

 

[PlumberED]

NF SHV 3-10 is also a solid choice.

 

[PBBananaHammock]

Food for thought, I have a sightron stac 4-20x50 ffp listed in the classifieds thatd be up to the task.

If you will punch paper at all in addition to steel, I’d get something with a fairly high zoom so you can use it as a spotting scope on the paper. One less thing to buy/set up.

If that won’t be a consideration the swfa 10x would be your best value.

Ilya (dark lord of optics) made a great video recently on scope investment and ROI. The synopsis being, there is no sense in putting your most expensive/best piece of glass on a rifle you shoot a couple times a year and treating it as a sacred cow. If you shoot a 22lr 90% of the year, put your best optic on it so that youre actually getting a return on your investment. If you’ll be shooting this rifle most, spend or swap optics on your rifles accordingly.

No point in becoming the most intimately familiar with your most inferior optic.

Note: not saying any of the above scopes are inferior, but you get the idea… put your best optics to use. That’s why you buy it.

 

[eric1115]

Swfa 10x in a couple weeks during the Black Friday sale for 199$

This is the way.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I put an SWFA 6x on my t1x