Project Appleseed

I have 3 loaner LTRs and want to put a scope on one for kids or our Dangerous Old Men.

I have an old (15 years?) Bushnell scope that my Dad had on a 10/22. Don't know the model. I threw that on over the weekend for a mini I hosted.  After about 150 rounds, the crosshairs shifted about 6 MOA left.  The base and rings were tight, but the crosshairs moved.

So, what is an inexpensive (this is a loaner LTR after all) scope that folks recommend robust enough for Appleseed?

Thanks.

One of my loaner LTR's has this on it. Still holding up after several AS's.

http://www.bushnell.com/general/riflescopes_22rimfire_76-2239.cfm

MS,
I have three cheapo ($35-$40) Tasco 4x fixed on my LTRs.  So far, so good.  They can't monkey with the pwr settings, lock tite 'em down, and all they can do is IMC!

whatever scope you use, I recommend using ruger's picatinny rail that screws to the receiver, and low or medium rise rings to go with it (the lowest you can use and still fit your scope on -- rings usually advertise a ballpark maximum lens size scope that will fit with them).  The picatinny is better than the regular dovetail mounts, because the rings will never slide back on the reciever.  All the new 10/22s come with that rail in the box, so you probably already have one.  If not, you can buy them from midway or cheaper than dirt.

As for scopes, I just would go with the cheapest fixed 4 power you can find!  both of the aforementioned websites have a good selection, and I think wally world has some cheap ones. 

The most significant issue with scopes and Appleseed is eye relief and cheek weld.   The small (physical length) scopes which are commonly marketed for SKS and AK type rifles work well.  These are not typically very expensive scopes.  They are often marketed with a SKS mount for $30 or so. 
Give the mount to a friend if you do not need it...  
A short scope mounted low allows for you to get a good cheek weld and to "turkey neck" consisitently.  It is near impossible to hold NPOA with your head off of the stock or bent backward looking through your scope...   Use the scope with the smallest bell that you can find if you have a choice of more than 1.  We are only shooting 25M, so you do not need large lenses to bring in light.  If you find that you are lifting your head to see through the scope, add a cheek pad to your stock.  It can be as basic as duct tape and foam or you can purchase one designed for this.  There are several pads made of leather or synthetic materials which use straps often with velcro for a universal fit. 

I like old Weaver 4X 1" tube scopes.  I see them on ebay fairly cheap most of the time.  If I was putting a scope on my 10/22 that's what I'd put on it.

I'm a BIG fan of old steel tube Weaver scopes.

They can be had on eBay, but usually aren't all that cheap.

But, they work, they last and they don't break. In the long term, that makes them much cheaper than some of the alternatives.

Quote from: Nickle on June 08, 2009, 06:55:37 PM
I'm a BIG fan of old steel tube Weaver scopes.

They can be had on eBay, but usually aren't all that cheap.

But, they work, they last and they don't break. In the long term, that makes them much cheaper than some of the alternatives.

However, I'm having trouble with the eye relief on my Weavers - I find it's too long. I may go back to the cheap Tasco 4x that came with the rifle. 

Go to MidwayUSA.com and look at the Rimfire scopes. For about 115.00 you can get the Sightron 3x9 Rimfire scope that is good glass with great support and warranty.
TR

Quote from: Texas Rifleman on June 08, 2009, 10:26:49 PM
Go to MidwayUSA.com and look at the Rimfire scopes. For about 115.00 you can get the Sightron 3x9 Rimfire scope that is good glass with great support and warranty.

Sightron makes a nice 1X scope which can also be found at Midway.  Only a 20mm bell so you can slam it right down.  This is a short tube so you can get proper cheek weld.

I've got one of those inexpensive/cheap SKS/AK scopes (never fired; around 8 yrs old) that fepowered mentioned earlier. You want it, you got it.
  PM me with contact info, shipping's on me if it helps Appleseed.
   Andy

NC Star on the LTR! Pick up the cheapest gunshow special at Bill Goodman's and slap it on there with some loctite. Another option to consider would be the pellet gun scopes from Wally World or Meijer or wherever. They're usually only like $20 and work just fine on a .22.

If you are going to scope one of your LTRs get a low power so folks can't crank it up to 30X and fuss all their shots - because they will!

I have a bsa huntsman scope on my LTR it held zero even after a crash with 18 wheeler vs wrong way drunk car ,car was over 60 mph truck slowed down to less then 30 mph  so 90 mph impact ? 57000 lbs vs 2000 lbs,,,Scope HELD ZERO . it also has target knobs so ajusting is easy.


Wade

Installed a humble BSA 4x $29.00 special from Walmart on a loaner LTR,this cheap configuration has produced three riflemen so far.

Sounds like my cheap scope is the only one losing a zero.

Blueskys's LTR (10/22 International, the "pimp gun") was wearing a 4X Simmons upo until Middlebury last year. It fogged pretty bad, so off it came an on went a Leupold VariX II, 2-7. Kind of overkill, but that rifle has made more Riflemen than any other rifle I've ever seen.

OK, out of amusement I just put a 4x20 no-name on my LTR - I'll bring it to the range and see how it works.

I picked this up for $1.00 on black friday last year.

Range report on the $1.00 4x20:

I got what I paid for - it doesn't "click" - you turn a dial, and wonder! the dial seems to move on it's own.

Maybe I'll splurge for the $5.00 model 

I have a Swift 1.5-4.5x32 I gave $20 for it used a few years ago. It has some great clear glass in it for the money and holds adjustment as well. The adjustments are very repeatable to the fact that it will do a 4 MOA box by adjustments and come back to the same place. To me that is amazing in even a much higher priced scope let alone a cheapy. I believe thay sell for less than a set of tech sights new.

I put a basspro redhead 3-9x30 from my 22 mag bolt action on my wifes LTR.  Was on sale for $49.99 with binoculars.  Held zero fine on 22 mag (700-800 rounds)-only put 50 rounds thru 10/22 (with recoil buffer) so far, but seems to be holding ok. 

Meanstreaker,

Try the Simmons .22 Mag scopes, the fixed 4X is not too pricey.

Another tough cheap scope to check out is the Simmons 2.5 X shotgun scopes.

Buckshot

Anyone remember the formula for calculating eye relief? Not really very sure of some of the claims made by a lot of these ads.

Well if you want a scope thats not Chinese junk, that you may one day depend on to feed yourself, or defend yourself, look at this.
http://www.rapidreticle.com/22lr6x40.htm
I like these scopes so much I became a dealer for them. If you are interested PM me and I will give a 25% discount off retail to Appleseed shooters. 25% off means I wont make very much but I believe in the Appleseed program. Yes I know they are expensive, but read the reviews of what real people say about these scopes.
http://www.rapidreticle.com/cust_reviews.htm
I also have these with the same bullet drop reticle for the .223 and the .308 in a 3x9x42MM and in a fixed 10x power. I personally am saving my $$ to get one of these
http://www.rapidreticle.com/rr800-2.htm
for my FNAR 308 

An attendee at our last Appleseed in Miamisburg donated one to the cause.  I'll be trying it out soon.  Thanks Dan!

Midway has a couple of weaver scopes on sale right now   

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=629513
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=183610

After reading the reviews and scope discussion over at Rimfire Central. I purchased a Mueller APV for my LTR.

http://www.muelleroptics.com/products/MAPV451440.html Been happy with purchase. YMMV.

Here is place that has a good deal.

http://www.mizzoumuleguns.com/id12.html

It's not the cheapest scope on the market, but in comparison to many others it is reasonable.

And it has parallax adjustment. Since putting rounds into a one inch square is hard enough with out fighting your optics.

Here is another scope that they like.

http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&prodID=IT94640&CFID=14511778&CFTOKEN=51428357 This looks interesting but I have not tried. Based on the feedback it probably would be worth it.

Good luck with the decision.

Before anyone recommends a Nikon or Swvorski, any suggestions for maybe a 4x30 fixed, clear glass, simple cross hairs, 1/4 moa click, 2-3" eye relief, under $50? (Bonus if it's not Chinese.)

$100+ and certainly $300+ scopes are nice for a custom target build, but over the top for an LTR, particularly a loaner LTR.

Quote from: gunville on June 17, 2009, 10:22:14 PM
Before anyone recommends a Nikon or Swvorski, any suggestions for maybe a 4x30 fixed, clear glass, simple cross hairs, 1/4 moa click, 2-3" eye relief, under $50? (Bonus if it's not Chinese.)

$100+ and certainly $300+ scopes are nice for a custom target build, but over the top for an LTR, particularly a loaner LTR.

gunville,

Again, look at the Simmons .22 Mag line.  Fixed 4X and 3 -X 9 for sure, maybe a 4 - 12 also?

Probably Chinese, Taiwanese or other but decent scopes for the money on lower recoiling rifles.

Buckshot

FYI.

A good source "cheap optics" is SWFA's Sample list.

http://www.samplelist.com/

They carry every thing from Aimpoint to Zeiss.

Tonight I saw they had a used Simmons 4x32 22 Mag for $27.95

Quote from: gunville on June 17, 2009, 10:22:14 PM
Before anyone recommends a Nikon or Swvorski, any suggestions for maybe a 4x30 fixed, clear glass, simple cross hairs, 1/4 moa click, 2-3" eye relief, under $50? (Bonus if it's not Chinese.)

$100+ and certainly $300+ scopes are nice for a custom target build, but over the top for an LTR, particularly a loaner LTR.

Ebay, for old Weaver K4's or the like.