markj1
Well-Known Member
Hello All,
I am aware that this topic has been raised before, but I thought I'd start a separate thread to cover my particular circumstances. Any advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated.
For the past 5 years I was shooting a Zastava 22LR with 24" barrel and a Tasco 4x20 scope. Tasco is a well known brand manufacturing entry-level optical products, and have been around for decades. The scope was a very basic one, but the rifle shot well, the groupings were tight, and I had no reason to re-evaluate the scope situation on that rifle.
The Zastava sadly failed, and I recently replaced it with a CZ 457 22LR (with the shorter "16 barrel). See also this thread:
www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk
The CZ 457 was purchased second hand, it was made in 2020 and as far as I can tell didn't see much use (It is the lightweight barrel variant, so it is more of a hunting or tactical rifle than a target rifle, possibly explaining why it appears to not have fired very many rounds). It has a threaded barrel but did not come with a moderator or muzzle brake etc.
The rifle came with a scope fitted. The scope was poorly fitted, and it's a cheap one as well. My guess is that it was fitted to the rifle by either the previous owner or the RFD prior to putting it up for sale. This actually makes sense, because this CZ 457 model comes with no iron sights, and so it was probably thought that it would be easier to sell it if it had a scope of some description. But this is just my assumption.
The scope that it came with is an Excelvan 3-9x40EG. It costs around £40 online. The CZ 457 will be used primarily for target shooting at 25m and 50m, and rarely for moving target (running deer). It will not be fired in any other scenario. I am aware that the spec of the scope isn't ideal for my use profile, but my first thought was to see how the gun shoots with it, on the premise that if it happens to shoot fine, then sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone.
I have now had the chance to use the rifle, and the grouping at 25m is around 2" which is rather poor, even considering the short barrel (which to be honest shouldn't be an issue with Mini-Mag .22LR ammo anyway), or the fact that it's lighter and has a smaller crown (which, again, shouldn't make a huge difference).
I am inclined to blame the scope. It was difficult to get a clear image with anything higher than 3x. This very same scope is being sold online under various brand names, and I noticed that on some websites it says that the parallax is set to 150m, which made me think that I need a scope adjustable parallax.
Having given the situation some thought, I think I have three options:
I can try again with the current scope. It isn't a bad one, mind, I just think it's more of a hunting scope than a scope for traget shooting at short range. The fixed parallax can be 'manually' adjusted my unscrewing the protective lens ring and then screwing the objective lens itself in and out until the correct parallax is achieved. But ultimately I'll still have a scope that's not ideal for my type of shooting.
I can go back to the old Tasco 4x20 scope. This will probably work fine, but if I'm honest it's a bit mundane and 'boring' and not befitting my new fancy rifle... also, 4x is just about fine for shooting, but I can't really see the hits on the target via the scope, certainly not at 50m, and so I have to rely on a separate spotting scope, which is OK but not great.
And, last, I could buy a new scope....
Regarding a new scope: while there's nothing substantially wrong with the multitude of no-name Chinese optical devices available from Amazon or eBay, I personally prefer a known brand. I am not a snob..... just someone who's mechanically-minded, and I do like things to be well-built rather than flimsy or 'cheap and nasty'.
Given how I shoot the rifle, from a static position and in daylight, it will be an entry-level model from a familiar brand (which will probably be making them in China as well, but hopefully the design and the built quality will be better). I have so far seen decent offering from Hwake, BSA, and Vortex.
Magnification should be at least 4x, ideally up to 6x or 7x, but no more than 9x because that would be pointless. The objective size should be no more than 40mm (a larger objective will increase the weight and require taller rings and higher fitting of the scope). I think I definitely want a scope with adjustable parallax, even though it adds weight and potentially not as accurate as a fixed-parallax scope. I would prefer etched reticle, but they seem to be included only with the higher-end models, and so I might have to make do with a wire reticle. I am not too fussed about the actual image, but prefer it to be simple and clutter free, i.e. I don't need a range finder or BDC.
(The cheapo Excelvan does have etched reticle, but they managed to put everything but the kitchen sink into the image, which as I said, is surplus to requirement in my case. It also has illuminated reticle, which again is something I don't really need)
The ones I've seen so far that might fit the bill are these:
HAWKE VANTAGE 2-7X32 AO
MIL DOT RETICLE
Model: 14 111
(Adjustable objective)
BSA OPTICS SWEET .22 AO 3-9×40
Model: 22-39X40AOWRTB-01
(Adjustable objective)
BSA OPTICS SWEET .22 SP 3-9×40
Model: S22-39X40SP-001
(Side parallax adjustment)
VORTEX CROSSFIRE II 4-12X40 AO V-Plex (MOA) Reticle
Model: CF2-31017
(Adjustable objective)
The selection above is based on models with variable magnification and adjustable parallax. Obviously, if I end-up opting for fixed-parallax and/or single magnification, the list will be different and the models will be cheaper.
What would you suggest I do?
(And, if you have read this far... thanks for reading)
I am aware that this topic has been raised before, but I thought I'd start a separate thread to cover my particular circumstances. Any advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated.
For the past 5 years I was shooting a Zastava 22LR with 24" barrel and a Tasco 4x20 scope. Tasco is a well known brand manufacturing entry-level optical products, and have been around for decades. The scope was a very basic one, but the rifle shot well, the groupings were tight, and I had no reason to re-evaluate the scope situation on that rifle.
The Zastava sadly failed, and I recently replaced it with a CZ 457 22LR (with the shorter "16 barrel). See also this thread:
Looking for recommendations for .22 bolt action with a scope
I had to get rid of my Zastava CZ 99 Precision after it failed and I couldn't get spare parts for it. I am thinking of replacing it with something similar. It will be used for target shooting only. Any recommendations? Ideally it will be a lightweight bolt action rifle using 10 round mags...
www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk
The CZ 457 was purchased second hand, it was made in 2020 and as far as I can tell didn't see much use (It is the lightweight barrel variant, so it is more of a hunting or tactical rifle than a target rifle, possibly explaining why it appears to not have fired very many rounds). It has a threaded barrel but did not come with a moderator or muzzle brake etc.
The rifle came with a scope fitted. The scope was poorly fitted, and it's a cheap one as well. My guess is that it was fitted to the rifle by either the previous owner or the RFD prior to putting it up for sale. This actually makes sense, because this CZ 457 model comes with no iron sights, and so it was probably thought that it would be easier to sell it if it had a scope of some description. But this is just my assumption.
The scope that it came with is an Excelvan 3-9x40EG. It costs around £40 online. The CZ 457 will be used primarily for target shooting at 25m and 50m, and rarely for moving target (running deer). It will not be fired in any other scenario. I am aware that the spec of the scope isn't ideal for my use profile, but my first thought was to see how the gun shoots with it, on the premise that if it happens to shoot fine, then sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone.
I have now had the chance to use the rifle, and the grouping at 25m is around 2" which is rather poor, even considering the short barrel (which to be honest shouldn't be an issue with Mini-Mag .22LR ammo anyway), or the fact that it's lighter and has a smaller crown (which, again, shouldn't make a huge difference).
I am inclined to blame the scope. It was difficult to get a clear image with anything higher than 3x. This very same scope is being sold online under various brand names, and I noticed that on some websites it says that the parallax is set to 150m, which made me think that I need a scope adjustable parallax.
Having given the situation some thought, I think I have three options:
I can try again with the current scope. It isn't a bad one, mind, I just think it's more of a hunting scope than a scope for traget shooting at short range. The fixed parallax can be 'manually' adjusted my unscrewing the protective lens ring and then screwing the objective lens itself in and out until the correct parallax is achieved. But ultimately I'll still have a scope that's not ideal for my type of shooting.
I can go back to the old Tasco 4x20 scope. This will probably work fine, but if I'm honest it's a bit mundane and 'boring' and not befitting my new fancy rifle... also, 4x is just about fine for shooting, but I can't really see the hits on the target via the scope, certainly not at 50m, and so I have to rely on a separate spotting scope, which is OK but not great.
And, last, I could buy a new scope....
Regarding a new scope: while there's nothing substantially wrong with the multitude of no-name Chinese optical devices available from Amazon or eBay, I personally prefer a known brand. I am not a snob..... just someone who's mechanically-minded, and I do like things to be well-built rather than flimsy or 'cheap and nasty'.
Given how I shoot the rifle, from a static position and in daylight, it will be an entry-level model from a familiar brand (which will probably be making them in China as well, but hopefully the design and the built quality will be better). I have so far seen decent offering from Hwake, BSA, and Vortex.
Magnification should be at least 4x, ideally up to 6x or 7x, but no more than 9x because that would be pointless. The objective size should be no more than 40mm (a larger objective will increase the weight and require taller rings and higher fitting of the scope). I think I definitely want a scope with adjustable parallax, even though it adds weight and potentially not as accurate as a fixed-parallax scope. I would prefer etched reticle, but they seem to be included only with the higher-end models, and so I might have to make do with a wire reticle. I am not too fussed about the actual image, but prefer it to be simple and clutter free, i.e. I don't need a range finder or BDC.
(The cheapo Excelvan does have etched reticle, but they managed to put everything but the kitchen sink into the image, which as I said, is surplus to requirement in my case. It also has illuminated reticle, which again is something I don't really need)
The ones I've seen so far that might fit the bill are these:
HAWKE VANTAGE 2-7X32 AO
MIL DOT RETICLE
Model: 14 111
(Adjustable objective)
BSA OPTICS SWEET .22 AO 3-9×40
Model: 22-39X40AOWRTB-01
(Adjustable objective)
BSA OPTICS SWEET .22 SP 3-9×40
Model: S22-39X40SP-001
(Side parallax adjustment)
VORTEX CROSSFIRE II 4-12X40 AO V-Plex (MOA) Reticle
Model: CF2-31017
(Adjustable objective)
The selection above is based on models with variable magnification and adjustable parallax. Obviously, if I end-up opting for fixed-parallax and/or single magnification, the list will be different and the models will be cheaper.
What would you suggest I do?
(And, if you have read this far... thanks for reading)
Last edited:
