Recomend me a scope

[Alpha1]

Hi people
I need a scope to go on a .222 rifle its a heavy barrel Varmit rifle so target shooting is the intended use. After reading some of the posts on here I'm thinking of buying a Vortex but I have no idea what model to go for. I'm open to suggestions on other makes.
I know very little about scopes. So I'm up for being educated.
I am limited in the distances I can shoot at. It will mainly be used at 25yards out doors but occasionally I get to shoot at distances from 100 yards out to 450 yards and may be 500 max. It is unlikely I will ever shoot at greater distances than this. I don't want to pay a fortune but I would like a scope with a side focus knob. If that's the wrong terminology my apologies.

[Les]

Have a look at the Hawke range. They are excellent scopes at sensible prices.

[Duey]

Alpha1 scopes can be a nightmare with the huge variety available
I would recommend that you buy the best you can afford and not go down the cheap route and look at better scopes on the second hand market, looking for leupold, sightron, smidt & bender, and also vortex, bushnell
To shoot out to 500/600yds I would suggest a variable power scope upto minimum 20power or better 25power and preferably with target type turrets for ease of dialling in especially when out to 500ish yds
You will soon want to try out further so best advise is buy once and cry once
A good scope you will always keep even when or if you change the rifle
Optics warehouse do good deals and good finance options as well if your comfortable going down that route
Often payout on scopes can be more than the rifle they go on but makes all the difference to your shooting
Good luck

Duey

[Tomo]

I'd recommend the Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 FFP MRAD/MRAD scope.

Love mine, easy to set up and use, great beginners scope as it's easy to measure how far off you're shooting, adjust and then get on target. Ive shot mine from 100-600yds (on a .308 remi SPS varmint) at Bisley and it does the job.

[Sim G]

Despite my affiliation for all optical things being Leupold, I have been very impressed with the Vortex scopes I've seen. Burris and the high end Bushnell are also very good.

[The Gun Pimp]

Alpha 1 - it's either cheap n cheerful Chinese (but don't pay more than £150) or serious stuff. Don't pay silly money for Chinese optics.

Sightron would probably be the best value Japanese at reasonable money. If you're willing to spend £1000 plus then you can get into the quality stuff.

Personally - for your needs, I would opt for one of Fox Firearms 8-32 Chinese scopes. Great value at £125 and sold elsewhere for over twice that price. (Yes, they do have side-focus).

[Alpha1]

I looked at the Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 FFP MRAD/MRAD scope.
First off. I have no idea what Mrads are I do know what minutes of angle are.
Not sure what the PST stands for.
SFP I guess means second focal plane.
FFP I guess means first focal plane.
What's the difference and why choose one over the other.

This scope by the looks of it has an illuminated reticule what's the advantage of a illuminated reticule bearing in mind the type of shooting I do at the distances I posted earlier is it worth the extra dosh. I don't shoot competitively I enjoy the day out and the banter and shooting gives me lots of cases to re load. I really like re loading probably more than the shooting.

I will have a look at hawk scopes I'm not really bothered about the cost.(Within reason) I would like something reasonable but I aint going to pay thousands for one.

[WelshShooter]

I looked at the Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 FFP MRAD/MRAD scope.
First off. I have no idea what Mrads are I do know what minutes of angle are.
Not sure what the PST stands for.
SFP I guess means second focal plane.
FFP I guess means first focal plane.
What's the difference and why choose one over the other.

This scope by the looks of it has an illuminated reticule what's the advantage of a illuminated reticule bearing in mind the type of shooting I do at the distances I posted earlier is it worth the extra dosh. I don't shoot competitively I enjoy the day out and the banter and shooting gives me lots of cases to re load. I really like re loading probably more than the shooting.

I will have a look at hawk scopes I'm not really bothered about the cost.(Within reason) I would like something reasonable but I aint going to pay thousands for one.

You'd best stick with MOA then my friend. In its basic form moa = inches and mrad = centimetre. Each has their advantages but mostly depends on whether the user works in metric or imperial.

You can get the aforementioned Vortex scope in moa so don't worry. When people say moa/moa it means that the turrets adjust in moa and the reticle holdover are calibrated in moa. If this sounds like common sense that's because it is, but there are some scopes out there that have mildots on the reticle but the turrets are in moa so it can be confusing trying to think "if I change x MOA how many milrads is that?"

If you're shooting at known distances then don't bother with FFP. It's a useful reticle which you can use to calculate distances to target and it keeps your reticle calibrated at any magnification range (ie the reticle grows in size as you zoom in). The downside to this is that if you're trying to shoot at precision targets at long distance the reticle can cover the target. With SFP the reticle always stays the same size when you zoom in. Great for when you're shooting precision at know distances but crap if you shoot at different magnification levels at different ranges because the reticle holdover are only calibrated at one magnification level.

The illuminated reticle is only really useful for shooting in low light conditions. I've never felt the need to use mine. The vortex scope also comes with a side parallax adjustment as opposed to objective bell adjustment. It's very simple and quick to use.

I hae two of the scopes that Tomo suggested, one of which won't be used for a couple of months. Alpha, you're welcome to borrow this for a couple of weeks to try out if you want but it is in mrad not moa.

[Alpha1]

Wow that's a very generous offer thanks very much but I would not dare if I damaged it I would be mortified.
Every thing I touch falls to bits.

[Duey]

What part or the country are you in
You may get some local help if we know

Duey