Mounts
Rimfire Rifle Scopes
General features of rimfire riflescopes
Rimfire riflescopes are designed for scopes chambered in .22 LR and similar calibers. In this scope category, you can find anything from basic scope for "plinking" to serious scope for 50m Benchrest competitions.
Reticle
There are a couple of features that most rimfire scopes share. The first one is a thin reticle in the second focal plane. The second focal plane reticle is important to have as it does not change in size with the increase (or decrease) in magnification power. The reticle thus remains thin at high magnification, providing a minimal obstruction of the target.
Rimfire rifles are compact and small, so it is quite important that rimfire riflescopes feature these same two qualities.
Magnification and Parallax on Rimfire rifle scope
A high magnification combined with an adjustable parallax is incredibly useful to have on such a rifle scope. With high magnification power, the user can aim much more precisely.
The adjustable parallax allows for a precise focus setting. Certain rimfire scopes with lower magnification power come with a fixed parallax.
1-inch and 30mm tubes are used, the former being more common in the field of rimfire riflescopes.
Vortex Crossfire II 4-12x40 AO (SFP reticle) Rimfire Rifle scope Black Matte
Why do rimfire scopes need an adjustable parallax?
Shooting with a rimfire riflescope is typically done at a close range up to 70 m. In most competitions of this type, great accuracy is needed. For this reason, rimfire rifles are designed to be accurate, and only an accurate rifle scope can do them justice.
To achieve the desired accuracy, the target must be properly focused on high magnification power, which is achieved with adjustable parallax.
There are two types of adjustable parallax:
- adjustable objective ring
- side focus turret
Scopes with an adjustable objective ring are generally less expensive since fewer parts are needed to manufacture this system. It is also lighter. The downside of such a rimfire scope is the difficulty to reach the ring while in the shooting position.
Side focus rimfire scope is heavier and more expensive, but the parallax knob can be easily accessed while in the shooting position.
Is an illuminated reticle needed in a scope?
Most of these rimfire scopes are used for target shooting during the day – an illuminated reticle is not needed.
Delta Optical 6-24x42 AO Rimfire Rifle scope Black Matte
Best rifle scopes
Below, the most popular rimfire scopes are listed.
A short presentation of Rimfire products is available here.
Video presentation of Rimfire riflescopes
Slideshare Presentation
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