Which SWFA fixed magnification scope for a heavy varmint rifle?

[codyadams]

Let me start off by describing my rifle build and hunting style this will be used for.

I am eventually going to build a heavy prairie dog rifle, it will be chambered in either 22-250 AI or 22 creed, with a 7 twist for the 80+ bullets. The barrel is going to either be a strait cylinder or only lightly tapered, MTU at the lightest, and 26-28" long. It is going to have a very heavy stock, I'm thinking a laminate stock and add some weight in the butt area to help balance out the heavy barrel so it sits in bags nicer. When I go shoot prairie dogs, I drive to a spot on a sunny day, set up my bench and shoot em from 50 yards to well over 1000, so a 20 lb+ rifle won't bother me. And this will be it's only purpose.

So my question is as follows - for a rifle like this, would you go with the SWFA fixed 16x42 or the fixed 20x42? I want to go with the SWFA because I have heard great things about them, such as they track well, have pretty good glass, they are tough, and they are affordable.

Being this will be a bench rifle for mostly bright days I was thinking about getting the 20x, but I don't want it to be too bad on hot days with the mirage. Does anyone have either of these that they could offer a suggestion?

Thanks everyone!!

 

[Osiek]

I have Two SWFA 20x 0ne on a 338 lapua savage stealth and one on a Armalite ssas ar-10b 308. They are great both are clear and has surprised many who have never considered a fixed power scope

 

[codyadams]

I have Two SWFA 20x 0ne on a 338 lapua savage stealth and one on a Armalite ssas ar-10b 308. They are great both are clear and has surprised many who have never considered a fixed power scope

How are they at resolution through mirage on hot sunny days?

 

[Osiek]

Very clear I originally went to swaf to purchase a 10x Leopold And after talking with them they asked if I was open to looking at there scope. I wanted a U.S. made scope and they explained that although theirs was made overseas they were only sold by them and they employed thirty six. I looked at the 10x,16x & 20x and all was as clear as the Leopold from 30 yds to 1000 yds;At least to 60 year old eyes ;and that was a hot 90+ degree Texas summer day and theirs was less costly

 

[ducky]

I think you'll be all right with either if it's strictly a prairie dog rifle. The reason I say that is if you're going to use one for any other type of shooting other than broad daylight, then go with the 10X. The reason is when you get to 16X or 20X with a 42mm objective you're going to have a very narrow field of view, plus the scope is going to seem darker faster than the 10X as the light begins to fade. Not a big deal on either as a prairie dog rig or range toy.

 

[Canhunter35]

I'd be cautious about getting a 20x fixed scope, my 20x scopes all can suffer from mirage during summer days.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

I would go 10x. I have 5 SWFAs and love them. 10x or 12x would be your best compromise for great clarity, far away shots, and minimal distortion from mirage. Look at this YouTube video of this guy crushing steel at 1000 yards with his fixed 10x. It's more than enough to get he job done.

 

[dfanonymous]

Well if you don't want a 20x then that leaves a 16x.

Next down is 12 then 10x.

I have a 16x I'd probably be selling soon since we are on the topic

 

[Saracen]

I'd be cautious about getting a 20x fixed scope, my 20x scopes all can suffer from mirage during summer days.

I agree I've always been a big fan of fixed power scopes and 12x is the maximum I'd consider. Good for over 1200 yards on a figure 11.

 

[Mike 338]

The 10x HD is pretty nice. Maybe a bit on the low power side of things for tiny targets at long range but a very good scope. Parallax only goes down to 50 yards but the scope really comes into it's own at about 250 and out.

 

[remy3424]

I would consider the issue of trying to find your target with a fixed power scope. Often the terrain doesn't have a lot of features and finding a pdawg with 10 or more power will be challenging. I am continuously turning the power down to locate the targets and turning up once located.

 

[xsn10s]

I had a fixed 12x as per MM. And I was pretty happy but got rid of it because my terrain made it hard to locate sagerats. PD are bigger so it maybe easier to locate them. In my area it was mostly tall grass, which all looks the same. In Central Oregon where I hunted chucks I kept a different set up on 10X most of the time in rocky terrain. The different shapes of the rocks help make it easier to target the chucks. Meaning I knew which way to orient due to the rock shape. If that makes sense. Variable would be easier but I'm considering a fixed 10X for my varmint rifle.

 

[BallisticsGuy]

I'm going to say OP is doing this wrong front to back. PD hunting at 1000? Fixed power scope for that? 20lbs .22-250 rifle? 80gr bullets? Laugh.

I'm just going to guess OP's not been on a PD hunt before and knows precious little about it. Seems to me that you're confusing heavy gun 1000yrd benchrest competition with prairie dog hunting.

Here's a PD hunter that knows exactly what he's doing (BTW, that's not me, just a pic cribbed from the interwebs). Compare everything you're planning to do to what you see the calm gentleman in the picture doing. Correct yourself as needed.

Barrels over 24" ain't going to get you much on a .22-250 but they do bring their own special bag of issues/problems/compromises to the party. 3700fps with 60gr bullets is easy to get. A full cylinder barrel is a waste of weight. Barrels that long and heavy need an action with a long tenon section if you want to free float it. Your scope should be something like a Leupold VXII 6-18x40 or 6-24x50 (https://www.midwayusa.com/product/6...le-objective-1-8-moa-target-dot-reticle-matte) with a fine crosshair and target dot. The whole fun of PD shooting is seeing the hit so too much magnification is only going to screw you up especially since mirage is a major issue on the big wide flat terrain you find PD's in when it's warm enough to shoot PD's enjoyably.

Thinking you're going to engage them beyond about 500-600yrds is pretty much fantasy. You have to find them first and the best shooters in the world would have trouble with any wind at those distances against a 4-6" wide PD.

 

[xsn10s]

If I remember correctly the OP lives in PD country. And is a capable shot.

 

[codyadams]

I'm going to say OP is doing this wrong front to back. PD hunting at 1000? Fixed power scope for that? 20lbs .22-250 rifle? 80gr bullets? Laugh.

I'm just going to guess OP's not been on a PD hunt before and knows precious little about it. Seems to me that you're confusing heavy gun 1000yrd benchrest competition with prairie dog hunting.

Here's a PD hunter that knows exactly what he's doing (BTW, that's not me, just a pic cribbed from the interwebs). Compare everything you're planning to do to what you see the calm gentleman in the picture doing. Correct yourself as needed.

Barrels over 24" ain't going to get you much on a .22-250 but they do bring their own special bag of issues/problems/compromises to the party. 3700fps with 60gr bullets is easy to get. A full cylinder barrel is a waste of weight. Barrels that long and heavy need an action with a long tenon section if you want to free float it. Your scope should be something like a Leupold VXII 6-18x40 or 6-24x50 (https://www.midwayusa.com/product/6...le-objective-1-8-moa-target-dot-reticle-matte) with a fine crosshair and target dot. The whole fun of PD shooting is seeing the hit so too much magnification is only going to screw you up especially since mirage is a major issue on the big wide flat terrain you find PD's in when it's warm enough to shoot PD's enjoyably.

Thinking you're going to engage them beyond about 500-600yrds is pretty much fantasy. You have to find them first and the best shooters in the world would have trouble with any wind at those distances against a 4-6" wide PD.

I grew up southwest in Wyoming. I have been killing prairie dogs for well over 20 years here. I have, on many many occasions, killed prairie dogs at ranges over 800 yards with my .260 AI, and even the occasional lucky shot with 40 grain v-max's in a standard 22-250. Heavy bullets outperform the light bullets in a 22-250 for p dogs every time, especially at extended ranges in country where they live, as winds in big open and rolling hills and sage brush flats tend to be rather aggressive. I spot hits on 20x, even at 150 yards from my braked 14 lb .260 ai, every time. A cylinder contour barrel can be set back many, many times, which is a good consideration on a high volume p-dog gun. The scope you recommended isn't a bad option, however it is out of my current price range, as I have three young children and a wife going through nursing school. I also see your from California, so that doesn't exactly back you up on having knowledge on how to hunt p-dogs. So essentially everything you said minus the scope recommendation is completely incorrect. Nice try though. Go be a keyboard warrior somewhere else, because your attempt here is rather pathetic.