I am in the process of planning a P dog hunt for next year. My main rifle will be a AR-15 (varmit variant) in .223.
I currently have a 3x9x 40mm Leopold on it that really should be on my deer rifle, so I am looking for a new scope. I have under $200 to spend, but I am not sure what the power should be (3x9 or larger?), and would be interested in sugestions.

NEJack,

Sounds like a great rifle. A buddy of mine had a Bushmaster Varminter out last year, it was very accurate and tons of fun. The quick followup shots are way too fun!!

He put a 3x9 on his which was, IMHO, not good for p doggin. He didn't like it either.

For prairie dogging its tough to beat a 6 x 20 (or there abouts) scope, the Leupold being near the top of the list. You can scan with the lower power and crank it up when you pick out your victim.

I've got the 6x20 Weaver Grand Slam and love it, might be able to find a used one for a bit over $200, got mine for $250.

A simmons varmint scope might fit your price range a little closer.

For very good quality at close to your price range I like the 4x14 Nikon Buckmaster at about $240 plus shipping from the Optic zone . You can get a mil-dot recticle , which I think would mbe useful for holdovers with your 223 on the longer shots.

Or you might wait and see what the new Simmons line will be like when they finally get out . 6x18 s oe 6 x20 s are supposed to be priced below $200 .

I found this at the Optics Zone. How good are the Simmons 44 mag scopes?
http://theopticzone.com/detail.aspx?ID=3677

go to the optic zone & have a look at the muellers they're less than 200 by quite a bit & I haven't heard anything bad about them yet. sure like mine

The only problem with a 3x9 power not meant for varmit or target shooting is that at the longer ranges the crosshairs blot out your target. On my CZ 527 in .223, I have a Simmons Whitetail Classic in 6.5x20x50. It has never given me any problems. Now, my buddy had a cheaper Simmons that was good for about four shots in his high power rifle and my brother has a CZ 550 in 9.3x62 with a 3x9 Simmons Atec that was good for about 40 shots before it went south. You don't have to worry about recoil that much in a .223 Remington with this 6.5x20x50 Simmons Whitetail Classic. The upside, it is very inexpensive at $99 plus $10 shipping in a clearance special from SWFA (that is on the internet), it holds zero and is fairly sharp, even for shots out to 400 yards and beyond and the crosshairs don't cover your target, you can see bullet holes at 100 yards when it is cranked up in the power range while you do load development and accuracy testing. The downside, I have a petite rifle and with that 50mm objective lens it looks like a damn television set mounted on my rifle, it is long as hell and it has that whitetail classic finish, a crinke finish like I left it in the oven too long and burned it into a black bake. Jeeze, for $110 and no taxes, you can't go wrong. Just a suggestion. Tom Purdom

Leupolds are very cheap in the long run.....trust me.

I just put a leupold 8.5-25 VX111 with varmint reticle on my rem 700 .243 and it is probably the best varmint type scope I have looked through to date......I know the NX's and Swarvo's etc. are better but this was good and well priced when you consider what the other brands I mentioned cost.

PC,
I have a Leupold on the rifle right now. Great scope, very bright and clear, but it was (and will!) go on my .308 deer rifle soon. I agree, Leupold is a top of the line scope. My problem is my bride is a little concerned with me spending more than $200 on a scope for "killing ground squirels"!

I will second the Nikon Buckmaster 4.5x14. I have this on a Rock River Arms AR15 and use it on prairie dogs early in the year. I live in Montana and have access all year long. This scope has had zero problems. If its hot out and I'm using my other rifle with a 6x20 scope its tough above 15x due to heat waves. I mainly use the AR15 out to 250yrds and with the cross hairs on the Nikon I have no trouble but they are thick and if your thinking of 500yd shots then you need a finer crosshair.
I'd look at scopes up to 15x and fine cross hairs.
My AR15 is great and when the dogs think they are safe farther out I use either a 22-250 or my new toy the 204 Ruger. Most of the time when I'm whacking them at 300 yds plus they just look at each other wondering where their friend disappeared to.
Good luck in you quest.

Whatever scope you get, don't fall into the trap that you can use the lower power to scan and then turn it up to aim and shoot. You'll suffer mucho eye fatigue if you do that.

Get yourself a good, and I mean good, pair of binoculars. Compact ones will be great if you don't like weight hanging around your neck. But don't fall for one of the fold up compacts, get a small ligtweight pair in anywhere from 7 to 8 power.

Use the binocs to scan for prairie dogs. When you find your target, pick out a landmark and then point the rifle at the landmark, then pick up your landmark in the scope, and then find your target.

Lots less stress on your eyes that way.

Good luck with your new scope whatever you get!

One of the problems with the cheaper scopes is, although they may work fine on a bolt gun, the reciprocating bolt on an AR-15 causes a dual recoil action. This results in more fatigue to the mechanism and crosshairs. You need a strong scope so don't go too cheap. I worked in R&D for military arms years ago. We found out a lot of what we thought were good scopes couldn't take the recoil. Leupold did.

I am using a burris signature 6-24x on my AR varminter. It is plenty of scope. I also have a sightron 4-16x with target knobs. It comes no where close to the burris in low light but should be plenty good for varminting. I got the Burris off of e-bay for 325 a couple years ago. and the Sightron came from a BB. I paid 225 for it and it was brand new in box.

quote:

Originally posted by prof242:
One of the problems with the cheaper scopes is, although they may work fine on a bolt gun, the reciprocating bolt on an AR-15 causes a dual recoil action. This results in more fatigue to the mechanism and crosshairs. You need a strong scope so don't go too cheap. I worked in R&D for military arms years ago. We found out a lot of what we thought were good scopes couldn't take the recoil. Leupold did.

Would a good Simmons or Mueller work? The price on the Simmons is good enough that I might just get it. If it wouldn't work on my RRA AR, then I will put in on the back up gun.

I've heard great things also about the Muellers, PLUS they're supposed to have accurate, REPEATABLE turret adjustments-- a must have in my opinion for pr. dogs, unless u have a ballistic reticle of some sort, which is exactly what i have on my ISSI upper AR in .223AI 26" Hart 9 twist. It's a Burris 4.5-14X FFII with Ballistic Plex reticle. With the 69 gr. Nosler this rig will beat most 22-250s (with the Remington factory loaded <.2 BC soft points) beyond 300 yds., and has served me well on pr. dogs to >500 yds. with a high probability of 1st shot connections using a laser.

I bought a 6-24 Burris Signature w/Ballistic mil-dot reticle for my son, it's set up to be used for his AR15, very kickass scope. My VS223 wears a fine plex Signature of the same power, you won't find a better Varmint rifle scope, course, now they're called Signature Selects, lighter, with no light collector, same great optics, as usual. Jay

I just put a sightron SII 3-12X42 MD, on my .223. Picked it up on Sale for $225 at sportsmans wharehouse. It's a real nice scope at that price. If it were my only varmint gun I would say it's not quite enough scope. But since my 22-250 has the Burris signature 6-24 Ballistic mill dot (the one Jay was talking about)that means the .223 only needs to look out to a Max 250 yards. Anything further is for the .250. Sweet talk your girl friend into letting you spend a bit more, cause you get a WHOLE lot more scope in the 3-500$ range.

Ricky

Jeez Jay-- that 6-24 Burris is a big scope for the AR. How do u like the reticle for longer-range shooting? I also have that same Burris/reticle on a 6AI, and it's fantastic for long-range out of the bigger 24's.

Rick-- how do u like it on your -250??

quote:

Originally posted by NEJack:
PC,
I have a Leupold on the rifle right now. Great scope, very bright and clear, but it was (and will!) go on my .308 deer rifle soon. I agree, Leupold is a top of the line scope. My problem is my bride is a little concerned with me spending more than $200 on a scope for "killing ground squirels"!

NE Jack,

Just go without the scope until you can afford a good one.......i'ts cheaper in the long run. Just allocate money each week or put it on lay away, a VX11 6-18 would not break the budget to much. The other thing is compromise with her and cut down in some other area on your spending. Or just tell her your getting it.....she will buy shoes when she wants remember, and her collection of un-beccesary shoes will be dearer than your nice leupold scopes

quote:

Originally posted by sscoyote:
Jeez Jay-- that 6-24 Burris is a big scope for the AR. How do u like the reticle for longer-range shooting? I also have that same Burris/reticle on a 6AI, and it's fantastic for long-range out of the bigger 24's.

Rick-- how do u like it on your -250??

Steve, We had the 6-24 on hand since I traded Tyler's VSSF for the Colt. Just shot it at100yds. But, have a 4-16 on my 6mm, and out to 300yds. the Mil-dots work very well. Jay

Roy--Nice group. We might be related.

quote:

Burris 4.5-14X FFII with Ballistic Plex reticle.

sscoyote,

How fine is the crosshairs in this scope. I was looking at this for PD shooting and was wondering how it looked at 300yds. Was also considering the Nikon 4.4-14x40 Mil Dot but have been hearing the center cross hair is a bit heavy.

Thanks,
Hawkeye58