I am search of a new scope for my Savage model 12 BVSS. I currently have a Leupold vari x 2 3x9x40 on top of it. I use it mostly for prairie dogin. I need a higher powered scope for those dogs. My shots range from 50 to 400 yards, or more, but I would stop at 300-350 yards most of the time. I am wondering what kind of reticle to get too, I don't want to have to adjust my scope for each shot, so the adjustments are crucial. I want to spend under $340 US dollars. Power range, around 4x18, 6x20 or something similar. Tasco? Weaver? BSA? ??

6x24 Bushnell 4200 Elite or Weaver Grand Slam 6x20. Either one should work fine for what you need and fit into your budget. - Sheister

tell ya what i use, and love. i have two of the springfield 4.5-14 scopes on 223 savages with the coincindence rangefinder and bullet drop calibrater for 223.the bullet drop is designed for 69 grainers, but it works just fine with 50-55s. think they run about 350.

I'd have to back the latest Tasco 6-24x44 TS, which I have on my .223. Shows white (not yellow) image; clear to the edges; repeatable clicks; holds zero; target turrets with good strong clicks; good to at least 20xpower before eye-relief starts getting finicky. The very fine crosshairs and dot are excellent for small targets, although they do get lost at dusk -- but hey! why are you shooting varmints at dusk anyway!!

Bruce

I have the Weaver 6-20 Grand Slam on a CZ-527, and it works great. It has the fine crosshairs, and there is supposed to be a little tiny dot, but I can't see it. In any case, it works great on ground squirrels, which are smaller than prairie dogs.

Interesting thread. I'm getting a 20 tactical remmington 700 and believe I am going to be putting a weaver 4.5-14 mil dot scope on it. Anybody think of a good reason why I shouldn't?

I'd like to spend some time fooling around with mil-dots but at the same time think that 14X should be enough magnification for most of my shooting, which is about 600 yards max.

Ah the dilema.......
mil-dot are great, most of the time you need a
sighter shot to see whats going on. Then for that range your on for them doggies.
I thought the traj adjust scopes would solve the problem, and they do if ya know the range.
We used to shoot 2000 rounds a week in SD at dogs and just used a 12x Duplex and shot about 75 percent. Still had to send one down range to check the range and wind.
To shoot a dog at an unknown range and guess the wind, just takes good guesses and lots of practice.
I'm leaning toward mil-dot and lots of practice.
The BSA's are cheap-cheap in both respects but
you can get a lot of experience for little bucks.
Our local gun shop sells mem for about $110.
GOOD LUCK
JIM

I purchased a Nikon Monarch, 5.5x16.5x44. It has the Nikonplex reticle which is fine in the middle with a little wider outside, but it is pretty fine in the middle, so I think it will work.

Mark White - Unless Weaver just changed the reticle in the 4.5-14X, they do not have a mil-dot reticle. I have two, one on a .308 and one on a .300WSM and mine have more of a ranging reticle, not a true mil-dot. I like'em very much, but they are heavy.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hunter_fish:
[QB]I am search of a new scope for my Savage model 12 BVSS. I currently have a Leupold vari x 2 3x9x40 on top of it. [QB]

You didn't state caliber but it's probably either a .223 or .22-250. The 3x9 range is pretty marginal for pdogs as you've discoverd. The baseline maginfication for pdogs is 4-12. Leupold makes a good buy in a 4-12 with their Vx1 line. You lose the adjustable objective but wholesale they run for about 215. A great bargain in my mind. That'll work better than your 3-9x. On the other hand, I'd recommend you save your money and buy a Leupold 6.5-20 AO. These are the bread and butter of pdog hunting and you'll likely never part with it unless you end up moving to Massachusets or something and forsake pdog hunting altogether. So, save your money, you won't be sorry. When you go up in magnification the quality of the glass and optics in your scope becomes critical. The scope is the user interface of your rifle as is the trigger. Its best to get the best of the two relative to your budget. Also, for 400 yard shooting on pdogs, you should not need a mil dot or or other range compensation feature. Their nice but I would not pay a premium for them. If anything, a vertical target knob adjustment works well. The bigger isssues at 400 yards is mirage and wind on a hot day in the pdog towns.

Good luck.
re5513