I like irons but I also like scopes. I am wondering what type-magnification and mfg do ya'll use on your Hornets?

Drew

I have several CZ hornets, the 19 Calhoon wears an older 6-18 Leupold, K has a 6-18 Buckmaster, the chopped American has a 4-12 Trophy as does the Full stock piece and my custom english walnut has a 6-18 buckmaster.
Scopes in Canada a kind of expensive relative to the mail order deals you fellows in the USA can get.All the scopes I have on these and almost all of my rifle I bought used. For me I use the low magnifacation in the field and high at the range.
I'd say that 6-18 is over kill for the shooting I do with my Hornets, 4-12 is plenty. Seems to me that some place in the USA is clearing out 4-12 Bushnell 3200's for I think it was $179.00. FS

My Ruger wears one of the older USA made Burris 3-9x Compacts.

My hornet (an NEF handi rifle) has a 3-9x40 Bushnell Trophy on it. I bought the hornet on a whim and the Bushnell was the only spare scope I had lying around, so I put it on the Hornet. So far it seems to work just fine.

I have an older Tasco 3-12 that was a hand-me-down. It is horrible to look through, I can only see clearly up to about 9x or 10x. But it holds zero year after year, so it stays for now. I'd say a 3-9x will do all that you need it to for plinking varmints.

Good luck.

3-9 Redfield on my Handi Hornet, bought it used and it came that way, and I havent felt a need to change it, seems to work fine.

I just fired my new to me cz527 yesterday and it wears an old Redfield 2-7. Size is perfect.

I have Several Burris compacts on similar sized rifle and love them.

I just mounted a 2-7 Kahles on my Browning 1885 Low Wall. The scope really fits the rifle's overall slim size very well.

My Browning has a 4-12X Nikon on it.

quote:

Originally posted by drewhenrytnt:
I like irons but I also like scopes. I am wondering what type-magnification and mfg do ya'll use on your Hornets?

You asked specifically about magnification and you got back a lot of comments on specific scope makes in a range of magnifications.

As with any rifle, the magnification you choose (or magnification range, in the case of a variable) is determined more by the use you intend for the rifle than by its caliber. But considering that Hornets are at best short-to-medium range rifles and the typical targets for a Hornet are proportionally as small as the cartridge, then something in the 9X top-end range in a variable tends to be about right.

While some Hornets are on full-sized actions and are rather bulky, if your Hornet is on a true Hornet-sized action then that calls for a somewhat compact scope for balance and compatability. I own three Hornets (one of them a K-Hornet) built on true Hornet-sized actions (Kimber 82, Sako 78, and Ruger 77-22H). All of them wear Leupold compact 3-9X scopes as this seems to be both the right power and the right size for the little rifles.

On my #1 K-Hornet I'm using an older Leupold M8 8X AO.

StoneCreek

Mine is the Anschutz 1733D that was for sale in the classifieds awhile back. The action is tiny! I kinda figured some variation of a compact would look and work properly. One issue I want to avoid is reticle covering the target. I guess hvy duplex is out of the question. What about something with a German #4 illuminated center dot?

Next up is a scope for a 221Fireball on a Remy 700.

Perhaps I should ask Geedubya.

Drew: The regular Duplex with its fine center section works well for smallish targets like prairie dogs or ground squirrels. Either the 3-9X or 2-7X Leupold Compact (now called Ultralight) would be a great match for your Anschutz.

I mounted a Leupold 4-12 VX-II with the LR reticle on my .221. If you keep the power to no more than 12X you can usually see the bullet impact in the scope picture (important when sniping at colony varmints like prairie dogs). The LR reticle gives you excellent reference points for longer shots, and I've found the little .221 to be as capable of 300-350 yard shots as any of the larger .22 centerfires. I did try a 6-18X on it, but at 18X the FOV was just small enought that the recoil, light thought it is, is just enough to jump the scope off of the target so you miss seeing your impact. A 14X scope might still allow you to see the bullet impact, depending on how generous its FOV and how heavy your rifle is (the heavier the less recoil movement.)

I have an Anschutz and an old Kimber, both have Leupold 4-12 A/O scopes.

My Brno 465 wears a 3.5-10x AO leupold..
works great, I need another one.

Leupold 2.5 x 8

My 77/22H has had a very old Leupold 10X on it since Day One. I took it to the range to test, and it shot in the 3/4" range at 100 and under 2" at 200. Common sense says "if it ain't broke, you can't fix it..."

If I ever did replace it, a Leupold 3-9X would probably go on top.

My low-wall has a Leupold 2-7 VX II on it. My old Savage wears it's old Weaver 4X.

The little 2-7 seems perfect.

I have a couple of the Leupold compact 2x-7x and they are great scopes. In Leupold compact 3x-9x you have a couple of choices. One choice has EFR--Extended Focal Range. This scope has adjustable objective so it can be focused at closer range. I have this scope on an air rifle and I really like it. On the hornet you may not need that ability to focus to a closer range and the scope is higher priced, but it would be great.

IMO the hornet is a 250 yard gun therefore I like a small scope such as a 6X Leupold Alaskan if you can find one. Those 7/8in scopes sure look cute on a little Hornet..I sold my last one to Jack Belk some years ago..I still have a 2.5X Leupold Alaskan and Talley QD rings and bases or a set of Weavers, but its going on my 404 Jefferys..It came in 2.5X, 4X and 6X..they bring high dollar but they are worth every penney of it to me.

I hate to see a big ole huge scope on a nice petite rifle..I see guys with nice custom fwt. rifles with big bloody scopes on them that defeat the whole purpose of a small compact rifle.

I have an old Leupold 10X on my 22 K Hornet and I think that it is perfect for ground squirrels. I have a 3-9 on my Hornet and do not like it as much. I prefer the fixed power scopes on my varmint rifles and 10X seems to be perfect for ground squirrels out to 200 yards.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
My 77/22H has had a very old Leupold 10X on it since Day One. I took it to the range to test, and it shot in the 3/4" range at 100 and under 2" at 200. Common sense says "if it ain't broke, you can't fix it..."

If I ever did replace it, a Leupold 3-9X would probably go on top.

R.F. Sedgley short action Hornet built on a shortened NM 03 action in the 30s.
Lyman Alaskan fitted with 8X Litscherts converter and 1/2" Lee dot. One can only guess the work required to shorten a standard 03' action with only gas welding !

45-70: That Sedgley is a beauty! But it gives me a sharp pain in the hip pocket to think about what it would cost these days to duplicate that custom work. I would think it would push five figures.

As two quotes from my buddies say:

"Have you ever seen an armored car following a hearse?"

"When you don't know who you are, are wearing a diaper and drooling on yourself, it doesn't really matter if you're broke."

A few more deluxe Sedgleys for you to enjoy:
Top a 6.5x55 on a NM action. Bottom a 22-06.



Top the Hornet bottom a 400 Whelen that once belonged to the fellow pictured below.

My 528 FS (full stock) sports a Burris 6X Mini. Looks good (proportional to gun) and shoots even better.

on my remington 799 i use a old 7/8"tube maxwell smith 2.5x. it fits the size of the action & i only paid $13 for it on ebay.

In this instance I'm using a 4.5 x 14 x 44 Leupold. On a number of such "varminters" I use 2.5 x 8 and 3 x 9 as these are not used for long range sniping.


Although not hornets, the rifles below are both chambered in 222 Remington. Cousins if you would. Each for a specific purpose. The heavy barreled Vixen sports a 6.5 x 20 Leupold. The Riihimaki is a walking varminter for up close and personal and wears a 2.5 x 8.



Its hard to do all things with one rifle. I'd decide what you plan to do with your hornet then choose accordingly.

GWB