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View Full Version : My new varmint slayer



shagster
01-31-2007, 09:55 AM
I just purchased this gun last week so hopefully it will be here sometime soon. I got a great deal at Impact guns in Ogden. This is a Standard Ruger in the 204 caliber. I have heard very exciting things about this caliber and I can't wait to get out and give er a try. The trouble that I am facing now is which scope to put on this thing. Any suggestions on a good varmint scope?

DAA
01-31-2007, 12:56 PM
Nice rifle!

How much you wanna spend on the scope? And what all do you plan on using the rifle for? Can probably narrow your scope choices down quite a bit by knowing those two things.

- DAA

shagster
01-31-2007, 01:01 PM
I am not so much worried about price as I am about getting a good quality scope that can hold up to the gun. I will be using it to shoot coyotes, pot guts, rabbits and any other varmint that moves. I would like to try to get it sighted in for those long shots. I was told I could shoot this up to about 450 yds.

shlingdawg
01-31-2007, 03:53 PM
I just picked up a new varmint gun last month. Mine is a 22-250 but I use it for the same things you will use your 204. I paired mine with a Nikon Buckmaster in the 6-18x40 variety. While the only thing I've killed are a few dozen jackrabbits, I have taken them anywhere from 10 to over 300 yards. Nice optics for the money too ($360)

fourtycal
01-31-2007, 06:42 PM
That is a sweet gun. I also hear a lot of good about the 204.

My latest rifle is just a few weeks old. For some reason :wallbash: I skimped on the scope, I now own a great gun with a $200 dollar piece of crap on it. As soon as I recover from the purchase I will be buying a Leupold VX-L for the rifle. http://www.leupold.com/products/vx-l.htm
I have Leupold Varix-3's on a few other guns and I can say that for me it was money well spent. I am a fan of Leupold.

Anyway to make a short story long, dont skimp on the scope. :thumb:

DAA
01-31-2007, 07:57 PM
For mixed use like that, I prefer variables in the neighborhood of 4-14X. And for a fairly light and dainty rifle like that one, I also prefer to try and keep the scope somewhat compact and lightweight.

So, my first choice for that rifle would probably be a Leupold VX-III 4.5-14x40 (http://www.leupold.com/products/Info_VX-III.htm). I've got them on four or five rifles in the older Vari-X III models. Not too big and nice and lightweight to compliment a trim sporter like that Ruger. The 4.5X on the low end gives a pretty good field of view for coyote stands or jump shooting jacks. The 14X high end is pretty decent for sniping smaller varmints at longer ranges. Both my favorite coyote hunting rifle and my favorite jack rabbit rifle wear these scopes. The glass on Leupold's is good, not great, but good.

If you don't mind a bit heavier scope, and might be interested in spending a bit more to get better glass, I'd look at the Zeiss Conquest 4.5-14x50 (http://www.zeiss.com/c1256bcf0020be5f/Contents-Frame/ec215ec620626f1e852571d700377d7e). That's what I've got on my Nesika .20-250. I think it's a bit bulky and heavy for the rifle you are getting, but the glass is definitely a notch above Leupold, and the scope also has more repeatable and precise click adjustments. Which matters to me a lot on that rifle, but probably won't matter to you on the little Ruger .204.

And if you really don't mind spending a nice little chunk of change to get a REALLY nice scope for that rifle, have a look at the Swarovski Habicht AV (http://www.swarovskioptik.com/index.php?c=produkte&l=en&nID=x434b76b737c887.28186349&css=&detail=en1129124720__ID434d13700358b8.08988222&produktname=Habicht%20AV) in either 3-10x42 or 4-12x50. I have the 3-10x42 on my 7 Mag. Truly awesome piece of optical engineering! But, a bit heavy, and way expensive.

- DAA

Brian in SLC
02-01-2007, 07:19 AM
For mixed use like that, I prefer variables in the neighborhood of 4-14X. And for a fairly light and dainty rifle like that one, I also prefer to try and keep the scope somewhat compact and lightweight.

Is there anything better than good glass?

I'd recommend to bump up the power a notch. That rig ain't meant to shoot at close range. I'd probably look at 6.5 -20X or a B&L 6-24X.

I have a 6.5 - 20X on my .220 Swift and the thing is always on 20X.

Swarovski...that's a nice scope...

Is Bausch and Lomb still making scopes? I see that Bushnell doesn't carry them anymore...I have a 6-24X with a custom reticle and its pretty sharp...(atop, of all things, a pellet rifle). Speaking of which, anyone know where I can get a BDC mount (.007") for a Beeman air rifle? Beer can shims just ain't cuttin' it...

-Brian in SLC

DAA
02-01-2007, 08:10 AM
Is Bausch and Lomb still making scopes? I see that Bushnell doesn't carry them anymore...I have a 6-24X with a custom reticle and its pretty sharp...(atop, of all things, a pellet rifle). Speaking of which, anyone know where I can get a BDC mount (.007") for a Beeman air rifle? Beer can shims just ain't cuttin' it...

-Brian in SLC

Bushnell took over B&L awhile ago. Maybe six or seven years now? The Busnell "Elite" 3200 and 4200 are identical to the old B&L Elites. They're a good value too. The glass is really good for the price and the Elites have shown to have better mechanical integrity than many comparably priced scopes (as you obviously know, having one on a springer). Really, a great bang-for-the-buck scope.

Not too sure about a BDC mount... I'd try Pomona Airguns (http://www.pomona-airguns.com/) or Airgun Express (http://www.airgunexpress.com/).

Which Beeman are you shooting? They make some real beauties. I've got a tuned .20 R9 that I don't use nearly enough. Really nice air rifle though.

- DAA

Brian in SLC
02-01-2007, 08:49 AM
Which Beeman are you shooting? They make some real beauties. I've got a tuned .20 R9 that I don't use nearly enough. Really nice air rifle though.

HW97 in .177. Best darn trigger I've ever felt. Puts 'em all in the same hole at 10 meters. Amazing rifle. Thing looks pretty funny with a big scope and sun shade on it. Heavy enough from the get go, barely notice the weight increase (rifle weighs a tad over 9lbs bare).

I'm pretty maxed out on the scope, though, hence the BDC mount need. I ordered one that Beeman recommended from an outfit in Texas but, they never delivered... Would really like to shoot at a tad greater distance than my "indoor range" (ie, kitchen to the back of the garage is exactly 10 meters).

If you're ever in Huntington Beach, CA, stop into the Beeman shop. They do some amazing things there (besides their stock of Beeman products, feller let me play with their olympic models...WOW). They do custom work for "folks", especially high end optics, custom stuff, really wild (like 50X scopes for long distance "work"). Be a good diversion from Disneyland...

I've always coveted them Swarovki scopes, especially with the shock absorber built in. I've got an old scope kiss scar from when I was 5... Always thought if I scoped my .375 H&H I'd toss one of those on...they had a booth at the Summer Outdoor Retailer here in SLC a year or so ago. Chatted with the feller for awhile. Amazing stuff. Guy at work here got a pair of the binoc's at a swap meet for 90 bucks (and had the nerve to talk the guy down from 100). 10X42's. No doubt hotter'n a horse pistol.

Anyhoo...fun stuff.

-Brian in SLC

DAA
02-01-2007, 09:39 AM
Oh heck yeah... Those underlever Beemans like the '97 are extra SWEET. If I'm remembering right, the HW97 packs a pretty good punch too.



I'm pretty maxed out on the scope, though, hence the BDC mount need.
-Brian in SLC

Ahh! Now I get ya. Makes perfect sense too. One of the drawbacks to those scopes is the limited internal adjustment. Lots of ways to fix that though. I'd suggest using Burris Signature rings (http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=422013). I run these rings on a BUNCH of different rigs. And I know lots of guys that use them with your same scope for exactly the same reason you are looking at. Aside from being able to use offset inserts to get you back in the adjustment range of your scope, these rings make it brain-dead simple to get a really nice stress free scope mount too. No ring marks on your scope either. They're a better mousetrap in a lot of ways, like I said, I use them a lot. Kind of fugly, compared to some of the nice sculpted steel rings, but functional as all hell. Try 'em, I bet they cure what's ailing ya on that HW97 with the B&L!

- DAA

Rev. Coyote
02-01-2007, 10:37 AM
Oops...never mind...

Brian in SLC
02-01-2007, 11:22 AM
Oh heck yeah... Those underlever Beemans like the '97 are extra SWEET. If I'm remembering right, the HW97 packs a pretty good punch too.

Yeah, north of 900fps. Wild pellet selection Beeman offers, too, including a hollowpoint in .177. Crazy. Pretty darn good penetration into a yellow pages at 10m. Be fine for short range critter bustin'.

Feller at Beeman claims they don't break in for several 1000 rounds, and he's got some huge number of shots through his (one of his main comp. rifles), like 20k plus.


Ahh! Now I get ya. Makes perfect sense too. One of the drawbacks to those scopes is the limited internal adjustment. Lots of ways to fix that though. I'd suggest using Burris Signature rings (http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=422013). I run these rings on a BUNCH of different rigs. And I know lots of guys that use them with your same scope for exactly the same reason you are looking at. Aside from being able to use offset inserts to get you back in the adjustment range of your scope, these rings make it brain-dead simple to get a really nice stress free scope mount too. No ring marks on your scope either. They're a better mousetrap in a lot of ways, like I said, I use them a lot. Kind of fugly, compared to some of the nice sculpted steel rings, but functional as all hell. Try 'em, I bet they cure what's ailing ya on that HW97 with the B&L!

No kiddin'...hmmm....I'll be darned.

I have a one piece mount with the bottom half of the rings as one solid piece. Looks like I could slip a set of these right in.

You mean I'd have to spend a whoppin' 7 bucks instead of 60?

I do kinda like the idear of gettin' the whole scope up a bit higher off the rifle with an add on BDC mount below the regular scope mount, though.

I'd imagine I'd need a set of two? Was looking at the .007 offset BDC mount, so, what do you figure I'd need instead? These things come as a set of two pairs of halves? In other words, four pieces (top and bottom for front and back)? .005 or .010 (might want more than less for longer distance).

What a great idea! Beats bear can shims.

How do these things fit? I'd imagine they don't look super spiffy, but, have a bit of hangover space in the mounts (especially non Burris rings)?

What's your opinion? Get the scope up a tad more off the rifle with a full extra mount (which might be more ergo for shooting with the cheekpiece on the rifle, too, maybe better head position and more comfy), or, slip some of these Burris offset rings in? And, if the burris option, which set?

Great info!

-Brian in SLC

DAA
02-01-2007, 02:02 PM
The Signature rings come as a complete set - two rings, two pieces each, plus the inserts. The inserts will only work with the Sig. rings though - they won't work with your existing rings. So you'd have to buy the whole set, which for the ones I linked above would be about $45 - $50 with shipping. And you wouldn't be using your existing scope mount at all anymore. Your HW97 should have a grooved receiver to accept standard rings for 11MM grooves. Those rings I linked will clamp right onto your receiver, so you don't need a base to go with them. Without knowing exactly how much adjustment you need to gain back (and it will change, if the height of the new rings is different than your old mount), it's hard to say what size offset inserts you'll need. You can buy a pack of the inserts that come with all different sizes. Or, I've got a bunch of them, be glad to give you a few that would likely work.

You know what though... I've been thinking about this a bit more. While the Sig. rings will absolutely solve your adjustment problem, they might introduce a new problem. Powerful spring piston air rifles like your HW97 (and even my R9), are notorious for just flat out brutalizing scope mounts (and scopes too, for that matter). Most all good scope mounts made specifically for air rifles, have some sort of mechanism built into them to prevent the rings (or base) from moving forward in the grooves on the receiver. I'm sure your existing mount has a design feature for defeating this problem. The Beeman made scope mount on my R9 uses a pin that extends from the bottom of one of the rings into a recess in the top of the receiver for this purpose. The Signature rings, unfortunately, have no provision for preventing this ring creep. And with a scope as heavy as your B&L 6-24, I'm afraid it would probably be a real issue if you were to use the Sig. rings. At least if you were to use them "as is".

So, all that in mind, I did a little checking around to see what I could come up with to address this issue and still be able to use the Sig. rings. I found a couple different options that I think would work for you. One simple solution that will work just great with the Sig. rings is a Beeman made scope stop like this one sold by Straightshooters.com (http://www.straightshooters.com/beeman/bm5090scopestop.html). That one is the least expensive version. They have a few others that are nicer and get more expensive. But they all appear to function essentially the same. I found several other ways to use the Sig. rings and still address the ring creep, but these scope stops are the most simple and least expensive. And, I'm betting the most effective.

Another option of course is to skip the Sig. rings and use a BDC mount like you originally asked about. I found several of them at Straightshooters.com. I suggested two sources above, but forgot all about Straightshooters, which is where I actually buy most of my air rifle stuff. They have a very good selection of mount options, many of which are designed specifically to address your barrel droop/scope adjustment problem. I like this Beeman 1 piece mount (http://www.straightshooters.com/beeman/bm50321piecedroopermount.html) myself. I'm guessing it's very similar to the mount you already have, except it has .030 of BDC built in to it. I don't think .030 is too much, either, by the way. I'll touch briefly on that in just a second. This mount has both the pin that goes into the receiver recess and a long clamping surface to fight ring creep. Really, as much as I like the Sig. rings, I think this is a safer bet for solving your existing problem without creating any new ones. Money wise, they look to be about $65 with shipping, which is about what the Sig. rings would be with the scope stop. There are models in different heights available there too, if you decide you want to get the scope higher off the comb like you were talking about - which, by the way, is purely personal preference.

Briefly, why I say .030 is not too much... In a perfect scope mount, the mechanical adjustments will be centered at the same time your rifle is zeroed. That is to say, the erector tube assembly inside the scope will be mechanically centered, thus the scope will also be optically centered. This is desirable for a lot of reasons. I've been way too long winded already though, so I'll spare y'all going into it.

Sorry for being so long winded here. Kind of a bad habit of mine, once I get started...

- DAA

Brian in SLC
02-01-2007, 02:51 PM
Your HW97 should have a grooved receiver to accept standard rings for 11MM grooves.

Yepper.


You know what though... I've been thinking about this a bit more. While the Sig. rings will absolutely solve your adjustment problem, they might introduce a new problem. Powerful spring piston air rifles like your HW97 (and even my R9), are notorious for just flat out brutalizing scope mounts (and scopes too, for that matter). Most all good scope mounts made specifically for air rifles, have some sort of mechanism built into them to prevent the rings (or base) from moving forward in the grooves on the receiver. I'm sure your existing mount has a design feature for defeating this problem.

Pretty sure it does. I'm using the 5040 mount right now, and it came with a pin for scope stop.

Abusive backwards recoil, check. My B&L scope seems to do just fine, but, it is a well built quality scope with 10m focusing (mandatory). And the current scope mount seems bomb proof. Sweet rig.


5032Beeman 1 piece mount. I'm guessing it's very similar to the mount you already have, except it has .030 of BDC built in to it.

Looks pretty similar in the catalog, which states its a one piece single screw mount, as opposed to the 5040 which is a one piece double screw mount. Funny that the folks at Beeman didn't suggest that mount, but, instead nudged me towards the BKL mount (model 267).


Briefly, why I say .030 is not too much... In a perfect scope mount, the mechanical adjustments will be centered at the same time your rifle is zeroed. That is to say, the erector tube assembly inside the scope will be mechanically centered, thus the scope will also be optically centered. This is desirable for a lot of reasons. I've been way too long winded already though, so I'll spare y'all going into it.

Nah, thats great stuff.

I think I'll probably just check out my original idear of going with the BKL mount. I might not mind the scope a tad higher, and, these mounts are pretty sweet. Hope they can come through this time, though.

Thanks a bunch for the info!

Sorry to the rest of the folks for the thread drift...

-Brian in SLC

REDFOX
02-01-2007, 09:08 PM
You can't go wrong with any of the above scope suggestions. I like the Nikon monarch series and Burris Black Diamond series scopes. I would recommend 6.5-20 if you intend on shooting potguts or prairie dogs. I have 2 guns with 6x24 power scopes, but my favorite is the 8x32 burris on my .17hmr.

DAA
02-02-2007, 05:30 AM
Brian, I don't think you'll be disapointed with the BKL mount. I use BKL stuff on a couple of my rimfires and have nothing but good things to say about them.

- DAA

shagster
03-13-2007, 07:57 PM
Well here is what I ended up with. Ruger 204 paired with a Nikon 3-9x40 with a BDC recticle. I haven't had much time to shoot it, but the few rounds I put through I was very amazed. I can't wait to get some varmints in front of me. :nod: :2thumbs:

Cirrus2000
03-13-2007, 10:45 PM
Those are some fine looking dogs. :nod:

DAA
03-14-2007, 12:28 PM
Looks great! Scope compliments the rifle well, too.

- DAA