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Scope for squirrel hunting?

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For that application you can choose any of several solid 4-16 FFP's on the market in your price range. If you are going for a clean kill it isn't going to be a running shot so take your time. I have an Athlon Ares 15x with a scopewerks sidewheel, very happy with it. 

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Might be a mistake in writing , but a scope should NOT change poi when changing power... ffp OR sfp. What changes on sfp is the holdovers or relationship of the reticle markings. If you adjust the turrets, either is fine. If you holdover/under, an sfp will require some math to change magnification. I prefer ffp and there are quite a few good choices. An Athlon Helos 3-12 checks most boxes for me... good glass, nice clicks, and nice reticles at not too great of weight.

Bob
 
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Any suggestions for a scope for squirrel hunting? 


Shots will probably be from 10 - 75 yards max.

FFP or SFP

Fixed or variable 3x-9x

Seems like SFP would allow for quicker acquisition and shooting. 


IF SFP, how much of a difference is it really going to make if you sighted in at 25 yards on 4x but took a shot at 75 on 9x?



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These are my thoughts. A fixed magnification scope would likely be best for quick acquisitions shots, then a FFP scope - that is if you have decent eye sight. A SFP setup would be ideal for tree squirrels if you were shooting at bait stations from a fixed position, say in your backyard, and you knew the range of each station from your position. That way you’d probably use a DOPE card or have your holdovers or turret adjustments memorized. 

Personally I use a 3-12x44mm FFP Vextor Veyron for >50 yard shots; it has good glass at an affordable price. I can zero my scope and memorize my holdovers from the range that I practiced within and the rest is almost reflexive. I prefer to be within 35 yards to take my shots. To my eyes the Veyron reticle is thin at 3x magnification and at 4x on a sunny day I can get a wide field of view and still see the crosshairs, but elevation and windage markings are very small. I’ve killed most of squirrels using 5x on a Vector Veyron FFP. In the woods this magnification is a good balance between FOV, reticle size, and light gathering transmission for my eyes. If you can grab a FFP Veyron 4-16x with an IR, that would be ideal for shooting in the woods or in low light settings so that you don’t lose your reticle against darker backgrounds allowing you to get the most out of lower magnifications.

@Arzrover Provided a good explanation of what’s necessary to acquire holdovers for SFP scopes. There are various threads in the forums that go into this area more in depth. I’m curious as to what led you to the quoted conclusion above in bold type. Can you elaborate?
 
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I love my prismatic scope. 14x50 to see so much around what you are shooting at is a major plus. Just looks a little odd on the gun. I have it on my Uragan and put it on my impact when shooting around the house.

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The picture you get when looking thru the scope is so big. you probably get a bigger FOV than the 3 on the bug buster yet still get better magnification than the 12. If the magnification is strong enough you never think of wanting less magnification due to lack of field of view.



Allen


 
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I love my prismatic scope. 14x50 to see so much around what you are shooting at is a major plus. Just looks a little odd on the gun. I have it on my Uragan and put it on my impact when shooting around the house.



The picture you get when looking thru the scope is so big. you probably get a bigger FOV than the 3 on the bug buster yet still get better magnification than the 12. If the magnification is strong enough you never think of wanting less magnification due to lack of field of view.



Allen

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What you say makes total sense. Biohazardman and I had a discussion where he said the same thing... I NEED ONE.
 
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These are my 2 most successful and efficient ground squirrel elimination machines:

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The Uragan wears a Vector Veyron 3-12 SFP and the M3 wears an Optisan CP 3-12, also SFP.

I find no need for holdovers within 50 yards. When I occasionally stretch to 60-65-70, I normally just put the dot on the very top of the bushy tailed rat's head. So I have not found the need in this use category to have to go to FFP. And anyway, I personally like a reticle which doesn't change in size.
 
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+1 Rob. POI is determined by the ballistics. Point if Aim is determined by the scope. Lock the gun in a vise and twist the hell out of the scope turrets....and the gun will have the same POI. Take the scope off, and the gun still has the same POI.

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I'll go 1 farther...

If a sfp scope is zero'd at lets say 25 yards, locked in a bench rest @ low magnification, and aimed the cross hairs at bullseye and poa/poi is dead nuts bullseye,, then when magnification is turned way up the poa/poi will still be dead nut in the cross hairs.

That sfp center of the cross hairs poa/poi will not change with magnification increase/decrease.

What I'm saying is, no matter what magnification is used on a sfp scope, the center of the cross hairs poi will be the same regardless of magnification used. SFP Hash marks and their poi/poa are another story and do change drastically with scope magnification changes...

As said before, what changes(increases/decreases) on a sfp magnification change is the relationship of the hash marks to the center cross hair intersection...

jmo


 
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