Sometimes less is more...

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BryanH

BryanH

Member
Feb 24, 2018
423
72
N.C., United States
Sold all but one air rifle and bought this R9. I started it off with a 2-7x32 Hawke in low rings. Here is my upgrade, 4x28 FXI Leupy in medium rings. Because sometimes less is more :)

In case you are looking at these low Hawke rings for an R9, it is only marginally better than the irons for the comb height. Medium hawke rings with 25 MOA inserts are just right :) No droop on this gun, but this should get me dialing down to zero at 50 yards. I will explain more about that down the road :)

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I don’t think it would do well on a big power Hatsan breakbarrel or an ultralight Gamo gun either. On this gun it should be fine. I really wish I’d have used some single strap BKL rings instead though. Even these Hawke rings look kind of bulky on this little scope.

With a 7.5 ounce scope, at least I should not be worried about scope creep. You might think a scope this light would do in any old rings.
 
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I have not tested it on this rig. I put one on my kid’s .22 LR and zeroed it at 25 yards with no issues. This scope has the most forgiving eye box of any scope I have used, so it is a great option for a kid with glasses :)

The parallax is set at 60 yards from the factory. It sounds bit long for an airgun but I think it will work well. I can focus on targets within 5 yards just fine. At 5-10 feet it is a little blurry but works fine. Probably due to the fixed 4x magnification.


Also the scope is VERY clear and BRIGHT and the field of view is out freaking standing. One thin little black circle between the edge of the image in the scope and your peripheral vision. Like you drew it with a sharpie! 


This combination of weight, simplicity, clarity, and forgiveness is nearly perfect for me. I don’t want to deal with adjustments or etc in the woods. It is an excellent hunting scope.
 
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@bryanH and @Glenroiland Thanks for responding. Leopolds have a great reputation for quality. How’s their warranty?

I don’t know a lot about springers and I was wondering a few things. Do y’all typically use scopes with mil dots or any sort markings for holdover/windage mounted on your springers? If so, how often are you using the mil dots. 
 
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@bryanH and @Glenroiland Thanks for responding. Leopolds have a great reputation for quality. How’s their warranty?

I don’t know a lot about springers and I was wondering a few things. Do y’all typically use scopes with mil dots or any sort markings for holdover/windage mounted on your springers? If so, how often are you using the mil dots.
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I really prefer to just use my max point blank range. I can’t reliably hit the kill zone of a squirrel off hand much past 50 yards with anything. Most shots being 30 yards or less, I like to zero mine around 25 yards and set it and forget it. Shooting inside 50 yards most shots are pretty much no holdover, if it looks “a little over 40” or “about 50” you can learn about how high to hold.

I am more worried about “hold under” when taking shots on squirrels high in the pines. So I zero at pretty much 25 yards across the board, so it rises no more than a 1/8-1/4 inch above point of aim. That way on a steep upward angle it should easily still be within a inch of point of aim and I can just hold dead center, I will usually be ok unless I have tall rings. Gives you about 30 yards of “PBR” and hold high on hair at 40, little high at 50. You just learn by plinking. 
 
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@bryanH I agree with “learning by plinking.” And you raised a good point about hold under when shooting up into trees. I practice shooting at targets at the same or lower elevations. I have only experienced hold under when I used a pellet that’s lighter than what my rifle is tuned to shoot. What makes your pellets rise like that? Is it the arc of the shot or the ace combined with the angle of your target’s location? I’m asking because I only notice the pellet’s arc when shooting on a low power setting or beyond 60 yards with smaller calibers. I do understand that the bottom line is understanding and being familiar and comfortable with your gun/scope combo. I hadn’t noticed until you mentioned it, the rings do look high for that scope. BKL makes some sturdy looking rings. Haven’t used any, but been eyeballing a pair. They pretty solid?


The woodwork on your rig looks great man. I know I keep saying that, but it reminds me of the types of stocks I saw on rifles hunters used when I was a boy. 
 
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I like the BKL single strap rings. I don’t mess with the double strap and prefer to keep it simple. The shims in this set up definitely add more to the bulk than I expected.


Hold under comes into play when you aim up or down at extreme angles. Like when you are kind of chasing a squirrel around a tree. They keep circling on you and sometimes you might never see him unless you hear him first. So you are walking around and around this tree hoping he doesn’t find a knothole or jump to a limb on another tree, just waiting for him to pause and bust him when he is peeking.


That is why I love shotgunning for greys. Big fox squirrels tend to hunker down more, hope you can’t see them. you can home in on the tail blowing in the wind. Greys are hyper and always moving.

So I really don’t give a flip about variable magnification or any other features or adjustability.
 
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The best way I can think of to illustrate hold under, is zero your gun at 25-30 yards then go shoot at a pine cone almost vertical overhead. If you hold dead center you’ll miss completely.

Squirrel hunting is always better with a trusted partner because you can stand opposite each other either side of the tree, and the squirrel is gonna be in trouble!
 
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@bryanh Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense because I’m thinking that the hold under compensates for the pellet’s arc on a vertical shot. In this situation gravity isn’t pulling on the pellet the same way it does when shooting at flatter (not sure if this is the best word choice here) targets, this affecting the velocity more as opposed to the arc. At least it makes more sense to me thinking of it this way. Either way I’ll definitely be practicing because I’ve been gunning for some crows as of late and rarely catch them on the ground. 
 
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I recently bought the Leupold VX Freedom Rimfire BDC 3-9x40 (NO AO) Leupold told me all their scopes can withstand magnum springers per phone call inquiry. $199 if you shop smart or $299 if you just 2 lazy to price shop. 

They are worth the $299 just too lazy to look 4 deals price IMHO. Actually worth a lot more based on how bright and clear it is compared to ANY Chinese made scope at ANY price. Don't worry most PPL are really too lazy even care to save money. They pay a lot more for crappy popular branded overpriced Chinese made scopes paying full MAP retail every day believe it or not just to sleep better who are too tunnel vision to want or even care to look for cheaper better options.

It's clear at 8-10 yards at 3x - 4x and clear at 9x at 25 yards and beyond. It's pretty ridiculous how bright and clear this one is for only $184.99 sale net price it's nicer than a lot of sub $1200 scopes (Glasswise).

I posted a heads up high end optics deal good till end of March b4 that discounted this Leupold even cheaper b4 it got sold out dunno if it's restocked hadn't checked.

I believe all regular priced Leupolds and other high end brands at least 12% - 13% off regular price and in house sale prices were pretty good.

I like it better than my more expensive EFR Freedom 3-9x33 because it has a useable BDC on the much cheaper NON AO Rimfire model.

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