Rimfire and .22 Rifle Scopes: 4 Picks for Plinking & Hunting

01 ·What makes a rimfire scope different from a centerfire scope?

Three things: parallax distance, magnification range, and recoil tolerance. A centerfire rifle scope is built to hold zero under a hard-recoiling .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor round and to let the shooter dial for distance out to 800-1000 yards. A rimfire scope is built for a 22LR that recoils like a firm handshake and almost never gets shot past 100 yards. That changes the design priorities.

• Parallax setting — most centerfire scopes set parallax at 100 yards or have an adjustable objective (AO) that goes out to infinity. Most rimfire scopes set parallax at 50-100 yards or have an AO that bottoms out at 10-25 yards. The 22LR is a close-range round, and parallax error matters more at 25-50 yards than at 200.
• Magnification range — a 5-25x centerfire scope is normal for long range. A rimfire scope tops out around 4-12x for hunting and 6-24x for target / NRL22. Pushing magnification past 12x on a 22LR is wasted, because the bullet is subsonic and the groups open up faster than the magnification can resolve them.
• Recoil tolerance — a rimfire scope does not need the heavy-duty erector spring and thick main tube of a centerfire scope. That is why a 3-9x40 rimfire scope can cost $30 and still hold zero on a 10/22 for years. A $30 centerfire scope would fall apart on a 6.5 Creedmoor in 200 rounds.

None of this means a rimfire scope is "cheap" or "low quality." It means the design fits the round. The mistake is buying a centerfire scope for a 22LR (overpaying) or a plinking scope for a 22LR hunting rifle (under-spec'd for the conditions).

02 ·22LR ballistics and the magnification you actually need

22LR is one of the most common cartridges in the world, and the ballistics are the reason rimfire scopes are simpler than centerfire scopes. A standard-velocity 40gr 22LR (CCI Standard Velocity, Federal 40gr) leaves the muzzle at about 1070 fps and drops 3-4 inches at 100 yards from a 50-yard zero. A high-velocity 36gr (Federal 36gr Copper, CCI 36gr) leaves at 1260 fps and drops slightly less. Subsonic 22LR (CCI Subsonic, Federal Subsonic) holds 1050 fps and drops 4-5 inches at 100 yards.

What this means for scope choice: most 22LR shooting is at 25-50 yards, where drop is 1 inch or less. A 3-9x magnification is the practical sweet spot for plinking and small game. The 9x end lets you see bullet holes on a 25-yard target cleanly. The 3x end gives you a wide field for moving targets (rabbits, squirrels, running plinking). A 4-12x or 6-24x is for 100-200 yard rimfire work — NRL22 matches, prairie dogs, or long-range rimfire practice.

Drop data from a 50-yard zero with a 40gr CCI Standard Velocity 22LR at 1070 fps, 16-inch barrel, sea-level density. Real-world drop varies with barrel length, ammunition lot, altitude, and temperature, so use these as a baseline, not gospel.

03 ·4 rimfire scopes ranked for 2026

Four scopes cover most 22LR use cases. The first two handle 90% of rimfire shooting (plinking, small game, target under 100 yards). The third and fourth cover the variable-condition and long-range edge cases.

04 ·Best scope for a Ruger 10/22 Takedown specifically?

The Ruger 10/22 Takedown has one scope-rail quirk that catches a lot of buyers: the factory rail is a combination scope base adapter for both slotted and .22 tip-off scope mounts, not a true Picatinny rail. Per Ruger's 2026 Takedown spec sheet, the rifle ships with this dual-pattern adapter, which means almost any rimfire scope mounts with the rings that ship in the scope box.

For a 10/22 Takedown that lives in a backpack or under a truck seat, the practical scope is a 1-4x or 3-9x with a short overall length. The 3-9x40 R4 (12.2 inches long, 0.76 lbs) fits the Takedown's compact receiver section. The 2.5-10x40 (12.8 inches long) also fits. The 6-24x50 (14.5 inches long, 1.4 lbs) is too long for most Takedown cases and unbalances the rifle when broken down.

05 ·How to mount a rimfire scope in 3 steps

Rimfire mounting is the same as centerfire mounting, but the torque spec is lower because there is less recoil. Over-torquing a rimfire scope mount is a common beginner mistake, and it can crack a 1-inch tube or warp a ring. The 3-step process below works for any 1-inch tube scope on a slotted or Picatinny rail.

1. Set ring spacing and torque the bottom halves. Place the scope on the rail, slide the rings into rough position (a thumb-width of tube visible between the rings and the turret housing is a good starting point), and tighten the bottom ring screws to lock the rings to the rail. Use the torque spec on the ring manufacturer page — most 1-inch rings land between 18-25 inch-pounds. A small amount of blue 242 Loctite on the ring screws keeps them from drifting under rimfire recoil (less than centerfire, but it still happens over thousands of rounds).
2. Set eye relief and level the reticle. Mount the scope loosely in the rings, shoulder the rifle in your normal shooting position, and slide the scope forward or back until the full field of view is visible without black rings around the eyepiece. Rotate the scope tube until the vertical crosshair is plumb to gravity — a small bubble level on the turret cap works, or you can sight down a plumb line on the wall. The reticle needs to be level to the rifle, not the shooter's head.
3. Torque the ring caps and verify zero. Tighten the top ring caps in a cross pattern (front-back, then side-side) to the same torque value as step 1. Do not over-torque — a rimfire scope does not need 30+ inch-pounds, and the extra force only risks stripping the ring screws or warping the tube. Fire 3 rounds at a 25-yard target, adjust windage and elevation to center the group, then back the rifle off the bags and recheck after 5 minutes to confirm the zero holds. If it does not hold, the ring screws are not torqued evenly or the scope is not seated in the rings.