I also have a Mueller on my 204, and I love it. Mine is the 4X16X50 tactical. It is a mil-dot, illuninated, although I never use that. These scopes a truly under-rated. For the price I paid, I am totally satisfied. I use my rig for coyote and such in the thick desert scrub of Arizona. 6X is perfect for the close-up in your face stuff, yet you can dial up to 16X for the old dog that hung up on that hill, yonder. I am getting .25" MOA with it. I guess you may opt for something else for long range prairie rat shooting. One thing about the Mueller you must be aware of is the short tube length on some of there scopes, you need to be able to set your rings no less than 5.8 inches apart, maximum. This can pose a problem on some guns. Best to look at the dimentions on the Mueller web site. Not all their scopes are built like that.

Happy Holidays and Happy Hunting from all of us here in the desert.....

I like the Leupold 6.5-20 fine plex. The 20 X offers help for my poor vision. The EFR offers some advantage if you wanna look that peeper in the eye as you drill that P dog.

Pop,

Just brought a brand new Kimber Pro Varmint in .204 last week, and my scope arrived today. It is a Bushnell Elite 4200 4-16x 40. I have the chance to shoot it this weekend, along with my .280 Remington stainless/laminated Mountain Rifle (which I am currently working up loads for, using 120gr GS Custom projectiles).

I would recommend the 4-16x Bushnell Elite, with the Multi Plex Reticle, which has a very nice thin centre cross wire and thicker side bars. It actually reminded me of the Leupold Duplex reticle. The 4x will enable you to shoot at close range objects, while 16x at the top end is more than enough to see small game out to 500 yards or so. The 8.5 - 25 Leupold mentioned below was a pain for shooting close up with too much magnification at the low end. Here in New Zealand we shoot Possums in trees at night with spotlights, as they can carry Bovine TB, plus they destroy the native bush. I had to pass up one at 20m because all I could see at 8.5x was a blob in my scope as I could not focuss it that close and the furtherest shot I made on a rabbit at 512 yards was done on 14x. So, as you can see from my needs, a 4-16x is just perfect. However, alot depends on what sort of shooting you'll be doing.

I previously had a Vari XIII 8.5 - 25 x 50 Long Range Target on a 22-250. I think that my bushnell is actually quite a bit clearer. Makes me wonder why i spent so much money on the Leupold. I'm actually really sold on the Bushnell 4200, thats what my custom 300WSM will wear when its finished. I understand they don't produce the 3-9 x 40 in the 4200 series anymore. Thats ok, because the 2.5 - 10x they make instead I feel would be even better.

I'm not knocking Leupold though. My .280 has a 3-9 x 40 VXII and its a lovely piece of glass.

Cheers, Michael.

I have a number of rifles with the leupold 12x fixed power scopes on them, and have no problems.

I have a Leupold 6.5-20 on my 20BR. Sometimes it's more scope than you can use in the field, but it is sure nice at the range.

[quote]I see. I wanted something between a walking varminter and a bull barrel setup. I wanted something slim and kinda light, not a 3 lbs 3x90x120mm AO starlight[quote]

You have a med/heavy barreled .204 that will reach out to 500 yrds easily. You WILL need a quality more powerfull scope. To put some .22 scope on the gun for weight considerations is not going to give you results downrange. All you will be is pi$$ed off and out how ever much you spent on the scope.
I have a Ruger M77 Mk II "Target" in .204 and I have a Bushnell Elite 3200 5-15x40 on it. Clarity, magnification, and the paralex are whats needed for the lonnnng shots. A 10" tall prairie dog at 200 yrds is a walk in the park with my rig.

PD's are small enough that a bigger scope is better. A friend of mine has Leupold's new varmint reticle and its great. You should at least look at one before you decide.

POP so, what did you buy for the 204?

This last prairie dog season I used the LVSF in 204 to compliment a couple of 220 Swift HBs. The Remington is wearing a 4-12X40mm Leupold VXIII, AO. For ranges out to 350-400 yards I found I needed nothing more in magnification due to the quality of resolution and the clarity of image.

One of the Swifts has a 12X Leupold and higher magnification was never needed. This rifle is used in the 350-600yd range.

The LVSF gets a lot of useage as a walking varminter and the 4-12 Leupold compliments it nicely. I am sure there are other good choices, but, this scope has been outstanding for me.

I see where Bushnell has a new 6500 series of scopes. Magnifications are 2.5-16X and 4.5-30X. That 2.5-16X might be the ideal for a "walking varminter". Plenty low for fast, close shots and plenty high for those "way the heck out there" shots.

I just put a Burris 4.5-14X on a Rem 700 VTR for the same purpose. I like Burris' "Ballistic Plex" reticle. Zero at 100 yards and there are cross hatches on the verticle cross hair for 200, 300, 400 and 500 yards.

Pumpkinslinger wrote:

I see where Bushnell has a new 6500 series of scopes. Magnifications are 2.5-16X and 4.5-30X. That 2.5-16X might be the ideal for a "walking varminter". Plenty low for fast, close shots and plenty high for those "way the heck out there" shots. I just put a Burris 4.5-14X on a Rem 700 VTR for the same purpose. I like Burris' "Ballistic Plex" reticle. Zero at 100 yards and there are cross hatches on the verticle cross hair for 200, 300, 400 and 500 yards.

Mike,

I just picked up a Burris Fullfield II 3-9x40 with the same reticle. It's gonna live on my Encore 209x50 barrel (replacing an Redfield "Low-Pro" 2-7), and I can't wait to get it mounted and out to the range.

Joe, I have a couple of those and I'd recommend them! I think it would have enough eye relief, I've used one on a .35 Whelen. I have been bitten pretty hard by a .50 Encore with an old Redfield scope on it. But you can't even see the scar now!

Pop

I have a Rem 700 in the 204 Ruger and I use a 4 X 12 Leupold on it and it does the job very well, (pdogs that is).

POP!!. You can find a wide range of leupold riflescopes on www.OpticsBestBuy.com. You can find many scopes to fit your needs, both for deer hunt, target shooting and for the varmint hunt. Great Guys!

I have a Burris Black Diamond 6 X 24 X 50 on my Savage 12 VSS in .223 that I love dearly. The whole rifle is heavy but I generally bench shoot it or over the cab of the truck. The 50 mm objective gives you more light gathering capabilities for low light conditions.

Welcome to the HuntingNut Solocam3
Joe