Playing Musical Scopes: Question re: .17 Hornet and which rifle for a SWFA SS 20x42

[Unlicensed Dremel]

OK, so I had a heavy Win 70 Coyote with a SWFA Super Sniper 20x42. I was going to sell this rig but sold a different rifle and became fond of it, so decided to keep it.

It's original purpose was primarily prairie dog towns in high wind, with 2nd/3rd purposes of fun newbie-trainer range gun, and potential WROL "interdiction". And predators I suppose. I'm was planning to dedicate it to 70-75 gr ammo, such as the Hornady Custom 75 HP or similar handload. Kind of a multi-purpose rifle, but not a big game hunter - just a varminter and "other".

The scope was good for all those purposes. But I decided yesterday to make it into a backup hunter for long-range whitetails & pronghorns, since it's not too heavy but quite long-range capable (also because I decided I really probably won't ever go P-dogging more than maybe 1 or 2 times in my life, if that, and I'm not a big predator hunter either). So suddenly the scope is not versatile enough - not good for hunting.

So I put a different variable magnif scope on it which suits it perfectly. Now it can still do all the prior roles but also hunt some senderos and big fields or deserts, and round up some backstrap.

The question then becomes, what to do with the SS 20x42 - sell or keep?

The only rifle it maybe could go on (which I haven't acquired yet but will), is my upcoming CZ 527 in .17 Hornady Hornet, which is going to be primarily for turtles, crows, prairie dogs, & jackrabbits....but also a fun range newbie gun (great to take new people shooting on).

I was planning to put a Trijicon Accupoint 5-20x50 (which I ALSO don't have yet) on this CZ 527, but now can't decide if the SS 20x42 is going to be good, great, or poor choice. Will I be regretting having too much power on 50 yard crow & turtle shots? On the one hand, this rifle has a great parallax adjustment ring on the main tube which really does bring everything at that range into focus, and it in fact dials down to 10 meters (even at 15 yards it looks really clear - I checked it). But of course the exit pupil is tiny and it's hard to figure out what you're looking at quickly, under 100 yards. Part of me says that it's perfect for this rifle - a very precise rifle shooting at tiny kill zones 2-3" across, where taking your time finding the target and setting up the shot are done anyway, so that the high magnif won't be a drawback. But part of me says that any field rifle that you're moving around with (as opposed to sitting in one place like a P-dog town), should be able to be dialed down to a "maximum minimum" of 6x.

What say you - sell or put on the .17 Hornet?

[Magnum Wheel Man]

hmmm... straight 20X for a 17 Hornet ??? seems like a less than practical use of the scope... I think those are nice scopes... I'd probably put something similar to what I have on my 17 Fireball ( in my other thread ) & save that SS scope for a future project... you're not going to reduce your collection after you get the 17 are you

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Which scope do you use on the .17 Fireball, MWM?

I have FINALLY gotten down to 30 or less guns - and that's counting muzzleloaders and airguns, and even includes the 5 or 6 guns I want but don't have yet, like the CZ 527. That's it. That's where I'm staying - no more than 30 total ever again, and possibly less. Much more than that, it's collecting, not shooting. Now bows and crossbows don't count against my total, thankfully - they're in a different "system" - gonna keep those to 6 or less though.

Yeah, I may just sell the 20x42. Seems a shame, though, because I like it and think it's a good value and never used it - and this is the scope that I planned to teach myself and practice doping using clicks on, since the turrets are so nice. Shoulda gotten the fixed 12 or fixed 16, I suppose. The variable SSs are way more expensive, so didn't want to go that route.. I don't have any "just target" rifles any more, since I've simplified - they're all hunting or self-defense, in which case lower power is in order for either - by definition, self-defense is short range, and with hunting large game, I always like a short range option for the woods. I think what I'll do is try it on the CZ .17 HH to see how I like it and then defer this decision to that time. I'll have to buy some 30mm rings, since the CZs come with 1" rings, but that's not an overly great expense. Who makes 30mm rings for the CZs? That's the ONLY rifle where it might just find a happy home that I like, if I can still find the crows and turtles quickly enough in the scope. And if I don't buy the Accupoint 5-20x50, I've saved myself almost $1K.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

The Burris C-4 4.5 - 14 X... that I mention is on my rifle in the 17 caliber / wind thread I started the other day here...

[rfd]

for varmints, i went with a savage 12fv in .204 ruger with an swfa ss 12x42 ... nice.

[Art Eatman]

I'd try it and see how it works. Then decide to keep or sell. If field of view doesn't cause problems in target acquisition, you might as well keep it.

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Thanks, all - good plan. Yeah, it was between the fixed 20 and fixed 16 when I ordered it; next time I will go with the 16 or 12 if ever in that same situation again.