Ok folks, I have a friend who is in search of a new scope for his 17. He uses it to shoot ground hogs. His average range is 150 yards. I’m not up on the 17 being a 22 WMR man myself, but I told him I would consult my brain trust. That being said what does everyone like for this caliber and this kind of work

Cabelas usually has them for $50

don't have a 17 , but I like the Vortec cross fire II for a good scope at a good price with a good warranty
I have several vortex scopes 2 of the crossfire II

I think 4-12 would be a good power for ground hogs.

10 drop at 200 yards on the HMR good flat shooting round most of what they make is varmint tips but they have a FMJ tip also I use for field collection. Not a killing bullet shot placement is critical.

BSA makes a Sweet 17 scope for them but with that kind of ballistics I use a regular rifle scope!

Redfield have two of them and like the way they preform for the price very clear glass.

I like 4.5-14X on my two .17 HMR rifles (one Nikon the other Leupold)

I also like Vortex for a very good scope and a good value for the monty. A word of caution however. Even though GCPete has had good experience with the Crossfire line, many have not and this is reflected in on-line reviews. The Viper and Diamondback lines have much better reviews. Given the range of the .17, a super high magnification is not needed. Even for very small targets at 200 yds a 10x or 12x is more than enough. I have a Viper and two Diamondback HP scopes on various rifles and I am very happy with them. Even the Viper is not quite as good as the Leupold I have on another rifle, but also cost much less.

With no recoil and 150 yds, clarity and toughness is not a big issue, Buy one of the major players lower line scope with a fine cross hair with a higher magnification. The .17 is so accurate that you will be shooting GH eyes instead of just GH's. If money is not a problem, move up a model or two.

I have a nikon monarch or prostaff on my 17 wsm and its nice but u could probably find something good for alot less money

there have been issues with some of the crossfireII line , but putting a 300+ dollar scope on a 200 dollar rim-fire ground hog gun that your not betting your life on seems maybe dis proportionate to the situation.
ground hog shooting tends to be low risk. but if you have the money the Diamonback 4-12x40 tactical is a nice scope . I think it is great on my 308. but I have 3 kids eating 3-4 diamondbacks a month in groceries.
Vortex has a good warranty the fix or replace.

the same potential for lower quality control can be said for any bargan price scope they can sell them for less because they did something to reduce manufacturing cost QA is often it , I had a Bushnell on a 22lr for about 14 years then the reticle turned in the scope I pulled it out of the case to shoot a squirrel and the cross hairs were sitting at a 45* angle (I actually still shot the squirrel it wasn't that far away so I pulled my handgun and shot it) I sent the scope in they replaced it the new one is even nicer than the old one.

I put a Simmons 3-9x50 $50 scope on my .17 HMR and I can hit a golfball at 100 yards on every shot. I don't need anything better than that for what I do with the gun.

Best I have found for the money.......

Nikon prostaff rimfire 4-12 best rimfire scope for the money imo !

The 17 is so accurate that it takes the fun out of squirrel hunting, I am back to used my old 22. Just need some challenge.....jk

If you don't want to spend a lot, you can get a nice clear scope in the konus pro. It has etched reticles and they are very fine. The konus shot is the cheaper version and has wire reticles. I see them on air rifles and they've held up great.

I have used a leupold rimfire scope and a cabelas rimfire 22 wmr scope on my 17s, work out nicely. Was planning on trying the vortex sometime.

Leupold Rifleman 2-7x33mm.

Two years ago my first reply would have been Vortex, but after 3 failures in as many years. I am done with Vortex. They made good and replaced it with a new one each time within a week, but considering I have had 4 scope failures in 35 years with 3 of them being Vortex. For rimfire I have a couple 6.5-20x44mm Simmons 44 mag scopes and they have performed well. My first choice is Leupold. Mount it in a good mount, sight in, and use it for 30 years+. I picked up a Leupold 4-12 for my dad for Xmas for around $235.

Thanks for all of the replies. I’ll pass the info on.

Does BSA still sell the Sweet 16 scope? They should not. It is awful in low light, and if you sneeze, you will turn the knobs throwing off the scope.
Leupold 3-9 is what I prefer.