Gun guys, I bought a Tikka .17hmr got a ?

I used some of my points at the big box store today and bought the gun, I was wanting to put a 4x12 scope on it, the guy told me that a 2x7 scope was the biggest I should put on a rimfire rifle.
I didn't end up buying a scope, because they didn't have any scope mounts to fit the gun anyways. So educate me is a 4x12 to big? He said I need to but a rail on it for any scope to mount on it also, so can you guys point me in the direction to where to look, to order what I need to mount a scope on it? The gun has a barrel that is threaded of a suppressor so it has no sights on it as of now. Any and all suggestions welcomed. Thanks

One of my rim fires is wearing a 6-22x50 scope. If you like shooting small things far away magnification helps

I run a 4-16 on mine for prairie dogs and like that range real well.

I'm not looking at setting any new records with distance by any means. My eye site is going down hill in a hurry, was thinking a 4x12 would help. My use for this gun is to use on coyotes, if the opportunity presents itself and a stepping stone for my girls to get to the .243.

17 is not the old standby rimfire....75 yard shooter. Those HMRs are punching paper and smacking ground squirrels accurately at 200+ yards. Not foolish to get a higher power scope depending on what you want to use it for. The help in the sporting goods departments at the big box stores would not be my first choice for getting advice as you have probably already figured out.

I don't think the guy at the big box store knows as much as he's letting on....... 4-12 would be fine on that gun. That being said, for coyotes at the range that round would be effective, 7 power would probably be plenty. Just my opinion

Midlander, that's why I posted on Tman there is knowledge here than in a library. Plus a person can be loud here. Lol

I put a 2x7x28 on my 17 works well. With the light bullets wind here makes shots beyond 150 get pretty wonky. Prairie dogs heads about the size of a lemon. If wind isn’t a problem then sure 4x12 is about max. It’ll just look imbalanced IMO. For a source for rings and bases check with Brownell’s . com medium high rings for 40mm objective bell. High rings for any thing larger.

Jarrett, I put Warne bases and rings on my 17 with a 3x9 Nikon that I swapped off the Ruger 10/22. I like the lowest rings you can get that will work and i was able to use low rings with the Nikon (Savage A17). Good luck, i think youll like it...it is a great caliber for small gaming or plinking.

I have a BSA sweet 17 scope on mine, seems to be a decent scope. They are made just for the .17hmr

I have a leupold 2 x7 on my Ruger 22mag
But it needs a 3x9 on it

how far are you likely to shoot , how far is the round going to hold the size of the target.

if your buying it as a woods squirrel gun then a 2-7 would make perfect sense 2 is very fast to get on a target.

if your intent is to shoot small targets far away magnification does help. at 200 yards you can see a playing card size target on a contrasting background fairly well with 7X you can make out that it is red or black and that it is high or low number but telling a club from a spade at 200 yards is a maybe and with 12X you can see the bullet splash mark on steel at 200 yards. can read what the playing card is fairly easy at 200 yards number , spade , club , heart or diamond.

it has a lot to do with your type of shooting , if you plan to be very stationary like a shooting bench or prone rested and shoot far more magnification is fine vs if your shooting 75-125 yards standing that magnifications tends to magnify your movement and have you fighting every little moment you can see this happening on a shooters target some times. back the magnification down and see a tighter group they aren't fighting the wiggle.

I have guns in 308 with a 2-7 that are light carry them all day hunting rifles and one in 308 that is a longer range don't carry it far with a 4-12.

shooting deer at 100 yards is a breeze with a 2X scope but this isn't a deer gun your outfitting. decide what it is going to be for you.

I have a Savage B-series in .17 hmr and it's wearing a Nikon Buckmaster II 3-9x40. I had wanted a .17 for a long time and found this one at Cabelas one sale with a rebate and money back from Active Junky, took it down to $200 and change. Like others have said, the .17 is good out to a couple hundred yards on a calm day, but I wouldn't count on in killing a coyote at that range, not consistently at least. 4-12 should be just fine for what you're wanting to do.

Here's a snapshot of the ballistics chart for the Hornady 17 grain V-max ammo. You can see how quick the energy drops off.

I have a 4x12 nikon on my ruger american and love it Also use the high stock module which lines me up with the scope even 40 mm lens may need high mounts on some guns So you may have to look at that and your stock configuration
probably why your guy said 2x7 as they're usually 32 mm objective bell as he had problems mounting anything else with mounts on hand

Seriously, never listen to someone behind a gun counter. Magnification has nothing to do with rim fires or center fires. I had an old 3 x 9 Tasco and it was the best made scope I ever had, and I kept it turned to 9 no matter the range, because you do better bullet placement with the more magnification you have in scopes. I dislike anything under 6 power as the 1 to 4 are just sighting locators.
Get your large scope and enjoy your 17, and unless I missed what the question was, you do not need a rail to mount a scope on a Tikka bolt action. It would just clutter and get in the way. Rails that I have are for quick detach mounts, and as you do not have iron sights, you do not have any need for that. Just obtain the lowest bases which will fit your big boy scope and snuggle in for your enjoyment.

Thanks everyone for the input. This will be a truck gun mostly, I would call myself a novice when it comes to shooting guns, I only go to the range to site them in for deer season.I don't really feel comfortable shooting at deer much over 150-175 yards, so coyotes it probably wont be over 75-100 yards. Once I get a scope on this gun that may change.

I too have a 4x12 on my .17 WSM. Maybe a 4.5? It’s a Leupold and It may be a bit heavier weight wise than I’d like but It will cut crazy good groups at 235 yards, when the ammo cooperates.
Go for it for sure.

Osky

The guy needs to learn how to sell optics. Your use will determine how much magnification you will want. Personally I want a scope with enough zoom to find that prairie dog that is just showing me his nose and barking at me. In some situations a 2-7 might cut it,but your original choice is much better to suit t he caliber IMO.

Running a Sightron 4-16x42 on my CZ 455 .17.... love it !

That little bullets a killer on chucks and is the flattest rimfire I ever shot out to 150yds but if its windy forget hitting small targets over 100yds. Savage 93 hvy bbl with sightron 3-9 x 40.

we've got 4x scopes on both our .17hmr and our .22wmr and a good scope for long shots at small targets is important. A squirrels head is about size of a walnut and not easy to hit in a very tall cottonwood tree but the higher magnification scopes really help bring clarity and field of view right up close for pin point shot placememt. Ever try to see a walnut at length of a football field? A good scope and your gun is quite capable of hitting it with a good zeroing in and rock steady practiced shooting. They also gather a bit more light in early morning and closer to sunset,, another important feature.
Get a good higher powered scope than what they are trying to sell you, and have fun with that pea shooter.
Jim

When I lived in Alberta we used to shoot gophers a lot. The 17hmr was my dedicated gopher rifle and it wore a 6-24 power scope. On a day with no wind I could easily shoot to 200 yards. It was a heavy rig but we we didn’t do much walking.

The higher power the less field of view, so consider what power you are going to use the most. For coyotes I think 7x is the most you would use with that round, but you might appreciate having 9x available for smaller targets at it's max effective range. You could put a 12x on it but might be spending more $ for capability you won't use much or at all.

Never take firearm advice from a guy working a gun counter at a big box store ever. I run a 5-25×50 on my 17hmr. It all depends on how your using your rifle, it has nothing to do with caliber.

people who like more magnification tend to be more stationary shooters.


if you make a number of running shots or have to make quick shots on game that are there for a couple seconds then gone lower magnification with a wider field of view makes sense

different game scoping a dog hill looking for movement from 150 yards rested vs a wood chuck that runs out into a field road your walking down at 50 yards stands and looks at you for half a second then starts to run off again

I like 4x12 or 3.5 x 15 on about everything now a days. Usually just leave them on 9 or 10 power until I need more.
After running all my rifles that way ,,, it works me as a redneck range finder. For the most part all I use a real rangefinder for is big game.
I got 17 hmr and a 17 wsm like them both.

I have a 3 x 9 on my .17 HMR. The best shooting gun I have ever owned and works great on everything up to coon and fox but I certainly do not consider it ideal for coyote. Does not mean you can not kill coyotes with it but IMO, there are much better choices if coyote is your main target. Your opinion and mileage may vary.

Come back in a year or so and lets us know what you think of it as a coyote gun.

I have a 3x9x40 on my 17hmr. I been shooting squirrels off my garden and deer feeders at about 50 to 100 yards all week. I wish i had about 12x at 100 yards on squirrel heads. I would say a 3x9 is about as small as you want to go if you plan on shooting small things far away. I have shot this rifle easily out to 200 yards and its accurate enough to need as much magnification as you want to put on it. Its also important to get a decent quality scope so that at the higher magnification its clear on those small critters.