8 Best Scopes for 17 HMR in 2024

.17 HMR isn’t exactly a long-range round, but to make the most of it, it can still be helpful to have a good scope.

So what are the best scopes for .17 HMR? In this guide, we’ll go over our top .17 HMR scope recommendations, then tell you everything you need to know to choose the right scope for your needs. We’ll also talk about why, exactly, you might want a .17 HMR scope in the first place.

To give you the best information possible, I’m drawing on my lifelong experience with firearms, plus my hands-on experience with .17 HMR and optics. 

Our top pick overall is the Hawke Vantage IR 4012×40 AO Riflescope. This scope balances features with budget. It features a .17 HMR specific illuminated reticle and fully multicoated lenses. It’s also highly durable and comes with a lifetime warranty.

Here Are the Best Scopes for .17 HMR (Our Picks)

1. Hawke Vantage IR 4-12×40 AO Riflescope

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This scope has a reticle specifically designed for .17 HMR rounds. That means that the BDC reticle has holdover marks placed to represent the expected bullet drop of .17 HMR at particular distances, making it easier than ever for you to line up those long-distance shots quickly. 

The reticle is also illuminated and can light up in either red or green for maximum visibility.

Speaking of visibility, the lenses have 11 layers of lens coatings across the full surface of the lenses. This helps reduce glare and improve light transmission.

This scope has capped, low-profile turrets for windage and elevation adjustment, as well as an adjustable objective for parallax adjustment. You can set the parallax range from 10 yards to infinity. The turrets have ¼ MOA adjustment increments and 80 MOA adjustment ranges for both windage and elevation.

This scope is also made to be highly durable. It has a single-piece aluminum body that has been nitrogen-purged. It’s waterproof, shockproof, and fog proof. And to top it off, Hawke covers the Vantage IR with a lifetime warranty.

The fast focus eyepiece helps with speedier target acquisition and provides 3.5 inches of eye relief.

The scope comes with clear lens covers, a lens cloth, and a CR2032 battery.

Related Article: 15 Best Scopes for 308 Rifles

Finally, with an MSRP of $239, the Hawke Vantage IR 4-12×40 AO Riflescope isn’t outrageously priced either. 

Key Specifications

• Magnification Strength: 4-12x
• Objective Lens Diameter: 40mm
• Reticle: Rimfire .17 HMR
• Length: 13.6”
• Weight: 18.1 oz.

Takeaway

The Hawke Vantage IR AO Riflescope packs a lot of great features at a pretty affordable price. The illuminated reticle helps it stand out from the other riflescopes recommended here and improves low light visibility. 

All in all, this is a great scope for just about anything you’d want to use .17 HMR for, from plinking to getting those pests that are most active at dusk and dawn.

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2. Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn 3-9X40 Riflescope

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Costing less than $100, the Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn 3-9X40 Riflescope is a great option for shoppers on a budget. 

It has a Multi-X crosshair reticle that’s gross for close-up shots, while the 6 inches of eye relief is reminiscent of a scout scope. The parallax is fixed at 100 yards.

Thanks to argon-purging and o-ring seals, the scope is IPX4 waterproof and fog proof. 

The turrets don’t lock, allowing for faster adjustments, but they’re capped for their own protection. Both turrets have a 60 MOA adjustment range.

The fully multi-coated lenses with Bushnell’s proprietary Dusk & Dawn coatings.

Key Specifications

• Magnification Strength: 3-9x
• Objective Lens Diameter: 40mm
• Reticle: Multi-X Crosshair
• Length: 12”
• Weight: 13 oz.

Takeaway

Ringing up for less than $100, the Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn is a highly affordable scope, but it doesn’t cut corners on quality. It’s IPX4 waterproof, has fully multi-coated lenses, and has a generous 6 inches of eye relief. 

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3. Barska 2-7x32mm AO Hot Magnum .17 HMR/.22 BDC Rifle Scope

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The Barska 2-7x32mm AO Hot Magnum .17 HMR/.22 BDC Rifle Scope is another great budget-friendly option. It’s about the same price as the Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn, but it’s actually designed with .17 HMR in mind.

30/30 BDC reticle is specifically designed for .17 HMR and .22 LR, but that’s not the only .17 HMR specific feature. The scope also features interchangeable BDC elevation knobs, including a set for 17gr .17 HMR.

It also has an adjustable objective so you can set your parallax to be optimum across .17 HMR’s entire usable range. 

The multi-coated lenses boast high-density optical glass and provide 3.1 inches of eye relief.

The Barska AO Hot Magnum is both waterproof and fog proof but is also protected by Barska’s lifetime warranty.

Related Article: 17 Best Long Range Scopes for the Money

This scope comes with scope caps, a lens cloth, and various interchangeable BDC turrets.

Key Specifications

• Magnification Strength: 2-7x
• Objective Lens Diameter: 32mm
• Reticle: 30/30 BDC 
• Length: 12”
• Weight: 16.64 oz.

Takeaway

While many scopes have reticles designed for .17 HMR, this Barska scope is unusual in that it also comes with .17 HMR specific turrets. This is particularly handy and especially impressive considering that the Barska AO Hot Magnum 

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4. BSA Optics Sweet .17 SP 6-18×40 Rifle Scope

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The BSA Optics Sweet .17 SP 6-18×40 Rifle Scope is another excellent scope specifically designed for .17 HMR. It also has a higher magnification strength than the other scopes listed here, making it perfect for precision long-range shooting. Well, long-range for .17 HMR anyway. 

It boasts a 30/30 duplex reticle, fully multicoated lenses, and 4-inch eye relief. It also has a fast focus eyepiece and a 3-inch sunshade. The scope is waterproof, shockproof, and fog proof, plus it comes with a one-year warranty. 

The turrets are calibrated for 17gr and 20gr .17HMR rounds. They have a ¼ MOA adjustment graduation and a 35 MOA windage and elevation range. There’s a side knob for parallax adjustment, which can be set from 10 yards to infinity.

And with a $149.90 MSRP, the BSA Optics Sweet .17 SP Rifle Scope isn’t especially costly either. 

Key Specifications

• Magnification Strength: 6-18x
• Objective Lens Diameter: 40mm
• Reticle: 30/30
• Length: 13.2”
• Weight: 19.9 oz.

Takeaway

The BSA Optics Sweet .17 SP 6-18×40 Rifle Scope has a higher magnification strength and a .17 HMR specific reticle that makes it the best scope on this list for precision long-range shooting. With an MSRP of $149.90, however, it’s not prohibitively expensive either. 

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5. Vortex Optics Crossfire II 2-7X32 Rimfire Riflescope

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While the Vortex Optics Crossfire II 2-7X32 Rimfire Riflescope isn’t designed specifically for .17 HMR, it is designed specifically for rimfire rounds. 

What does that mean?

Well, primarily that it has a V-Plex reticle better suited for shorter distances and a 50-yard parallax setting. 

Beyond that, it’s basically the same as the regular Vortex Optics Crossfire II 207X32 Riflescope. Which, for the record, is also a great scope.

This scope has a single-piece tube made from aircraft-grade aluminum with a hard-anodized finish, so it’s resistant to recoil and drops. It’s nitrogen purged and o-ring sealed so it’s waterproof and fog proof. The fully multi-coated lenses feature ArmorTek coating to protect them from oil, dirt, and scratches. Vortex Optics covers the scope with its generous lifetime warranty.

The turrets have a ¼ MOA adjustment graduation and a 60 MOA adjustment range for both windage and elevation. They allow for tool-free re-indexing but are capped to protect the turrets from damage and hold your zero.

The scope is moderately priced and comes with a lens cloth and removable lens covers. 

Key Specifications

• Magnification Strength: 2-7x
• Objective Lens Diameter: 32mm
• Reticle: V-Plex
• Length: 11.5”
• Weight: 13.9 oz.

Takeaway

The Vortex Optics Crossfire II platform has a great reputation for balancing quality and affordability. With a fast focus eyepiece, excellent durability, fully multicoated lenses, and rimfire-specific features, the Crossfire II 2-7X32 Rimfire Riflescope is no exception. 

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6. Vortex Optics Diamondback 1.75-5X32 Riflescope

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The Vortex Optics Diamondback 1.75-5X32 Riflescope is an option for people who want less magnification or a higher-end sight. (The 3-9×40 option is also a good choice if you want the high-end features with a more medium-range magnification level). However, the cost still isn’t outrageous, with an MSRP of $319.99.

This scope features a Dead-Hold BDC reticle, a 100-yard parallax setting, a fast focus eyepiece, and fully multi-coated lenses.

Related Article: 13 Best 22LR Scopes (Rimfire)

The 1-inch diameter single-piece tube body is made from aircraft-grade aluminum to make it shockproof. It’s argon-purged and has o-ring seals to make it waterproof and fog-proof. Like the Crossfire II, the Diamondback is covered by Vortex’s generous lifetime warranty.

The scope has capped reset turrets with ¼ MOA click adjustment, but has a much larger adjustment range than other scopes, with 125 MOA for each elevation and windage. In addition, the precision-glide erector system inside the scope ensures that the magnification lens zooms smoothly across the scope’s magnification range.

The scope comes with removable lens covers and a lens cloth.

Key Specifications

• Magnification Strength: 1.75-5x
• Objective Lens Diameter: 32mm
• Reticle: Dead-Hold BDC
• Length: 10.2”
• Weight: 13.0 oz.

Takeaway

Don’t let the lower level magnification of the Vortex Optics Diamondback 1.75-5X32 Riflescope fool you: the wide adjustment range and Dead-Hold BDC reticle will allow you to make very precise shots. Those features, plus the precision-glide erector system more than merit this scope’s higher price tag. 

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7. Leupold VX-Freedom 2-7X33 Rimfire MOA Riflescope

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The Leupold VX-Freedom 2-7X33 Rimfire MOA Riflescope is another high-end option at about the same price point as the Vortex Optics Diamondback. 

Like the Crossfire II we’ve recommended but not the Diamondback, this Leupold scope is designed for rimfire with a 60-yard parallax setting and a Rimfire MOA reticle.

The scope also features Leupold’s Advanced Optical System for optimal light transmission and glare reduction, plus scratch-resistant lenses. It’s also waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof. 

The turrets are finger click adjustable with a ¼ MOA adjustment graduation and 75 MOA adjustment range. 

The eye relief is fair, ranging from 4.2 to 3.7 inches depending on the magnification setting.

Related Article: 5 Best Scope for the Ruger 10/22

Despite all these features, this scope is also remarkably lightweight, weighing just over 11 ounces.

Key Specifications

• Magnification Strength: 2-7x
• Objective Lens Diameter: 33mm
• Reticle: Rimfire MOA
• Length: 11.04”
• Weight: 11.1 ounces

Takeaway

The Leupold VX-Freedom 2-7X33 Rimfire MOA Riflescope has the high-quality optics that Leupold is known for in a rimfire-specific package with a Rimfire MOA reticle and 60-yard parallax setting. At the same time, it’s pretty lightweight.

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8. Simmons 8-Point Truplex 3-9x32mm Riflescope

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Our last scope recommendation is the Simmons 8-Point Truplex 3-9x32mm Riflescope. It’s the most budget-friendly scope on this list, costing less than $50.

Sure, it’s not the best scope out there, but if you’re looking to spend as little as possible, you could certainly also do a lot worse.

The scope has fully-coated optics with a Truplex reticle, a QTA (Quick Target Acquisition) eyepiece, and 3.75-inch eye relief. It’s waterproof, fog-proof, and recoil-proof.

The ¼ MOA SureGrip turrets make audible clicks while the TrueZero windage and elevation system helps maintain your zero. The turrets have a 60 MOA adjustment range.

Key Specifications

• Magnification Strength: 
• Objective Lens Diameter: 
• Reticle: Truplex
• Weight: 13.2 oz.

Takeaway

Unfortunately, we don’t always have room in our budgets to shell out for the high-end accessories we want, or we just can’t justify to ourselves spending much on a scope that’s just for plinking. If that’s your deal, the Simmons 8-Point is about the best scope you can get for the least amount of money. 

Why Does a .17 HMR Need a Scope?

.17 HMR isn’t generally considered a precision round, but some precision shooters will favor it for shots within ranges of about 150 yards. 

In these cases, shooters want a higher magnification scope to help them make precise shots over these longer distances. With .17 HMR being so lightweight, features for correcting windage are unusually important.

In addition, just about every round has a following of plinkers and .17 HMR is no exception. For plinkers, a scope can help extend the usable range of their .17 HMR gun and ammo.

Mostly, though, .17 HMR is favored for hunting varmints and small game. For these hunters, a scope is essential for getting reliable, humane shots, even on small targets like prairie dogs and squirrels. 

Buying Guide: How to find the Best .17 HMR Scope

When choosing a .17 HMR scope, it’s important to know what to look for. Here’s the rundown of the features you need to pay particular attention to when selecting your scope:

Magnification

Magnification is one of the most important features when selecting a .17 HMR scope, but the right magnification strength depends on the size and range of your targets. 

Close range for .17 HMR is within about 50 yards, while long-range is about 100+ yards. Mid-range, obviously, falls in between. 

The smaller and further away the target is, the higher the magnification needs to be. Inversely, if a target is bigger and closer, you can use lower magnification. 

You don’t want to get a scope with too powerful magnification or you might have a hard time finding your target because you’re too zoomed in. On the other hand, if the magnification isn’t powerful enough, you might not be able to make shots as accurate as you need. 

3-9x magnification is generally a good middle-of-the-road range for .17 HMR scopes. You only really need to go much higher for precision shooting at .17 HMR’s outer range. Lower magnification may be better for close-range pest control.

Optical Clarity

Magnification may be one of the most important features of a scope, but it’s certainly rivaled by optical clarity. After all, if you can’t get a good view through the scope, what use is it in the first place?

Optical clarity includes the sharpness of the image, the color fidelity, and the brightness of the image. 

There’s a lot that goes into optical clarity, including the quality of the glass, the coatings o the lenses, and even the size of the objective lens. Let’s talk about each of these three factors in turn.

Ideally, a scope will use high-density (HD) glass. At the very least, however, it should be free from distortions or air bubbles. Fortunately, few scopes don’t have at least passable glass quality.

Where it gets trickier is lens coatings. Lens coatings help filter the light as it passes through the scope, preventing glare. However, a good scope will still allow as much light of the right wavelengths through as possible. This light transmission helps ensure a bright, clear sight picture.

Look for fully multicoated lenses. This means, as you can probably guess, that the lenses are completely covered with multiple coats. If you can’t get fully multicoated lenses, fully-coated are the next best thing.

Finally, we get to objective lens size. This is less important than glass quality and lens coatings, but it does still play some role. Generally, a larger objective lens is better. For .17 HMR scopes, you’ll want an objective lens of at least 32mm but closer to 40mm is better.

Eye Relief

The eye relief of a scope refers to the distance that the eyepiece can be from your eye and still allow you to see the full, unobscured sight picture. Generally, for a scout scope, you want something with a minimum of 3” of eye relief.

Of course, given the nature of scout scopes and the fact that the mounting position for some scout-type rifles is rather far forward, longer eye relief is not a bad thing. 

Something with a forgiving eyebox (the area where you can position your head to view things fully) isn’t a bad thing either. If you’re shooting quickly, you don’t want to have to fuss with your head positioning to be able to see your target. 

With a scope with the proper eye relief and a sufficiently generous eyebox, you won’t have to worry.

Reticle

Reticle-wise, you have a number of choices, from ballistic-drop compensator options to classic mil-dot reticles. In general, a simple duplex style is fine for most plinking and hunting, but the more versatile options like the mil-dot offerings are better for longer ranges.

We also recommend a second focal plane scope for simple economic reasons. You’re not going to be reaching out past 200 yards with a .17 HMR, so a more expensive first focal plane reticle just isn’t necessary. 

A BDC or mil/MOA-dot reticle may be a good investment, however. The .17 HMR is a great round, but it has a lot of drop and is strongly subject to the whims of the wind, so being able to compensate for these issues is a huge benefit for shooting at further ranges.

Parallax

Parallax is a pretty complicated phenomenon to explain, so this explanation is going to be highly simplified. Let’s start with an example:

Have you ever looked through your scope and noticed that the crosshairs move relative to your target when you move your eye? If so, you have firsthand experience with parallax. 

Parallax distortion can seriously mess with your groupings and accuracy, even when you’re shooting optimally. 

Parallax occurs because when scopes are manufactured, they’re made to perform optimally at a particular distance, which is the parallax setting. For most scopes, this is 100 yards. The farther you get away from the setting, the worse parallax will be. 

Scopes specifically designed for rimfire rounds, like .17 HMR, tend to have a shorter parallax setting, usually 50 to 60 yards, to reflect the shorter range of rimfire rounds as compared to centerfire rounds.

Some scopes even have parallax adjustment, so you can modify the parallax setting to reflect the range you’re shooting at. You can adjust parallax using a side adjustment knob or a ring around the objective lens depending on the design of your particular scope. 

For scopes with parallax adjustment, you can generally set the parallax for ranges as short as 10 or 12 yards and up to infinity.

Durability

By virtue of being used outdoors, scopes get exposed to the elements. The repeated jarring from recoil goes without saying. And none of us is perfect, so scopes can sometimes get dropped or banged on our surroundings.

Your scope needs to be able to stand up to all of this abuse.

A good scope should be waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof. For a scope that can stand up to moisture, look for features like o-ring seals and argon or nitrogen-purging. For resistance to recoil and other shocks, look for a scope with a single-piece tube body. 

Caps on turrets protect them from damage on top of helping to maintain your zero settings.

Scopes get bonus points for scratch-resistant lens coatings, though most come with lens coatings that can protect your lenses when you’re not using the scope. A hard-anodized finish will help ensure that the scope’s finish is protected from scratches and scuffs. 

However, scratch-resistant lenses and hard anodization are above-and-beyond features that are more common on higher-end scopes than lower-cost scopes. You may not be able to swing them if you’re shopping on a budget.

Final Verdict

By now, you should know everything you need to choose the right scope for you. 

Our top recommendation is the Hawke Vantage IR 4-12×40 AO Riflescope. This scope comes for a reasonable price, but still has great features like a .17 HMR specific reticle, fully multicoated lenses, durable construction, and a lifetime warranty.

The slightly higher magnification range is great for those who are looking to make more precise shots but don’t need quite the magnification of the BSA Optics Sweet .17.

There’s no single scope that’s the best for everyone, though. Each person has their own needs and budget. 

If you have a limited budget, the Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn, Barska AO Hot Magnum, or even Simmons 8-Point are all great options at a lower price point. On the other hand, the Vortex Optics Diamondback and Leupold VX-Freedom Rimfire are excellent options for those with a high-end kind of budget.

However, the Hawke Vantage is unique among the scopes recommended here in that it’s the only one with an illuminated reticle. 

Fortunately, there’s a scope recommended here for just about everyone.