Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical
Rimfire Scope Review

July 7, 2013

Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

The other day I acquired a new Ruger 10/22 LaserMax Rifle and found myself in the need of a new rimfire scope.  A couple of features I was looking for was a scope that had a side focus (parallax adjustment) knob, externally adjustable bullet drop compensation turrets and a zoom range from 3x to 9x or 12x.  As I was looking through the latest Cabela's Shooting Catalog, I came across their "Tactical Riflescopes" which offered all these features.  The one feature that was really interesting about this scope is that it comes with a group of elevation turret caps which are marked with the distances to correct for bullet drop.  The scope is offered in three different series; Rimfire, Centerfire and Big Game.  I believe the only difference in these series of scopes is that you receive a different group of turret caps depending on the series you select.  These Tactical Riflescopes come in three different power ranges; 3-9, 3-12SF and 6-18SF.  The 3-12 and 6-18 include the side focus (SF) capability.  In my case, I chose to purchase the 3-12SF scope, but I believe this review will give you a good indication on what to expect from all of the Cabela's Tactical Riflescopes.

Figure 1
Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

As you can see from the add, the price I paid for the scope was $149.99 plus $5 shipping because of a shipping special that was being offered.  This scope is branded as Cabela's "Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire" Rifle Scope. The box clearly states "Made in China", so my guess is that it is made in the same factory as other value line scopes, but made to Cabela's specifications.  Before I purchased the scope, I did look at other reviews and read feedback on various forums and overall the feedback was mixed with a bias towards the negative side.  Since I didn't see any reviews that I thought did a good job with photos and details, I decided to go ahead and gamble that the quality and performance of this scope would work on my Ruger 10/22 rifle.  When you also consider that Cabela's has a 90 day return policy in the event you are not "completely satisfied with your purchase", I wasn't taking too much of a risk by purchasing and reviewing this scope. 

Unfortunately, I had to take advantage of the Cabela's return policy because the side focus lens had worked loose after about 50 shots and was rattling around inside the scope.  This was a real disappointment because I was liking the features and optical performance of the scope.  I decided to forgo replacing this scope with another identical scope because of my first hand experiece plus the mixed reviews.

 

The following text in colored italics was taken directly from the Cabela's website on 7/5/13 and gives the Key Features and Specifications for the Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Rifle Scope.

Key Features

  • Rimfire tactical scopes come with five turrets engineered for different calibers and popular bullet weights.
  • These are user-friendly sighting systems that are incrementally calibrated to adjust for bullet drop out to 300 yards and beyond.
  • Includes: .17 HMR, .17 Mach 2, .22 Hornet 35-grain V-Max, .22 LR 40-grain, .22 Mag. 40-grain hollow point.
  • With these scopes, there is no need to guess what the proper hold over on a target is. You simply range your target and dial in the scope for that distance.
  • We designed these scopes using an average of the most popular loads for each caliber.
  • Each scope comes with interchangeable turrets for different calibers that can be changed with an Allen wrench.
  • Updated with a streamlined design and enhanced optics, these scopes deliver brighter images, more accurate colors, higher resolution and uniform edge-to-edge clarity.
  • Other benefits include improved low-light performance, more comfortable viewing and fast target acquisition.
  • No other scope can match their versatility.
  • Mounting tube is 1".
  • Finger-adjustable windage and elevation with trajectory compensation turret.
  • Each scope is waterproof, fogproof and shockproof, and include a turret carry bag and an Allen wrench.

Specifications

  • Power: 3-12
  • Objective Diameter: 40mm
  • Length: 13.125"
  • Weight: 17.6 ounces
  • Eye Relief: 4.3"
  • Finish: Matte
  • Reticle: Duplex
  • FOV @ 100 yds.: 36-9 feet
  • Tube Diameter: 1"
  • Price: $149.99

Since I could not see keeping this scope for myself, I decided to cut my losses and have not spent as much time with commenting on the details of the scope below.  I have included a full set of photos and if you study the photos below you will be able to get a good idea on the details.

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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This rimfire scope comes with five different caliber specific elevation turret caps.

Figure 23                                                          Figure 24 
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I was a little disappointed that the .22LR cap did not come with an initial zero of 50 yards.

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

The fast focus eyepiece is shown adjusted fully in and fully out.

Figure 43                                                          Figure 44
Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review   Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

A white dot shows the position of the fast focus eyepiece without having to look at the scope from above.  I found it odd that the mid position of the focus was with the white dot at the 6 o'clock position.

Figure 44                                                          Figure 45 
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Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

These next 3 photos are scanned pages of the instruction provided with the scope.

Figure 50                                      Figure 51                                   Figure 52
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Figure 53
Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

I installed the scope on a Ruger 10/22 LaserMax Rifle.

Figure 54
Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

Because of the length of the scope, eye relief of the scope and position of the slots in the rail mount, I had to push the scope all the way forward in the rings to get the best head position when shooting.  I used a set of Burris Signature ZEE Rings for mounting the scope.

Figure 45
Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope Review

 

Bottom Line:

The exterior quality of the Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope looks good and the scope comes with some nice features such as turret caps for popular calibers and a side focus parallax adjustment knob.  Overall I felt the optics were in line with that for the price of the scope. Because after about 50 shots an internal lens (I believe it was the side focus lens) became loose and was rattling around inside the scope, my range testing was halted and I made the decision to send the scope back to Cabela's for a refund.  If it were not for the lens issue, I was developing a positive impression about the scope.  Considering I was using .22LR ammunition and the recoil of that caliber is minimal, I'm not sure how well this scope would hold up over time on larger caliber rifles.  If you are looking for a rimfire scope for your rifle, I suggest you take a close look at others on the market.  If you choose to go with the Cabela's Pine Ridge Tactical Rimfire Scope, make sure you put this scope through it's paces before your 90 day return policy period is up.

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