Cheap scope for air rifle...

A friend gave me a Daisy 880s, a .177 cal pump gun. Didn't expect much from it. The scope that comes on that gun is no help to my jacked up eyes. Took it off and having some fun plinking using the sights...on my 16 foot "indoor range."
When I properly apply the 8 Steady Hold Factors like Ol' Sarge taught us, the BBs go where they are supposed to. And there is a youtube video of a guy who tested 20 different kinds of pellets in that same rifle...his best was a 5/8 group at 25 YARDS. Not bad for a gun that costs 34 bucks.
With a scope to help my ****ty eyesight I should be able to put 5 rounds in one ragged hole, once I get my mechanics straightened out.
So. Any recommendations for a dirt-cheap scope that would work well on an air gun? Bear in mind the rifle was free... and cash is tight.
Thanks in advance,
CK

 

Hi Weldon,
Yeah, I have the 4 X 15 scope that came on the rifle. It does not work with the torn retina scar in my right eye. Shooting lefty works off a rest with open sights, but I want to shoot righty...and offhand. A decent scope will restore my sight picture enough so I can shoot righty again, but I need a bigger objective lens.
So the Daisy by Winchester 2-7 X 32 might work...but yeah, it's 45 dollars on Amazon. Would I spend more on a scope than the rifle is worth? Well...I wouldn't be the first guy to put a forty dollar saddle on a ten dollar horse.
And hypothetically, if a person had this gun really dialed-in, he or she might be able to execute a single-shot solution to the rats in the pomegranate tree, with out alarming the neighbors in the next mobile home. A 3/4 inch square of electrical tape might approximate the kill zone on a rat...and putting 4 out of 5 shots in the black with open sights could be fun on a hypothetical indoor range. And a scope might tighten up that hyphothetical group.....

 

At my previous residence I killed three rats, firing through the dining room window at the bird feeder outside. Used a pump gun borrowed from a neighbor. It was a .22 and wildly inaccurate....sent a lot of lead downrange to get the rats. But the .22 slug sure did the job when it found its mark.
Just talked to my friend...he's got a few different brands of pellets, so I'll try 'em out and see which one my gun likes. Been shooting w 5 pumps on the short indoor range... I'd definitely go 10 pumps and use the heaviest slug that functions for rat-hunting.
I figure hell, it costs more than 25 bucks to go see a movie in a theater, what with raisinettes, popcorn and a soda...and that's only fun for two hours. If I can get scope that works I'll consider it money well spent on the giggles.
I am gonna tell my friend about the green light...he's not afraid to throw money at toys. Right now he uses a headlight, you'd think it would spook the rats, but they freeze when his rottweiler posts up under the tree...pop. So far he's killed four or five.
(edit) Weldon: 1 MOA...duuudde....!

 

Thanks, Larry....if you have found that that particular pellet works really well (either compared to a bb or other pellet), let me know what kind it is. I saw some Crosman hollow points that I might try once I get my marksmanship polished up and decide to wreak havoc on the rats. I also have some gophers I'd like to stalk...but daylight ops would make the neighbors' heads explode.....

 

One youtuber called the standard scope "a straw with crosshairs," and he's not wrong. A nice guy has made me a heck of a deal on a scope he took off when he upgraded. I just want to see if a functioning scope will help me keep shooting righty, despite all the scar tissue from the detached retina in that eye. All I wanna do is punch some holes in targets...and if that works out, maybe ventilate a rat or two in the fruit tree......

 

This cheap-*** gun's iron sights are nearly zeroed. Put 35 out of 100 BBs (stop rolling your eyes) in the black on the short indoor range last night. But between my unsteadiness and blurry vision....most "groups" barely qualified as such. But when I did everything right...once...5 in the black, 3 in one ragged hole. Hoping the pending installation of a scope will improve the sight picture, and more practice will tighten up my mechanics. The guy who gave me the gun says he's got a few different kinds of pellets...gonna try 'em out and see which one this beauty likes best. Maybe go to a real range and shoot at 25 yards...about the max effective range for this toy, by all accounts. Youtube shooters are banging out half-inch groups at that distance, once they find ammo their gun likes....

 

Don't kid yourself, Paul...all your sons did it. Only one got caught.

 

Just happened to be at Walmart...sprung for some pellets that one guy on youtube loved...or his gun did...and other guy rated 'em as okay. Crosman 7.4 grain Premium Destroyers. The first two groups I fired matched the tightest out of more than 100 groups fired using BBs. Guess some of those fliers weren't my fault after all....

reborn plinCKer

 

Thanks for the offer, William! However, I already fooled around with a few scopes in a friend's garage...found a 3-9 32 that really helps with the vision issues. And Weldon's got a similarly spec'd scope he's gonna hook me up with.
And yes...cleaning up the bore will happen before I spend time (and maybe money) shooting at 25 yards. But for now, I'm still blasting BBs and 2 kinds of pellets. Fired 10 round groups today on the indoor range...10 pumps instead of 5 to see if the extra velocity would tighten up the groups.
Waddaya know. The best-shooting pellet got even better.

And yeah, my 10/10 notation on the target was a little...optimistic. More like 9/10 touching the black.....
Et Piscantur, Et dices ad mendacium

 

Found some slightly heavier pellets today. 10.5 gr. up from 7.4. The lighter pellets rarely made groups smaller than the 7/16 targets. These new pellets...gettin' there....




issues with the less-than-precise mounting rings I bought have delayed the installation of the nice scope Weldon set me up with...