I will be picking up a Savage MKII or Tikka T1X soon. Using it to teach my wife to shoot,plinking and maybe some hunting. Leupold is replacing a vx 2-7 30mm iluminated retical and giving me cash credit since they dont make it any more. I kind of want another 30mm tube iluminated so I am leaning towards the 3-9x40 30mm iluminated Freedom. It would also be nice if I later mounted it on a center fire for hunting. But I am torn between that one or the Freedom 4-14X40 30mm side focuse. Which would you choose for the 22?

Ps I kind of want to avoid a 22 specific scope if possible. I just like the flexibility of being able to swap them all around.

I run a 1" 3-9 VX freedom on my MKII FV-SR...suits it very well IMO

I have several leupolds but no freedoms. But I’d go with the 4-14. I have a 3-9 Nikon on my savage. I’m happy with it but sometimes wish it had a little more on the upper end.

Another vote for the 4-14

What do you intend to do about parallax error and close focus using a centerfire scope with fixed parallax shooting .22LR?

Get the one with side focus if its going on .22LR or get a .22LR specific scope if it has fixed parallax.

I was between a 2.5-10 vs 4-16.  I figure I am only losing 1.5x on the low end, but gaining 6x extra on the top end.

Purpose will be printing small holes on paper and squirrels, so I wanted the ability to zoom in when necessary.

Parallax adjustment is always a plus in my book.

On .22LR its not just a plus.  Its a necessity if you don't want misses at small targets or blown groups, especially up close.  I suggest you either get a rimfire specific scope (parallax set at 50 yards rather than 100 or 150 on centerfire scopes) or get a scope with adjustable parallax (adjustable objective or side focus).  It does matter for precision shooting.

Good news is the Vortex 2.5-10x will adjust down to 35 yds, while the 4-16 will adjust down to at the very least 50 yds.  My point mostly being that I am not a fan of fixed parallax that most dedicated rimfire scopes have.  It would certainly be advantageous to get an optic with an adjustable parallax if you are shooting at different distances.

For a rimfire, be sure to get one that focuses at less than 25 yards, 10 yards sounds better.  There is a limit to what's on the market, but with a low power low end, it should focus close in.

Even Leupold recognizes this need and produces their EFR scopes, good down to 10 yards.  

Vortex's Strike Eagle goes down to 15 yards.

I was checking again.  Here's what I found.

Leupold  3-9X 33mm EFR (focuses 10 yards to infinity): $400

Leupold  6.5-20X 40 mm EFR (focuses 10 yards to infinity): $950

I have too many scopes (or so says my wife), probably over two dozen at any given time.  A lot of them are. Leupold.  I have several non-illuminated 2-7x SFP Leupold rimfire scopes and often recommend them for general plinking and small game out to 75 yards with a 25/75 zero and basic duplex reticle.

However, for precision shooting with rimfire rifles where mil/mil or moa/moa reticle and turret combos are needed and parallax needs to be adjustable down to 10-15 yards, and you are on a tight budget or just want to explore rimfire precision shooting before spending more money consider this:

Vortex Diamondback Tactical.   There are two version with 30mm main tubes and first focal plane "tree" type reticles in either mil/mil or moa/moa.

There is a 4-16x version and a 6-24x version.  I chose the latter.  Side focus goes down to 10 yards.  Price is typically around $350-$400.

Now, this is Chinese Vortex, keep that in mind.  The glass is not good beyond 300 yards but ok up to that.  Fine out to 200-250, where most .22LR will be used.   The first one had to go back because the side focus did not work right.  The replacement is fine.  That's the risk with budget Chinese optics.  But, Vortex made it good.

This is a great learner scope for .22LR holdover and hold off and wind doping at .22LR distances.

Here is what the "through the reticle" bullet drop and hold off looks like for my Remington 541S shooting Black Box Match Eley. This was generated by Strelok+ Pro ballistic software.  I had to tweak it a tiny bit, but it was very close to spot on.  A 50 yard zero can get you to 250 on reticle alone on a zero offset base.  This is with a 90 degree crosswind up to 10 mph.

I don't think Leupold is offering anything comparable right now (wish they would, with better glass).

OP has not done any sort of follow-upo or response to the help offered.  I wonder what he purchased.