Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Fixed Power - Dinosaur or Still Useful?

Love me a fixie.

I’ve had a black Bear at 6 feet while using a 6x. If I would have had to shoot him I wouldn’t have to have been looking thru the scope and probably wouldn’t. A Moose is even bigger. Shot a Deer at 2 to 3 big steps with a 6x and while it was out of focus, finding the base of his neck was a non issue.

With scopes up to 8x zoom and a WIDE range of powers within the zoom range to select for almost any situation I have no use at all for a fixed power scope

That was my thoughts too. Who needs to look through the scope at less than 10 feet?

I had a Leupold FXII 4X on my Marlin 30-30 until recently. I wanted to work up a new load and the 4X wasn't enough for me to aim precisely at the targets so I put a VXI 2-7 on it. I like the versatility of the 2-7 and they're about the same size & weight so it's going to stay that way. Of course now it's going to drive me koo-koo wondering what to do with a nice 4X!

My ar15 for coyotes
my 25-06
my 270 win
all wear fixed 6's
I live and hunt in eastern MT and a fixed 6 is in my view perfect.
my p-dog rifles all have variables because nobody makes a really good fixed 20x.

Here's one from this year with a fixed 10X. I really like it for this kind of hunting.

As of the moment I have 6 scopes mounted. 3 of them are Weaver Classic K4 4x38(including the 2 most used rifles my 10/22 and my custom VZ-24 8x57). The other 3 have 3-9x40 scopes mounted(Weaver Classic, Burris FFII, and Meopta Meopro). Of the 6 the Meopta has(by a pretty fair margin) the best glass. The Weaver 3-9x38 has been problem free since I bought it in 1996.

Except for a couple of nightforce scopes on varmint rifles all my rifles have a fixed 4x or 6x scope or an aimpoint. I think something often overlooked is that the quality fixed power scopes are optically better than all but the best of the variables especially in clarity, light transmission and most importantly depth of field. You might not notice much difference at 100 yards where most scopes are focused (parallax adjusted at factory) but at longer ranges it will be obvious. Wayne Van Zwoll made the best point in an article about fixed power scopes, when you go to shoot even a variable scope has to be fixed on a power. There is also something to be said for the consistency of sight picture you get when using a fixed power. I find 4x plenty for any big game hunting and have used a 4x scope on a 223 to hunt groundhogs/coyotes to about 300 yards.

No panoramic vistas.

Perhaps 8-10 yards. Didn't have any problem with a fixed 6.

Another dinosaur 6 at 358....

You sure you didn't just stare him to death?

Nor do I have anything against variables ....30yards, looks like it was on 5.

I slapped an older 4X compact on my 35 rem 760.

Last deer was on the move at 50 yards, in timber, w old m8 4x on a Ruger #1
Prev to that a 2-7X on a Contender carbine, 50 and 75 yard shots in timber..........scope was at 2X for one, 3X for the other.

Have had fixed 10 and 12X on varmint rifles, plus variables up to 12X.
For load testing at 100 yds I like 12X.

Even squirrel hunting, since I shoot everything offhand, about the most I can use is 6X.

One of the underrated virtues of a fixed power scope is the consistent magnification helps you estimate range.

My go to bolt gun is a 65+ y.o. Browning small ring Mauser wearing a Zeiss 4X that is about thirty y.o. I have killed deer with good heart/lung shots in excess of 400 measured yards with it. My next longest shot was in the 60s using a 4X Weaver with a small Lee dot.

My brush gun, a Marlin 30-30, wears a 3X M8, and my 9.3x62 thumper wears an old 4X Weaver MicroTrac.

My two favorite 30-06s wear late issue 2.5-8 Leopold Vari X IIIs with click adjustments, because that is what I had in stock.

I do not find small power fixed power scopes to be a disadvantage on either game or targets. I use a binocular while hunting and I have a good enough spotter to find the holes in paper.

Your mileage may vary. Someone needs to,buy the 6.5-20s, but not me. Colony varmints are rare in my hunting grounds. I do have access to a prairie dog town in western OK near the TX line, but we usually shoot them with handguns for the annual thinning.

Jack

....and they work more than well for what most of us do, and the ranges most of us do it, when it comes to big game. The LR people most certainly can take advantage of a different type scope, which is why those that play LR use them.

No, but he was transfixed, mesmerized by my steely gaze as it were. You guys need to work on your panoramas.

No way you could transfix a whitetail in those jungles.

I like a fixed 6 for a big game rifle. Even at 3-400 yards a deer is a good sized target at 6x to me.

I like more x’s if I’m shooting groups or 1” orange dots. My eyes were never great.

By all means go with "transfix with steely gaze", I shall stick with "baffle with bullshit".