Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles fixed scope

Somewhere along the line this thread has lost all meaning...


There are excellent arguements for both the varibles and the fixed models, even in 2009.....

I believe that the less working parts involved then the more dependable the scope will be..therefore I believe the fixed powers are more dependable and that is an exceptable trade off for many out there, for others the advantages of a varible are more important.

the manufacturers have told me the fixed scopes come in for less repair than the varibles even when you take into account the much higher number of varibles that are sold..

It would stand to reason.

The "less moving parts (moving)" argument is one I've made myself in defense of a reticle over a turret for a general-purpose hunting rig. Simple is good. Less to go wrong.

So I'm not being argumentative. That said, in 2009 you can buy a car that will likely go 250k or more miles. In terms of reliability, precision, and so on, it seems to me that the manufacturers of high-quality objects, have come a long ways in the last few decades...

But again, the one, simple reason I don't own a Leupold 4x is that when I spent some time directly comparing one to a 2.5x8 set at 4x, to my eye the variable was the better optic. I went in to buy the 4x, but walked out with the 2.5x8 based strictly on what I saw- and would have much preferred, at the time, to have spent less $$$....

I don't buy fixed because they are tougher- I buy them because they work better for me and, of those I have owned and used, are consistently brighter than the variables. I believe the word "variable" to be the exact opposite of "constant" and find the word "fixed" a synonym to it. In my admittedly average experience I find I throw up a fixed - get a more automatic sight picture, ample magnification, little or no bodily adjustment and absolutely no mechanical adjustment. Swamp- as for the open sights - have you ever tried ghost rings or those fluorescent looking ones? My eyes are starting fade a bit but the ghost rings work great on the sks. I can still use semi buck horns and did this weekend on my model 92 lever but if\when that becomes impossible I might try some sort of Hi-viz thing in the future. For 20 to 40 yd shots mentioned, I think while maybe not ALL, dang near most everybody just doesn't need a scope - and might benefit from not using one.

I have two rifles currently set up with a ghost ring and fiber optic front bead, a 44 mag carbine and a M1a Bush rifle. I've had two more set up that way, that I no longer own.

It works very well... way better than buckhorns, for me. I am prone to shooting high with buckhorns in the heat of the moment.

Depends on what and where one intends to pursue things. A few more details?? Prairie dogs on the plains or moose in Alaska????

Which fixed scope are you looking at that is more expensive than a variable of the same make? I aint found one yet.

I have found exactly the same thing when hunting in the thick rainforests of the PNW. If I were to used a fixed-power scope up here, it would be a 2.5x at the very most.

I've passsed up a shot on a big bull elk at 30 yards because I just couldn't discern enough elk through the 6x scope I was using at the time. Just saw too many tree branches, ferns, bushes, alders, etc. I can't say for sure if I'd had my trusty 2-7x variable (which would have certainly been set on 2x in such terrain) if I would have been able to make a shot or not. If so, that certainly means I could have made the shot with lower power fixed like a 2.5x. But on that day, a 6x fixed was a handicap (not because it was a fixed power scope, but because it was a 6x) which caused me to pass up a shot at the bull of a lifetime.

If I were to ever purcahse another fixed-power scope, I'd go with a 4x for sure for the type of hunting I do.

OK, I have fixed and variable scopes but I also have Red Dot/Holo, ghost ring, target receiver and tang and regular run of the mill open sights...each has a purpose, use or niche--some dependent upon the sport and I'll admit that the optics do have crossover potential when you use yours as a search device--especially variables as a spotting scope or binoculars...

I would much prefer scanning the bush or plains with a 10, 12 oz bino then a 7.5 lb rifle but that's just me...Does it justify leaving the bino at home? I really don't know...Would it be more pronounced if I only had a 4x scope on my rifle, would I have to bring binos/spotting scope then?

With dense bush like that in the PNW I�ve also found that you also have those damn glades, barren of trees that might be 100+ yards across or clear cut logging areas�The 2.5x is great for the bush part but they lack a little in the 150 yard capacity and there a 1.5/1.75 to 4x would be ideal�

Shoot the 6x with both eyes open... and all these problems go away. I too hunt the jungles of Western WA... and have no problems shooting stuff at close range in the schitt with fixed 6 glass. But, I learned long ago to shoot with both eyes open... the way God wants us to.

So there ya go, now your more confused than ever..Isn't the internet a wonderful tool!

Don't know about the internet... or wonderful... but Swampman is definately a tool...

Would that not assume he is useful???

Dogshooter makes a good point - no not about Swampman - but about keeping both eyes open. I only started to seriously practice that a short while back and it really improved my speed on target.

I'm into simplification these days and things that produce results without fuss. No doubt I'll be using more fixed scopes in the future and took steps along those lines yesterday by ordering a Leupy 6x42 FX-3 from Rick Bin.

On the matter of shooting with both eyes open, gotta agree with Dogshooter. Both eyes open is the only way to go.

Okay, I'll give you credit for having a good sniffer.

Seattle: I hunt jungles, too...in Maine,and New Brunswick. I agree that 6X is too much(at least for me) in any kind of heavy cover.The solution has been simple and I mostly use a 4X....but have used 2.5 and 3X as well.

I use the same rifle when I hop on a plane for my western mule deer hunts;since I have killed large mule deer running at 15-20 yards with a fixed 4X,and used the same scope a handful of times between 350 and 500 yards to kill elk,antelope and deer.I really have very little use for a variable in heavy cover.

When I want a BIG scope,I buy a 2.5-8 or a 6X....

When I read,as I did this morning on another thread,that a 6X is no good past 150 yards,I really wonder how much actual hunting the guy making the statement has actually done......


In any event way too much is made of this scope business IMO.It is really no big deal.BG animals are large forgiving targets and the overwhelming majority are taken under 300 yards,unless you sit over bean fields.

Yep, and I've been guilty in the past myself of making too big a deal of it.

Not long ago I was watching some hunting show and this one guy shot a deer at about 300 yards with I believe a .300 RUM and his scope set at 14 power according to him. He went on to make the statement that that shot was more or less possible only because of the flat shooting cartridge and 14 power scope. What a crock of cow dung.

Delta: Yes, Udder BS

After bouncing around the west for 30-40 years,knocking off various animals with a 4X, I have been surprised to learn recently that I couldn't do it.

I showed up at my buddy's ranch in Wyoming a few years back with a 2.5-8 on my 270.Bill looked at me and said,"What are you doing?You know you don't need that thing......"

Wow, I must have dreamed easily ringing a 6" gong at 300 yards with my mighty 300 Savage by using a little Kentucky elevation and a 6x scope.

FYI for those who may not know it...300 yards - 6x scope is like looking at the gong at 50 yards with just your own peepers--natural eyesight and at 75 yards with a 4x scope or 3 yards with a 10x!