Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics how much power do you really need 3-9 4-12 etc

there are lots of great riflescopes out there in every magnification from 1-3 to whatever. On the heels of hte previous post about what I should put on my 257 weatherby I started doing some thinking.

realistically all of my shots on deer will be well under 500 yards and even if I wanted to shoot longer I shouldnt shoot past 600 yards due to the amount of energy the round is capable of.

So at 500 yards shouldnt 9 or 10 power be plenty on deer sized game?

I know its not as fun to punch paper at 300 yards with only 10 power but a mule deer is a fair sized target.

And its not like you should be using your riflescope to be judging game for size or what have you.

And how many have been taken by the almighty 6x

what do you guys think this should be good

nitis,

I think you have read too many politically correct posts here.

The carry binocs I use are 6 1/2X. The scope on my .257 Weatherby goes from 4 1/2-30X. There have been times when I needed more than I had to see if I wanted to make the shot. That isa no longer the case. Now I can easily verify before I shoot or not. In the past I had to pass on the shot.

ok you got me ringman

but when it comes to making the shot what do you need

I think whatever works for the shooter is the "best," for them, and that's all that matters. I prefer lightweight low powered scopes; I've got a buddy who shoots his 3-9's at 9x all day long and has taken more elk than I. Who's right? We're both right, because we both do what works best for the way we shoot.

nitis,

One time I saw a deer though the woods about forty-five to fifty yards away. It was unaware of me. I was using a 4-16X set on 4X. I turned it up a little to make sure if it was legal. (This was prior to my bino days.) Finally when it was turned up to 10X I could make out that it was a legal fork. I also noticed the crosshair was on the neck so I fired. It looks like I needed 10X that time.

Another time I was using a 2 1/2-7X I could not make out if what I was seeing was a spike with a crooked set of horns or a fork. I let it slide. The scope was sold.

Prior to that I was using a fixed 4X in a place where visible antlers was a legal buck. I was watching a doe feed along a trail about 110 yards out. Finally it turned just wrong so that I realized it was a spike. The 4X has been in the drawer for a couple decades.

Once I took a fella hunting with me. I saw several deer in the distance and turned the 3-9X Leupold up to 9X. I couldn't make out any horns. A minute later I heard shots so went that direction. My buddy said there was a fork buck in the group. That time I needed more than 9X.

So to answer your question, all I can get.

On a 257 Bee, I'd like a 4.5-14. But then I run 4.5-14 on almost everything.

R.

I'm begining to think that straight 6 power is really all you need in most hunting situations. Plus they are light, rugged and easy to use. To each their own though.

I'd listen to Ringman, as HIGH power is needed with his rigs because he has found a way to flatten trajectory. He has kicked Isaac Newton square in the nuts.

Prezactly.

Nothing like judging whether the deer is a shooter or not through a scope.

Something about using a scope for bino duties makes me nervous...

djb,



Nervous guys in the woods make me nervous. So please don't use your scope for bino duty.

Dude, scopes are aiming devices. Binos are for 'looking'. Pretty simple concept.

Well, even when I am aiming and preparing the shot I'm still continuing to look.
I've decided not to shoot many times based on what I saw through the scope. Have tracked animals for extended periods of time through the scope waiting for them to move into better position for a cleaner shot also.

Yes, general glassing is done with bins or a spotting scope. But what is on the rifle is the final step and I like that tool to be dependable and of high quality. Never seen much need for more than 10x, but I am not in flatlands much either.

With good glass I leave them on 3X for any shot out to 400 yards and maybe a little more, not that I take too many 400+ yard shots but have killed several deer at that range on 3X. The two scopes I have done this with have been a 1.5x6x42 Swarovski Nova and PH and a Kahles 3x9x42. I could be very happy with a 3x by 42 using Schott glass and excellent coatings.

Yesterday I received a couple of Minox 3x9x40's with their BDC reticle. In playing around with them a little this morning, I believe they will be staying on 3X when hunting too. Nice scopes!

Unless you are over about 60 years old, you don't even want to hear what I think of hunters using riflescopes to identify potential targets. Lazy city dudes in fancy clothes, Monster scopes on rifles that kick too hard, poor or non-existant stalking and tracking skills, ignorance of animal behavior, all seem to show up in the same type of slob hunter.

My apologies, in advance, to readers who know how to use their equipment, and don't exibit the above.

Wayne

How many yards are these elk at?

Which one has horns in velvet?

A rifle scope is superior to a binocular when it comes to seeing detail ?
That's funny. I just had my new Nikon 50mm ED spotting scope out in the high country. At 2.5-3 miles, when set on 25X, it couldn't readily show me any more detail than my 12X50 Leica BN binocular could when rested on the tripod.
I'd always "heard" that it takes 20-25X to come up to, or exceed, the detail you can see with a top quality, 12X50 binocular when both are rested on a tripod. Now, maybe if i really got down to some truly fine details, I might have seen a hair more than I could with the 12X50, but this difference certainly didn't jump out at me.
I tend to carry higher quality 8X32 or 8X42 binoculars to help me both find game and to evaluate it. Sometimes I even carry the 6X class stuff.
I've noticed that at 1000-1500 yds. I might not be able to see antlers clearly with the lighter, harder to use stuff, but I've never had any kind of trouble seeing even the tiniest antlers at 500 yds. or less with a decent 8x binocular.
I use a rifle scope to shoot. I tend to favor the 6X rifle scopes simply because at the closer ranges, say under 200 yds., they allow me to see fine twigs and leaves that might deflect a bullet more easily. But, when it comes to making a shot, I've used basice 4x w/o any problems at ranges over 500 yds. on several occasions. E

378, I'd venture to say they are inside of 150 yds.
Looks like the bull is in the middle, between two cows.

And, with the farmhouse in the background, that's not a shot I would be taking.
My observation of them would only be with my B&L bins.