Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Tell me about a fixed 6x in the woods....

FC, your points are valid. My FIRST deer rifle was a 7 Rem Mag, w/the Steel tubed, ancient non coated/poorly coated scratched glass, Weaver K-4 ~ fixed 4x that came on it. I did get my first deer, a nice 8 point, but BARELY could see the reticle, a fine crosshair, but at 35 yds, it all worked out.

LATER, I just HAD to have a 3-9x, a Leupold, it worked fine, sold that rifle, got a 243 and moved it over. THEN decided it was just MORE than I wanted and I got tired of fiddling w/power ring. I decided 'less is more' - less shakes NOT using 9x on a sporter weight when away from a solid rest, and LESS to fool w/on the scope, just aim/steady/squeeze.

Sold the 3-9, and from then on that rifle wore a 6x36 M8 Leupold for the duration I had it, and I never found it wanting, shooting turtle heads for plinking/practice. It took deer, crows, rabbits, etc. you name it. That scope later went on a 270 MR and a 1B 270 and others, even getting a double on crows at a good bit over 300 paces w/1B Ruger.

No doubt, for some - a fixed power may not be best, it's all about THAT individual's eyesight, AND application.

I have and use both, but if I could only use one, for ME, I'd use a simple 4x or 6x, as that's what MOST of my deer rifles had when my deer dropped. Again, NEVER did I fail to kill, because I had a 4x or 6x on my rifle at the time an opportunity present.

One thing I have noticed about the Leupold 6X42 is that when I lend a rifle out with one of them on it, I have a HELL of a time getting the rifle back. Dunno why...

Fred

jim62,

As a matter of fact only one was a Leupold, a 3.5-10x on my wife's rifle that went wonky a couple of years ago. She missed a perfect eating-size 3x3 mule deer because of it.

In fact, Eileen had a really bad run of luck with scopes for a few years, partly because she was doing an optics column for a national magazine and had to test a variety of scopes. All that went bad were variables, I believe a half-dozen all told.

Three of the scopes that that went bad on my own rifles were expensive Euro-scopes.

All of which is why the vast majority of my big game rifles now have fixed-powers.

What you seem to have missed is the 6x42 getting most of the play is the Leupold, and when it comes to the qualities that make it "quick and easy" the Monarch isn't even in the game.

I bought a m8 6x from a fellow at front sight for 50 bux. he broke the cross wire during a practical rifle course. it was on a 223. crazy things happen.

high country,

I've had reticles break on two fixed-power Leupolds. The first instance my fault, because I tightened the rear ring too tightly around the exact place in a 6x42 where the reticle sits.

The second instance was a 3x Leupold that had previously been on a bunch of hard-kicking rifles. The reticle broke after maybe 12-15 shots on a .303 British, right at the tip of the left "post" of the Duplex. Interestingly, the crosshairs themselves were still perfectly sighted-in. I know because I finished up the range session before sending it back to Leupold.

But those were the only two "failures" I can recall with fixed-power Leupolds on my rifle--and both were immediately apparent. The failures of variables have mostly been the scope failing to hold zero, or a vast increase in the size of groups, things that aren't apparent until you shoot at something.

Some years ago I decided to see for myself if 6x was a "handicap" at close range... did all my hunting for several years with variables set on 6x. Killed a couple bull elk at 50 yards, as well as a variety of other stuff, and concluded 6x is about as "right" for a fixed X, general purpose scope as I can imagine for my kind of hunting.

Personally I like the trim, lighter 6x36 over the 6x42... with dots of course.

Aside, only scope I ever had fail was a 2-7x33 Leupold on top of a 338 WM... reticle broke. Leupold had it turned around fixed NC inside a week for the elk opener. Leupold's Customer Service is the real deal...

I don't doubt it.
I'm sure there have been plenty of fixed power scopes that have had some kind of malfunction that have cost a guy a animal too.

Like I said earlier, they ALL work, and they ALL break. A guy just has to find out what works best for himself, and for this guy it's a variable 99% of the time.

How many brands of fixed power scopes have you owned that you could directly compare to the same companies variable power scopes John ?

john, I have the same findings. that 6x blew the bottom wire. i too have scrambled a good number of variables, and failure to track or hold zero seems to be my #1 cause of return.

RD,

Quite a few. Along with Leupolds, there have been Zeiss, Swarovski, Kahles, Nikon, Weaver, Bausch & Lomb, Bushnell, Burris, Simmons, and some others I'm not remembering. (Of course, some companies don't make any fixed-power scopes at all--but I've seen their variables go belly-up too.)

I've had variables of all those brands fail (often multiple scopes) but rarely a fixed-power. In fact I can probably count the failed fixed-power scopes on the fingers of one hand--that is, those that broke through use and not abuse or accident.

Have owned some really "affordable" fixed scopes that held together on some very hard-kicking rifles, and some really expensive variables that fell apart quickly, sometimes on mild-kicking rifles. Maybe I'm unlucky (or maybe I use rifles more than some other people do) but after the same thing kept occuring, even in this age of supposedly trouble-free variables, I qit trying to fight it and started converting most of my big game rifles to fixed-powers. The only variables that remain are a few that have really proven themselves, such as the 1.75-5x Burris Signature Safari on my .338.

Of course, there are some fixed scopes that just don't make the grade due to other problems. The 6x40 Nikon is one of those, at least for me, due to a combination of a short tube and relatively short and critical eye relief. The Burris 6x40 Fullfield II, on the other hand, seems to be one of the great bargains in big game scopes.

Coalcracker,

I really like lower-powered variables. A Leup 2.5-8 or Conquest 3-9 are super on the low end and hey- if I want 6x or 4x, that's there too. My main thick-chit rifle has a 1.8-5.5 on it and it's set around 2x generally.

I have had a couple variables that were wonky but it was the classic "Leupold shuffle" where they wouldn't shoot a box test to save their lives. I don't think that had anything to do with being fixed vs. variable.

A fixed 6 is not interesting to me... however, when you mentioned later it was for a kid's first rifle that kind of changed things. For that, a fixed 4x does make some sense; less to fiddle with. Or a fixed ER scope with lots of eye relief like a 3-9 Conquest. The massively variable Leupold eye relief is confounding to kids; I've seen it first hand as my daughter cranks up a 2.5-8.

Hunt the Great Lakes area the same way you do. Lowest power for stillhunting and a 6x for an AM/PM low-light sit or if it is too noisey to drift around.

Killed a couple running bucks on 6x. At the time the scope setting never crossed my mind....I suppose if one lacks the ability to point your rifle in the vicinity of the escaping critter it could be an issue. So now I use 3xish powered scopes for the low end.

Do use and like the 6x36 but not any better than the 6x42--but have a heavy reticle in mine. I always bring the 6x36 in rings when headed out of state as a spare. Daughter kills everything with the 6x42, has gotten pretty insistent about the superiority of the set-up...and she doesn't read the fire.

With the standard Lupy (anemic) duplex reticle the 42mm may be an advantage to you when there isn't snow on the ground in low light. I'd spring for it if you can stretch the budget...

Imagine that picking the odds of one of today's medium to high end priced scopes puking over the one sitting next to it in a display case would be kinda difficult...

I usually buy variables because they are cheaper since I buy Swarovski most of the time. The fixed power Swaro's are too much $$ for me.

With that said, I sight them in, set them on 6x and never change them.

Speaking of deals the Burris 6x40 is on sale at SWFA for $150

Shot them running at under 15 yards, and zapped 'm at well over 300 (groundhogs well beyond that).

No fears on using the 6x in the woods,

....................Many like fixed scopes. I prefer the versatilty of the variables. No quality variable scope I`ve ever owned has ever failed me atop any rifle.

Other than magnification, the difference between a fixed 4x vs a fixed 6x is primarily with FOV. How much FOV do you want for those plus or minus 80 yard shots? For your type of hunting, either power will work fine.

But for plus or minus 80 yard hunting, my vote would go to the 4x if choosing a fixed power.

What makes you hate the 36mm? Is it truly bad or only less better than the 42mm? Also, you commented elsewhere that the 4x is "slower". What makes the 4x "slower" than the 6x, as I'm not sure what that means?

.....C/Cracker,,,,,,,,,Don`t plan on getting any legitimate answers from Big Dippyschssstick. This is exactly his MO. He always states that he hates or dislikes something without offering any whys. But when asked or challenged to clarify, he cannot or won`t in any mature manner. And when he does respond, you can`t understand what in hell he types anyway.

Good luck in dealing with this clown.

#1 - Actually, he does offer reasons for his likes and dislikes. I'm sure this will be no different.

#2 - When he does, bigsqueeze, seeing the obvious difference in experience levels between 'Stick and you, you really should STFU and listen.