Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 2 Good Reasons For Higher (Variable) X Scopes

Al gore is from where?

It's okay. I make fun of myself for taking that shot. Truth is, I'm lost without a scope anymore, and been that way since about 2001. Prior to that, I probably could have seen those spikes at 150 yards. I had to put scopes on my rifles then, and now I am going back and replacing all the 1.5-4.5X with 3-9X. Prior to this year I had to stop shooting about 10 minutes after sundown. The new scopes-- Bushnell Elites, Trophies, and Banners, are letting me hunt until an extra 10-20 minutes on each end.

Something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTcBgs2huRo

Now, before you jump on my a$$: where I hunt binoculars in possession is mandated.

Very funny stuff.

I've been reading back over this thread and scratching my head. If see movement, or something doesn't look right, I'll throw up my binos and have a peek. I'll probably also use the binos for a quick scan of things every once in a while.

However, if I see a deer that LOOKS shootable, I put up my rifle and look through the scope, and make the final determination with the scope.

YMMV and all, but 90% of my shots are inside 150 yards and the animal has open field or leave-covered ground behind them.

I can't see why there is so much fuss over binos vs. scopes. I'm wearing enough orange that I appear to other hunters as a second sunrise. I can be seen well into the next county distances that would have a 30-06 round bury itself in the dirt rather than make the whole trip. You can see the glow on the horizon 10 minutes before I come into view. If you put your rifle scope up to me, you could permanently damage your retina.

Common sense is in short supply it seems, don't use your rifle scope to figure out what something is, use your binoculars, don't use your binoculars on a deer you can clearly identify as a deer when you have 5 seconds or less to make up your mind to shoot or not. If you don't have a reasonable binocular buy one, if there is a message here its buy and use a decent binocular. If your sitting there with one magnified optic your bound to misuse it.

The real solution is to use camo duct tape (or maybe the versatile blue tape) to attach binoculars to your scope. The best of both worlds!

And so it shall be done!

Just another way to"look" at things. These days, unless I am glassing w/ binocs, when I spot something interesting I look at it through my 6x rangefinder. If it may be something I want to shoot I range it and prepare to shoot. When I put the scope on target I check for a clear background prior to shooting.

I never did get the impression that the OP was glassing through his scope.

mike r

Shaman - JimmyP - lvmlker -

You guys got it right!!

I have tried a few times to just let this thread DIE, but keep getting dragged back into it.<GRIN>

THANKS for voicing your opinions and observations.
I've had numerous PMs and 1 pone call in support.
THANKS to all of you! !


Mule Deer - Great IDEA, will try to perfect it before next deer season. lol

Jerry

Seems there are several that didn't share your impression.

.......and thanks Shaman for providing a beautiful example of a hunter knownig what he was shooting at only to find out he was wrong.

CR

I have not had a pair of binoculars in the deer woods in over three years. Rarely ever take them. It is just extra baggage. There are some areas I hunt in NC that I do use them and certain areas in other states where they are essential. I have been huntin whitetails for 40 years and have yet to put a scope on a person. I guess I am a bad teacher cause my wife and daughter rarely take them either. They are just not needed in most places we hunt.

Funny stuff ! Yea those 6 electoral votes did it. The only folks I know here who voted for him are Minorities and dead people, but there are alot of dead people in this area.Kinda like Memphis mayors.

Sir I understand! For the same reason I started not to get into this one, but from your OP onward I totally understood where you were coming from.The safety patrol posts don't fit here at all, as you knew it was a Deer and a Buck at that, seems as though some just want to get a rise here.
I likely have hunted within 50 miles of your area at one time or the other.
I hunt out West also and yes I use binos alot, esp. in the West but often in AR as well. There are times in the thickets though when I don't use them much, depends on the situation.
But in the cases you mentioned you had a situation where you KNEW it was a Deer & also KNEW it was a Buck. What some don't understand I guess is in this king of veg. if you look with binos, then see it not only has 3pts. on one side but is a
good Buck and it steps into a small spot where you can "thread
the needle", you drop your binos, raise your rifle & by the time you have done this, the Buck has taken 1 step & now you cannot shoot, BTDT.
And back to the intent of your thread, I have not experienced any problems with a v-scope in years, I would like to rig up a classic 30-06 with a 6x42 but I probably won't.

I was thinking that too. Some very dogmatic opinions based, it seems, on particular conditions, legal restrictions and so on, specific to each poster's own hunting.

FWIW here where I hunt there are no restrictions on how many points or what gender or any of that. No bag limits either, and for most game there's no closed season (fallow and red deer are exceptions, and for them the season runs from 1 March to 31 October in my state - the beginning of Autumn to past mid-Spring. Other deer are year round). For that reason I have no real need to scope out such details as whether it is a doe or a button, for example, or count points.

That doesn't mean that others don't have that need, and it does seem that some at least are thinking that what they need - or don't need - is what others should too. Conditions, and opinions, clearly differ.

BTT!

I agree with you on this one. The only disadvantage is a slight reduction in the field at any given power vs. a fixed power scope of the same magnification. I haven't witnessed a failure since my brother had a couple of old Weavers fail after being mounted on slug guns.

The Leupolds I prefer have plenty of eye relief, varying by about a half inch from low to high power. I have a couple of 3-9s, but the 2-7 is my favorite on a deer rifle as it gives plenty of field, even very close up and 7X allows me to better evaluate loads at the range. The 2-7 can usually be mounted as low as a 4x. All this does not apply to the compact models, as for me they give up too much eye relief to save a little weight.

One good reason to use a high power scope for close range work is because.......
























.......its the only scope you have and you can't afford to go out and buy a new one. Grin

Shod

Another good reason.....

Your down to your last dollar and you can't afford binos so you use your last few dollars to buy a half a box of ammo from a friend so you can still hunt.

Shod

No problem. You know, I've been at this now close to 35 years. It is truly never too late to start being stupid, optics and all aside. In all that time, I've shot exactly 1 spike. I still haven't managed a forker. I'm just glad this was #1 for the year and not the second. KY only allows one buck.