Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics 400 yard optic opinions

No I read it. He clearly stated 400 yard MAX...I stand by my suggestion.

I use a swarovski z3 4-12x50. I usually have it turned. From 8-10x for 400 yd shots. Seems like an excellent fit for my 308.

SWFA 6x MilQuad would be a killer.

Four power is plenty for 400 yard big game.

Somewhere a village is missing it’s idiot.

I prefer 6X for 400 yard shots, but I have not found 4X to be a detriment for deer sized critters at that range.

That, and more perceived shake, which often mentally drops my confidence when lining up a shot.

6X preferred, 10X max for me.

Depending on what your long shot entails, obstacles and other impediments can impact the shot. If you are using a solid rest like a pack or bipod, the more power the better IMO. Target shooters use the mantra "aim small, miss small' and I've found it to be accurate in my experience. And having extra power sometimes means you can see that small obstacle like a branch, or bunch of grass you may or may not see with a 4X scope. Where we hunt, long shots are pretty common so I like a 3-9 or 3.5-10 variable to be flexible...

My longest kill on a whitetail with iron sights was 314 yards. I'm sure a 4x scope would have worked fine too.

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"My longest kill on a whitetail with iron sights was 314 yards. I'm sure a 4x scope would have worked fine too."



WOW ! That's some fine shoot'in !

I have been using the Meopta MeoPro 6x42 on my Browning BLR .308 and love it. I have been a fixed power scope fan on certain guns for a long time and this tack driver BLR is one of em. Hunting OK, KS and TX will give you pretty much any shot you can imagine and this rifle has taken more deer than I can recall.
The MeoPro is incredibly clear and the 42mm objective gives you an excellent field of view and light gathering. What's not to love?

https://i1216.photobucket.com/album...ot%202019-06-14%20at%2012.08.41%20AM.png

A 40mm scope set on 8X allows in exactly the same amount of light as a 50mm scope set on 10X, and a 20mm scope set on 4X. If you go to any greater magnification with any of those you start getting sub par light transmission.

A 4X scope is doable at 400 yards on big game. Maybe not on varmints, but you don't need 14X to shoot big game at 400 yards.

There aren't many wrong answers and a whole bunch of right ones. Take your pick of manufacturers within your budget and a variable that starts @ 1x up through as much power as you want to carry and pay for. Variables that top out between 8x and 16x are plentiful. Pick one that fits your budget and the ring spacing/eye-relief you need for your rifle. Fixed 6x has also worked quite well for me on game even a bit further than 400.

Just picked up a nice S&B 6x42 with the a4 reticle. It fits my T3x 30-06 perfectly. Using Sportsmatch T084 scope rings.

Maybe with your eyes, try that with 70+ year old eyes. One size doesn't fit all, especially when throwing lower fixed power scopes in the mix.

I would say a 6x would be ok but could be marginal depending on ones eye sight. That's why I recommended the 3.5-10. At 3.5 you have a good field of view should a close shot, like 50 yards, present its self and you have a choice all the way up to 10 power, which should be good out to 500 should you be skilled enough to attempt that.

A friend had a brand new straight 8x S&B which served him well on his .270 WBY Mag. for many years.

Hell, he had an old 6x Weatherby scope on it for about 20 years and he killed a truck load of deer and elk with that thing. He used to load 150 grain Nosler Partitions in it when he went elk hunting and 130 grain Ballistic tips for deer. He went scope crazy after he bought a Kleingunther hand made beauty in 7mm Rem. Mag. He had at least one Zeiss and a Sworavsky on some of his rifles. He ended up with 2 Kleingunthers Two Weatherbys, that .270 WBY Mag and a .240 WM and he had a McMillan Clone, the one made by a guy that used to work for them and they later sued. That was a nice rifle and was just as good as a real McMillan. I can't remember the cartridge it was chambered for, either .270 Winchester or 7 Rem. Mag. That ol' dude had some nice shooters. We lost him here a few years back but he was a hoot.

SHV 3-10 would fit the bill.

Leupold 3.5-10x40 with B&C reticle will serve you well at those distances up to 500 yds and still be useful at close ranges in the woods.

Everybody has an opinion about scope magnification for big game, but in general, most make many assumptions.

Looked back through my hunting notes for animals taken with scoped rifles between 300 and 500 yards, which brackets 400, and the scopes and magnifications used. Here's the break-down:

67% were taken with fixed 6x scopes, or variables set on 6x, which is what I usually set them on when hunting.
26% were taken with fixed 4x scopes.
7% were taken with 8x to 12x, whether fixed scopes or the magnification a variable was set on.

Have also taken one bull caribou at 360 yards with iron sights on a pre-'64 Model 70 Winchester, a .270. Did cheat a little by using an old Lyman aperture sight, but did use the factory front bead. I was only 51 then, but suspect I could still do it today, 15 years later, despite the tiniest beginnings of cataracts in my eyes. (Have also worn glasses for myopia since about 10 years old.)

Have also shot a number of big game animals at much shorter ranges with scopes that many consider way "over-powered," including a couple of running animals at 10 and 25 yards with 6x. Killed my first deer with a 4x scope at around 10 yards. But also would not hesitate to shoot a deer at 400 with 4x. You do not have to shoot the correct hair to kill deer, much less elk.

In open country often use 10x fixed scopes, or variables turned up to around 10x.

They all work if you practice with 'em.

well last fall with my 257 Weatherby Mag and a Nightforce 4.5-14x56 shot a huge whitetail buck at 30 feet running and a nice mule deer buck standing at 420 yards both on 10 power one shot. its not the scope its the person pullin the trigger but more scope power and a bi-pod for longer shots does help too !