Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Distance-magnification

How far do you feel comfortable using a 15 power scope to shoot. Trying to set up a rifle for a Utah mule deer hunt. Really didn't want to buy another scope I have a VX5 4.5-15x44 CDS

How far are you comfortable/practiced/competent to shoot at any level of magnification?

I'm not a long range guy but you don't want to be a deer at 300 yards even if I leave my scope set to 3x.

Same question as mathman. How far do you practice and what is you max range comfort level?

I've hit clay pigeons at 600 yards using 9x scopes with multiple cartridges. With 15x my hit rate has been as high as 8 in 12.

I know it isn't the norm now, but growing up it was 1x for every 100 yards you were planning on shooting. A fixed 4 would take me farther than I cared to shoot at animals.

I shot very comfortable to 800 with a 300rum with 5-25 was going to set up a back up rifle. Just want to get others thoughts on when 15 was not enough magnification.

15x takes me well beyond 1000 with a good reticle.

Kinda like hp in a pickup, don't need it most days, but fuuck, when you need it, it's handy.....

Agree 15 power is plenty

Magnification is not near as important as most men think. 99% of the people getting new scopes today have simply fallen of an advertising gimmick.
Keep in mind that a simple 4X scope gives you a target size to aim at that is the size of the same target fired at at only 250 yards if you had iron sights. If you have 6X a 1000 yard shot would look like an iron sighted shot at only 166.6 yards. 9X gives the same size target at 1000 yards as you would see with iron sights at only 111 yards.

Scopes do away with sight alignment mistakes and make holding for windage and elevation a LOT easier then irons, but it's NOT high magnification that is doing that for you.

When you turn 58 let me know if this is still true. In my world it is not.

I am 64 now. Yes it's true.

High resolution glass is important at LR helps to see 'exactly' where you're holding .

Out to 700 yards I feel just fine using my 2.5 x 10 B&L Elite or a 3.5 x 10 Leupold. As long as the glass is good and your ballistics match up it seems like a chip shot. I like lots of magnification if I can get it when shooting small targets way out there like rock chucks and coyotes, but for deer and elk this seems to work for me. If I start really shooting long range- (1000 yards plus), I would probably move up to a 15 power at the top end or just exchange my scope for one of my Leupy 6.5 x 20 and be happy as a clam...

Bob

With a good quality scope I could hit big game animals with 1X for each 100 yards. I actually like a little more than that, but no more than 1.5X for every 100 yards is needed. I could easily work with a 6X scope out to about 400 yards. Anything over 10X has more negatives than positives in my opinion. I'm talking big game, more magnification might help for varmints.

And I'm 61 with less than perfect vision. But I can focus my scope so that it matches my vision. No one else can see through it though.

15X will get a guy with good eyesight and that has practiced well beyond what I feel most hunters should be shooting game animals at. I understand the 5-25X for target rifles but really don't see any need for it on a hunting rifle. I like the 6X to 10X range on a hunting rifle personally.

in FTR 600 YARD Class we have 2 classes you are allowed 2 shoot in either class that day, in the solid rest class any caliber cartridge or in the bi-pod class thats either 308 Win. or 223 Rem. cartridges only .most FTR shooters there use high magnification scopes mostly Nightforce scopes for good reason Nightforce adjust excellent.most FTR shooters handload their own ammo and have a lighter set trigger low poundage or just onces ,99 % of the shooters have those rifles tuned well. most of the guys at the FTR 600 yard range know how important good rests are important,tuned rifles,good hand loads, good quality scope with magnification help in shooting farther distances . believe me shooting a buck at 400 - 600 yards with any of these FTR shooter`s laying down with a bi-pod, fast well tuned rifle ,handloads and high magnification works very well ,practice is the important part.

I’ve tried a 3-18 out to around 1300 on steel (unsuccessfully because of the wind), but I only had it on 10x because of the mirage. I could make out the target pretty easily.

If you use a spotting scope to identify your target and the glass is good, 15x should easily get you to 1000, if not more depending on your eyesight.

15 X will get me further than I'd shoot most animals at. Most of my hunting rifles wear scopes in the 3x10 range.

10X will do the same for me under most conditions, 1,000+ but everyone's eyes and preferences are different.

I agree completely. Give me a 5-25X or my Bushnell 4 1/2-30X any day. Lord willin' my next scope will be a 2 1/2-25X52.