Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics 300 yrd or less deer scope

For 300 yards and less, the 4x scope used to be the standard.

That was before deer and elk shrank to the size of chihuahuas, necessitating varmint rifle scopes. At least 18x and a 60 mm objective are minimum requirements.

LOL!

Thank you for asking to scope for a certain size critter & particular distance.

So many ask to scope a cartridge. Hard answer those questions without asking more questions.

A nice 2-7 is very versatile. Or the 2.5-8x36 is extremely popular for your intended purpose.

The first Whitetail I killed was with a 2-7 @ 40 yards. The first Mule deer I killed with a rifle was with same 2-7 @ 180

For 300 yards and less, the 4x scope used to be the standard.

This pre 64 .308 FWT has worked for me since early 1970 s and still does. Plain old Leupold M8 4 power - first and only scope on the rifle..


Recent 230 yard shot was the longest ever on Pronghorn - closest was less than 15 yards.

I started back in the 1960s with a 4x while I killed game with it once I got my hands on a Weaver V 4.5 (1.5-4.5) you could never get me back in a fixed 4x. The low power vairiable is just so more useful. The top end is the same as the 4x but the bottom end adds so much more in FOV and target acquisition..

No ..... I use one 3-9, three 2.5-8s, one 2-7, one 1.5-5 and one 4x fixed on my BG rifles. Nothing bigger..

Yep...

Using 12X makes me shaky as all hell. I'm steady as a rock at 4X.

Can someone explain the physical dynamics of this phenomenon?

62 Years ago I shot my first deer and antelope with a K2.5 on top of my Savage 99 243. The deer was running at 100 yards from right to left...rolled it. The antelope was standing at 330 paces...dropped it.

At 12 Y/O I convinced myself I needed much higher power scopes, and I changed out the K2.5 for a K4.

Now my favorite scopes are 2-7 and 2.5-8, plenty for any hunter.

Several years back I shot a 2.5-10×56mm Schmitt and Bender on my 7mag bean field gun I can't recall ever turning it up past 6 power for any shot.
On a lighter weight woods gun I like a smaller scope...a 1.5-5 ,or a 1.5'-6.
Either can easily take you to 300 yards and beyond on a deer.

Ask yourself are you looking for a scope to make the shot....or study the animal and make the shot.

I use binoculars to study something. Years ago I had a guy put his scope on me at 150 yards...he later claimed he thought I was a stump sitting on the side of the hill....thank goodness he didn't decide to target practice.

Scopes are made for shooting binoculars are made for looking.

4x16 variables are the best of all worlds.

Deer rifles are often used as varmint rifles.

I have sold all those lower powered variables I have ever owned, but still have one Leupold 3.5-10 AO, 3x12 Burris signature, and a nice 3x9 Bushnell 3200 with rain guard.

I like to be able to examine the rack on a buck to see if he has broken brow tines.

To each his own.

LIKE the photos!!

Hey , what kind of ring mounts are you using for the Polar?

That is a big consideration as well.

That's why the 3-9 was made. Very versatile use of magnification. Again, it's more about shooters preference. As you can see here, you got old dudes loving see through mounts and 4x scopes. Others prefer more magnification. I'm one that prefers more magnification than that. That's where the 3-9x40, 4-12x40, 4.5-14x42, 4-16, 6-18 all come into play.. There's not really a wrong answer..

Hauling our old azzesses up some damned big mountains covered with thick mahogany and manzanita is a consideration.


I've gone in my lifetime from K2.5/K4 scopes to 3-9, 4.5-12, and back to compact 2-7 and 3-9 scopes, and from light compact rifles like my vintage 99 FW 243 to magnums to standard rounds (50% of my hunting with a 1936 vintage Mdl 70 '06), to now Kimber Montanas in 325 WSM and 257 Roberts with 2-7s on them.

I never hunted antlers, but I've shot some gi-normous bucks and some dinks. In my lifetime I've never found an acceptable recipe for antler stew.

As bsa said, there is No wrong answer. I'd hate to be fed a plate of few choices.

4X is sufficient. I actually prefer a 6X40, but they are darned hard to find. I have one, and wish they all were - but at my age the investment doesn't make sense, swapping out the variables up to 3.5-10.

Fixed power has several advantages, and as far as I can see, no disadvantage over variables to the ranges I shoot (500 max),. Getting harder and harder to find straight fixed scopes, any power. Market is not there, apparently.

That said, the longest shot I ever made (well in excess of 500 yards, actual range unknown - pre rangefinder days) was with a steel tubed Weaver 3-9, set on 3X (by mistake). I saw where the first bullet kicked up snow, applied Kentucky windage, and centered the cow caribou through both shoulder blades with the second shot from the 25-06.

I do have an old Leupold 3X scope I have to put on something, but first I need to talk to leupold about it- it was on a 30-30 - I want to be sure it will withstand whatever I put it on- maybe a .243?

Anyone know something about this scope?

Longest shot I ever attempted (and made) was with a B&L 4000 2.5 - 10 x 42... plenty of scope to see the elk and sight just fine. 300 is a chip shot relatively speaking and a 3-9 or thereabouts should be more than enough to get the job done if you are doing your part and have a good rest.

I would be more concerned about making sure my scope gathered as much light as possible. Shooting at dawn and dusk with some scopes is a dicey situation if your scope won't pull in as much light as possible- which means in most cases modern scopes with modern coatings...

Bob

No. However ... I'm a Leupold fan and I like their B&C or VH crosshair setups. I don't believe those are available from the factory anymore in anything "below" a 4.5-14X. You might find 'em on a used 2.5-8X, 3-9X, or 4-12X, but not a new scope.

I have a 2.5-8X B&C on my Kimber .308. The drop didn't track with Leupold's sight in suggestions but when I put the main crosshair dead on at 100 yards, the first crossbar at 8X hits dead on at 200 and the second crossbar is dead on at 300. I prefer that to twisting knobs.

Tom

My favorite scopes are in the 2.5 to 9 power range. I have many others with higher magnification. I guess it just comes down to whatever trips my trigger on any given day. I too grew up in the era of "well the fixed 4 power or the 3-9 power worked for us for years". However, I just don't seem to remember having the options in the 70s and 80s that we do today. I speculate that if we did, we would have had the same distribution of different magnification ranges and objective sizes among hunters and shooters that we do today.

To answer the question posited by the OP in his op, "no, however, some do".

I may turn it up to check the shot. The deers rack or obstructions. Nearly always I'll turn it down because I don't need to see a hair to hit him in the bread basket. I want that field of view for follow up shots.