Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles straight 16 power scope

While on a moose hunt in Alaska, a bush pilot dropped a couple of hunters off at our campsite while he went back to ferry out there gear. This two guys were Alaska residents and had been hunting bear with a .375 H&H and some .375 Brown(?) wildcat rifles. One gun was topped by a fixed 12 power scope and the other with a fixed 16 power scope. I hinted around for an explanation on their choice of scopes but they never gave me a good reason. I didn't push too hard cause I figured they had to be pretty crazy and possibly unstable to be hunting bear with scopes like that.

Two of my groundhog rifles wear Leupold 24X BR scopes, with no complaints.

The others pretty much wear 6.5-20X's that stay cranked up most of the time.

I tend to not hunt groundhogs in the heat of the day, nor into dusk too dark to see. For the way I hunt, they work great.

Not quite a 16X, but like a couple of others here, I've got a Leupold 12X's on a couple of rifles, great scopes!

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How much longer do y'all think this variable power scope fad will last ?


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I've sworn by fixed power scopes for 30 years. My varmint and target rifles are all topped with fixed power scopes except for one. I have 24x to 36x.

This summer I started hunting a spot on railroad tracks that run to 1000 yards. This was the only time I ever had a problem. I ended up using the variable on about 6x during the heat of the day. I'm ready to try another variable, probably a Leupold VXIII in 6.5x20.

I have an old 1 1/2" Unertl in 12x on my Browning Safari in 22-250 that I love as a 'classic' walking varminter.

My Rem. 40X in 6mm International wears a period matching (late 60s) Remington 24x scope in Unertl mounts/rings.

Both rigs are dependable for holding zero, he77 on crows and ground hawgs and I see no need for a varminting variable.