I’ve always been a fixed 6x rifle scope user up until the last 2 years. I’ve tried variables and they are nice, especially as your eyes get worse. But I miss the simplicity/ruggedness of the fixed scope.

6x Meopta with the #4 reticle.
Bob

I have a couple 6x SWFA and they are great. I have switched to the 10x, because of my eyes. I really like the 6x, though.

My dad uses leupold fixed 6 on his coyote calling rifles

Me. I have Leupold, Burris and SWFA.

I probably have 15-20 different 6x scopes, so I am rather fond of them.

Multiples of Lyman/Redfield/Weaver/Leupold fixed 6x. Have used for years, not too much even in MO/AR whitetail thickets or WY griz country, just familiarize one-self with the weapon.

FOV probably the most over-thought aspect of scopes.

I need to try one of those

I put a 6X on one of my coyote guns last year....I thought it sucked donkey balls, took it off, and sold it.

I can't imagine trying to run a fixed 6 on a coyote gun.

6x36 LR Duplex:

impressive almost makes me want to hunt one

Have several Leupolds both 36 & 42mm and am really liking the 6x42 Meopro with #4 recticle.

SWFA 6x MQ

My favorite is a 6x42 S&B PMII.

Aalf, perhaps you have some really long shots out there? Watched my brother dump two coyotes back to back with a TC Contender Carbine 223 with a 6x42 LRD, furthest out no more than 200 yds IIRC.

I must confess, more deer have fallen to my using 6x's than any other fixed or variable. Used 2.5x thru 10x fixed on deer, and variables up to 24x because that was on the 6BR that I happened to do a good bit or range and varmint work.

Regarding FOV, I dropped a nice 8pt at 15 yds with a 6x ..........centered the shoulder......all over.

Dad is 70 and hunts south east Minnesota mostly.
Shots are generally under 150 yards.

👍😂

You like it early and late? I love the ones I have in good light, and would love them utterly and completely with an illuminated reticle, but the reticle sucks for me in low light, and I seem to shoot deer early and late often as not.

So mine sit on 22s and coyote rifles now.

My hand is risen as high up as it'll go.

No, calling coyotes up close and personal, 6X is too much with it's minimal field of view. Throw in some trees, brush, and set aside fields, and you can't have too much FOV.

Like this:




Called in a pair, dropped the first one, couldn't catch up to, or find the 2nd in the scope. Spot another, can't find it in the scope either, then lost it in the weeds. Come to find out, it was the first one that went on a little 30 yard death run. Took a while to figure out if I saw 1 or three coyotes.




I took the scope off after that CF......

Of the dozens of hunting rifles I own I hunt with one and it wears a Leupold 6x Alaskan. I haven't always connected on game but I never found the need for anything bigger on deer, elk or antelope.

I have an Leopold m8 6x42 on my 7-08 and an fx3 6x42 on my 25-06. I like a fixed 6x. I plan on a Meopta 6x before long.

Yeah, I've gotten a buck/bonus tag doe double with a single shot rifle, but I'm resigned to only shooting one coyote at a time........ 6x fixed, magical wizard's eyes, I don't think optics are the issue.

I've killed a lot of coyotes with 6x scopes. Last coyote with a 6x was on 11/1/20 in woods. Everyone has preferences, use what you prefer.

So have I. But I kill 'em one at a time, and I'm pretty sure people are referring to the increased difficulty of getting doubles+

Of the three first string big game rifle I use, two have 6X SWFA MQ, the other is a 3-12.

Amen....doubles and triples. I haven't nailed a quad yet, but one of these days. There are a lot of stands where my 15x isn't enough, and times when the 3x bottom end is too much. Got to hit them a long ways out, and be able to follow up.

I like them but don't use them exclusively. I have the following;

Leupold 6x36 - 7x57
Leupold 6x36 - 7x64
Leupold 6x36 - .257 AI
Leupold 6x33 - .22 Mag
Leupold 6x36 - spare
Weaver 6x38 - 6.5 CM
Meopta 6x42 - spare

Also have a Leupold 4x33 on my 9.3x62.

The fixed 6x is very appealing to me because of the simplicity....
However, because I hunt in both open country and pine-woods, the 6x is too much magnification for those 70 yard shots in the pine-covered hills.

So, I stick to 3x9's, or even better, 2x7's for my best hunting fit.

I have a Leu 6x36 w/LR reticle. I really like it but with my old eyes, it leaves a bit to be desired in the last light dept. Enter the Meopta 6x42 w/#4 reticle. My new favorite "6". Us 6X lovers better stock up because the 6x manufacturers are discontinuing them one by one. RJ

I have also, but my cousin with a cleft palate can't hit anything using a 6x.

It's not been an issue for me so far, last 5 years or so? Can't remember exactly when I got it.

I'd not hate illumination too but so far, works ok.

Could it have better glass? Yep
Do I really need the reticle? Nope

But I love the tracking/RTZ and zero retention it has. I got sick of 1/2 a lb of powder wasted as I chased bullet holes around because scopes wouldn't adjust and hold zero.

So it's a compromise- like most things I guess.

For me and hunting the Yoop where I do - swamp to ag field edges, 6x works as a magnification. I don't feel 'cheated' not having more aboard.

I'm in the allf school of coyote rifles. Mine wear 1-4's on the combo guns, 1.5-6x40's on the bolt actions and I have a open country rifle set up with a 2-12x40. They never come of the bottom power until it is necessary, "There is always time to turn them up , never time to turn them down".

Open country Alpen 2-12 20P 40gr NBT


Bolt action 1.5-6 Sightron II


Combo gun(drilling) 1-4 Leupold

I like the Leupold 6x42 matte, heavy duplex and it is one of the very few fixed power Leupolds still offered.

I can see where a yotes in close and moving fast can be an issue.

This, though I don't believe the HD reticle is available anymore as a regular factory offering. I deer and hog hunt from tree-stands in SW MS. I have 2 Leupold 6x42 scopes (a FXIII and a FX3 both with HD reticle), a Meopta Meopro 6x42 with #4 and a 8x56
S&B with A4. I like the simplicity and ruggedness of all of these scopes. They are also good for low-light hunting. With my aging eyes I have really taken a liking to the 8x56.

Only wide duplex is available now.

And wide duplex sucks asss

Schmidt Bender sells a ton of 6x42s. Wish they would sell one will flash dot illumination. I would get one.

Damn straight!

Maybe someone can explain the hate for the wide duplex?

Have two Swarovski PF 6x42 and two Leupold FX-II 6x36s. Great hunting scopes, lightweight and durable.

It moves the thick ends of the reticle so far away from the center that it's no help in quick holdover work or in bracketing in low light situations.

I am not sure if it's my favorite as they vary by rifle and certainly not my primary but I do like the one I have on my 270 Kimber Montana.

Don't laugh, but I have a fixed 4X Leupold on a Savage 99 .243. It was the only scope I had that had the right eye relief for me on that rifle. So far I like it. In the woodd around here that's all you need anyway. I think a fixed 6X would be too much in the thick brush.

With all the “reliable “ glass nowadays, why is fixed a thing? Never seen the allure of a fixed scope, especially 6x..

I like ‘em on deer/elk guns. I like variables on rifles I shoot at smaller targets or paper more often. 6x is plenty for me on big animals but my eyes aren't that sharp and I like more x’s to shoot dots, small targets, playing with loads etc....

My variables always seemed to live at 5 or 6x when hunting anyway. Fixed just keeps it simple.

I hunt a lot in radiata pine plantations where shots can be around 20 - 25 metres and 6x scopes work fine for me. Most shots would be around 40-70 metres though.

I used a Leupold 6x42 with a #4 reticle for a long time in the M8 and FX series then switched to a Meopta 6x42 with #4 reticle. I have been using a Kahles 6x42 with a #4 reticle and so far so good. I tried a Leupold 6x36 and it wasn’t bad but really prefer the 6x42s. They work from feet to way the hell out there

I too like a straight six but when you hit 60-65 your eyes start needing a little more help. I like variables in the 3-9 or 3.5-10 range. I have a few 4-12s I like too.

Some have asked about the Meopta. It is a very good scope, but if you can find the Kahles or Swaro, go that route. I like the Kahles the best for optics with the S&B close on its heels, but the S&B (klassic I think) is heavy. I don’t have a PMII but if anyone wants to trade, I am gun rich and cash poor right now. The Meopta is the best readily available scope there is IMO, now that we’re back on topic.

For the price, the Leupold 6x36 or SWFA are really good too. I really enjoy the AO of the SWFA and the reticle for squirrels hunting. I doubt SWFA had that in mind but the combo is very effective. Tube length on the Leupold is the best I have found for a scope that doesn’t have a straight tube.

If you have a gun that kicks like a mule and want to add some weight, the IOR and Kaps are your huckleberry. The IOR is tank with good optics. The Kaps has better glass at less weight.

Once you get into the Weaver, Burris, Nikon, Sightron realm, they all work fine but once you play with the higher end stuff you will likely stay with those. I do like these on brush style guns. With longer eye relief, a fixed on a slug gun or 45/70 or 444 just work very well.

Micky

When you always looking at hairy critters with the same magnification, everything becomes easier. Lots of 1-4 or 1-6 scopes these days, I have a few, the 1-4's never leave 4x and the 1-6's never leave 6x. Same with several other variables, they stay in one place.

If there is an advantage to more moving parts/lens/prisms, I don't know what it is.

This is the reason I finally converted most of my rifles to fixed power scopes. I found in hunting situations that I wasn't ever changing the power setting. I would zoom in at the range, get the rifle zero'd and then set the scope on 3x 4x or 6x and never change it. Finally gave up most of my variables and swapped out for Leupold 6x36s (FX-IIs and M8s) along with a couple Weaver Classics in 4x and 6x.

I started when I realized all my variables were in the 5-6 range when I was hunting. The only time I used the variable was at the range.

Same here. Also besides less mechanical parts they have one less glass lens than a variable which in THEORY should make them a little sharper and brighter than a variable scope of similar optical quality and objective size.

Spence

The Meopta has amazing glass. But the ocular bell is a bit larger and would interfere with the bolt on my 84M. Neither of the two I had made it to 20 rounds on my 338 before some internal part came loose. Sooo... stick with the Leupold. I wish I wouldn’t have sold my 6x36 with LRD reticle. The dials are terrible, but otherwise a nice scope. That rifle has a 1-6 on it now and I really like that.

Which 1-6 ?

The Kahles Helia 6x42 has an image so good that you want to look through the scope just to look through it. I would have traded a wee bit less FOV for a wee bit more eye relief.

Use to be until a took a crack at a nice Mule Deer buck at 560 yards in Idaho unit 55 back in 96. I killed that buck it's hanging in my den but after that I put a variable on the Sako

Secured with Optilocks, right?😂

Much as I truly like the 6X, the dirty little secret is that lurking inside every 3-9X (etc) there's a 6x...

Secured with Optilocks, right?😂[/quote. 1996 dumb fuqk... Opticlocks were not around back then. I didn't start using them until way later. Get a clue.

I have one 6x, a 6x36 Leupold with their post & duplex reticle on my M70 FW 30-06. I had a 6x42 HD and traded it for a Big Bore 3x HD for my M99 Sav. The 6x36 is perfect on my FW.

SWFA SS HD 1-6x24. Heavier than I’d prefer by quite a lot, but man do I like this thing. And it was a demo for well under $500.

Edit: and as noted above, one of the stops on the dial is 6x. Though I find I like 2.5x.

One of my go-to, do everything BG rifles wears a Leupold 6xLR. It's on a .280AI, with the load I'm using I sight the bottom dot in at 400 yards. Then the first dot is very close at 300 yards. Anything under 250 yards or so is a hold straight on and shoot.

There's a 6x lurking inside of every 6x too.

This is an interesting discussion. I have have more than a few rifles set up wit 1-4, 1.5-6, 2-12, and 2.5-10 none of them get off the bottom number until I have a target where I need the higher X's. I have as many or more critters that come all the way into shoelace range as I do hang up where I need a higher power. Leaving any of my scopes at 6x would cost me fur. I do have a number of scopes up to 20x- 32x but there for colony varmints and paper.

I mainly hunt coyotes now when I killed a lot of deer my main scope was a 1-3, 1-4,and 1.5-4.5 on bolt action or Sav 99's. My deer hunting was all still hunting or tracking.

Yep, guess it’s better to have it and not use it, than not have it and wished ya did. Never had problems with a variable scope, ever. Lucky sumbitch yet again!! 😂😂 carry on

Me too!

Funny thing is, though, there's no 3 or 9 in there.

Gotta get ur azz of the couch and actually use something to have problems!!

Come on man, get with the fuggin program here!

That's apparently tough to grasp

Not tough to grasp but as I pointed out earlier there are actual reasons like one less lens element compared to variables that give them an advantage and then their is the view. I did about a 8 scope comparison one time all against a swarovski 30mm fixed 6. Had variables from leupold a few 1 inch and 30mm mark4s, burris, Swarovski, leica and s&b. All set on 6x the Swarovski 6x was markedly superior to the leupold and burris scopes. And although really no brighter than other alpha glass as far as anything usable it was definitely easier to get behind and felt clearer to me.

Just my 2 cents. I like them all , getting snobby about glad as I get older and fatter. Lol

Working on a Kaps now. Waiting on a phone call from the dealer. Seems to be a good balance of quality, weight, and reticle. Pretty sure it’s going on my Fieldcraft if he comes through with it.

Carried a Weaver K6 a bit this season. Not the best for every situation, but a good choice for sitting and waiting on something to
wander by, which is what I generally do, and not too much power for offhand shooting.

Unit 55. Very possibly the greatest deer hunt in Idaho, outside (maybe) of the ridiculously hard to draw November rut hunts.

Same here. Wished I had 4-5 more for that money.

Would you zip it Ted!!!

😂😂 fuuckin rookies

6x fan but might be “was a 6x fan” after I mount up a 3-9 SWFA. We’ll taste the Kool-Aid and see WTF

Being that I have been putting in for Cali sheep there for 25+ years to no avail, with the other big 3 still to go, I doubt I'll ever even try for the main deer draws.

Haha

I gotta feeling I’m gonna draw a sheep tag this year Ted, and win a moose super tag!! 😂😂

Pretty sure I’ll be hunting sheep this year in NM.

And probably a Wyoming deer Super Tag.

I loved having the Meopta MeoPro 6X42 on my .375 H&H for a summer of hog hunting. Zero issues after putting about 60 rounds under it. Great fun knowing that I can get on target quickly and accurately with this scope. Glass is very good and excellent low light performance with 42mm Objective and 1-inch tube. Meopta also has 7X56 and 8x56 riflescopes in their MeoStar line which are truly amazing in low light situations. I now have the MeoStar R1 1.5-6x42 RD sitting on my .375 H&H and doubt I will ever take it off.

"Working on a Kaps now. Waiting on a phone call from the dealer. Seems to be a good balance of quality, weight, and reticle. Pretty sure it’s going on my Fieldcraft if he comes through with it."


Pappy, I've been very tempted by the Kaps, heard nothing but good about them. Please give us a full report, if you get it, RJ

Don’t expect me to nail it to an anvil for testing the tracking or toss it off an overpass onto an interstate. I might do a simple box test, and definitely will check its low-light chops the usual way, by looking at the trunks of my neighbor’s Leyland Cypress trees at the end of legal light to check if the reticle is visible. Don’t laugh, more than one scope has failed that low-light check.

The Kaps comes with either a No.4 or a post with cross-bars. Either is fine with me, as long as the bars come close enough to the center to actually help aim. Again, more than one has flunked that test as well.

Have straight 6's on all my hunting rifles and my calling rifle.

Had same and got one for Dad- loved it. Also an M8 Leupold, Burris FF2 6x40 - all #4's and a Weaver K6. Since getting the VX3 a few years back I found it was as bright or brighter in low light and am loving having the wider field of view of 3x or so. Thinking no more fixed 6's for me after a decade or two of nothing but.

I've got one, a 6x36 M8. It's on a 300 win mag that I've killed some stuff with. I hunt Wyoming so really don't have any thick stuff. That said though I've shot a few head of game at spitting ranges and never had a problem. Including running ones. My brother shot his first elk with it at probably 20 feet. He just threw the rifle up and shot. Unreal . It has been on that rifle for close to 17 years and I've never adjusted the zero. Lot's of horseback miles and bouncing around a truck cab or on top of a 4wheeler.

I have never looked through it at a animal and said dang I wish this had crisper optics .

Not difficult to grasp in the least. I don't need 3x, I don't need 9x and I don't need moving parts and a longer scope

Apparently that too is tough to grasp

The rifle the boys use has a Weaver K6 mounted. I like the idea of fixed scopes for kids, much less for them to fiddle with and the sight picture is always the same.

I took possibly my best whitetail with it at the furthest I've shot one.

For many of the same reasons I see folks espousing the fixed scopes, I have finally shifted every scope I own to FFP.

Of all my scopes I own the Burris FF!! 6x is my favorite! The other variable scopes I own are all set at 6x and left there.

Longer scopes seem easier to fit a variety of rifles.

This is DLS, and I approve this message.

Of all of 1.5-6, 2-7, 3-9, 4-12, etc I ever had, they all had a 6x, and were usually at least as good at 6x as my fixed 6x’s. For all of the stuff you ‘can’ do with a fixed 6x, there’s something that does most of it better, at least to me. Which is why (and I’ll freely admit), I’ve only owned a few because of that. If I want a fixed power. 2.5, 3x, or 4x get more use for me around my turf.....but mine ain’t the same as the next guy.

I had a Weaver K6 on my Kimber Montana 7mm08 for the last 10 years or so - simple & lightweight - very happy with it.
Sold the Kimber recently and planning on putting the K6 on a LH Tikka T3x in 7mm08 which will be my next purchase.

Need a 6x with A/O!

I've never missed without a AO, nor left wanting for anything less than 12x......

Are you shooting paper or rimfire silhouettes?

My favorite hunting rifle still has a Leupold FX-3 6x42 with a German #1 reticle.

B. S. They work great at that distance, and closer.

I shot a Kodiak bear at 24 yards in thick alders with a 3.5-10 Leupold set on 6x. Had to thread the shot through a small hole. Bear died instantly. Rick Bin was running back-up.

I also hunted with a fixed 4X Leupold for most of the 1970's. I was happy with it because I grew up shooting rabbits with open sight .22s and the 4X was so much better.

I believe we like what we get used to and have confidence and experience with. I've noticed when using variables they are usually set on about 4X when hunting and I usually don't turn it higher to shoot.

Straydog i it's Amazing what you can do with Irons when you set your mind to it......no doubt my vision is not what it was.......but I have killed several Tree squirrels this year with irons, some out to 60 yds or so with rifles, others at 35-40 with handguns. I do use scopes too and yes it makes it easier, especially in low light when sight pic is difficult without.

Youper that #1 is a bold reticle in the 6x, even 4x and will show in the darkest of conditions. Guessing you hunt a lot of timber.