Am I the only one who still uses fixed power scopes? I have 3, 4 and 6 power scopes on all but one of my rifles. Having hunted from Alaska to Mexico I have never felt that my choice of optics has inhibited the hunt. Their reliability and clarity suit me just fine. Anyone else or am I a dinosaur?

I have more fixed power than any others.

I like the variables set on 6X.

Nothing wrong with fixed power scopes.They usually are lighter and stronger then a variable.

Fewer moving parts equals being tougher. I currently don't have many fixed power scopes. I usually zero at higher power and then scaled down to 4x or 5x for hunting. Way too many people buy a high power variable and used it as binos. I hate seeing a guy sweep past me with his rifle as he is scoping the terrain.

4X and 6X scopes are absolutely the greatest.

Absolutely a dinosaur.

But in good company. IIRC, a German WWII sniper stated that a 6x would take him to 1000 meters. I don't have that book with me but again IIRC, he said a 90% hit probability with a 4x to 400 meters.

This is me.

A 6x42 just always seems "good" to my eyes.

Nothing "wrong" with a 4x or a 6x. Different tools for different games. They are great for hunting deer but I wouldn't want to shoot F-class with them.

Nothing wrong with 4x or 6x scopes my .35 Whelen deer rifle wears a 4x scope, the biggest buck I have ever taken was shot with a rifle equipped with a 2.5x scope with post reticle.

Have two variables and a pile of fixed power scopes. Don't have much use for the V's or anything more than 2.5X.

Partial to 4X myself. Most of my variables are set at 4 or 5.

preferred

I agree with you Desertranger, 100%

I do have some variable scopes going up to 9X on some of my hunting rifles, but they nearly always stay at 3X or 4X. I do favor 3X and 4X fixed power scopes when I can find good ones. Weaver stopped making their K4 resentfully and I am hopeful that Leupold will not do the same with their M8 4X. I know there are some others out there, but finding a good quality fixed 3X or 4X is getting hard to do. There are some made in Europe and I hear a lot of good things about many, but the price is quite high. There are several pieces of Chinese junk (called scopes) which we can still get, but they are unworthy of a good hunting rifle.

The industry seems obsessed with selling gadgets and all manor of things that are 99.5% useless for a hunting rifles in 99.5% of the shots a real hunter will take in his life. So why are we force fed all the gizmos? Those that like such things can buy them by the car load, but for those of us that love a strong, clear fixed power sight (what any scope truly is......A SIGHT) we are now having to haunt yard sales and pawn shops to find what we really want.

The industry seems to demand everyone buy a target scope or so-called "tactical scope" (showing the use of salesmanship to the ignorant. Tactics are actions, not objects)

Quite a few folks here use mostly fixed power scopes, me among them. Most of my hunting is done with a fixed 6x, though I also have 2.5x, 3x, and a 12x fixed power scope. Hmm, a 20x too.

Have a few variable scopes, but I do most of my shooting and hunting with fixed power scopes. They work just fine.

Guy

A better title for this thread might be, "Are variable scopes really necessary on a hunting rifle?"

It's interesting that when a trend hits the shooting industry, everything else is now outdated, obsolete, and causes bullets to bounce off 125 lb deer.

Used to be you needed a .300 Wonder Magnum to kill a deer, then it was synthetic stocks, now its scopes that outweigh the rifle. Frankly, if you can't kill a game animal cleanly at normal ranges (less than 400 yds for you snipers) with a 4x or 6x scope, perhaps you no longer belong in the field.

This idea that a .338 needs a 6-18x Vortex Super Sky Spotter is simply ridiculous.

6x42 have worked fine for me for my use for several decades. I have a few variables but they seem to migrate to the shelf while the Meopta MeoPro 6x42 migrates to my rifles. If I did long range shooting, I would probably have a different perspective. I have had variables get in the way when I have them on the wrong power. This is my fault but it can't happen with a fixed power.

4x and 6x are usually more than I need. I do have a dandy Leopold 2.5x, but what I really like is a 1-4x variable.

Agreed. I have several variables, mostly 2-7x and one VXIII 2.5-8x. Switched to straight 6, 10, and 12x on my groundhog rifles, straight 4 0r 6x on the game rifles. Haven't been even slightly handicapped. I like the looks, the clarity of view, and the light weight the small scopes provide.

I have used mostly fixed power for hunting for most of my hunting life, but right now I have 3 variables and 1 fixed power scope on my rifles.
My philosophy these days is to equip my rifles to be enjoyable in the conditions that I use them the most. So even though I do a lot of back pack style hunting(big game), I do very little shooting while I’m hunting. Probably 99+% of my shooting is done at the range. So I want my rifles to reflect that because I have a lot of fun shooting.
In my hunting situations, I could get most of the shots easily done with a 4x or 6x set and forget scope. I want my rifles light enough for carrying, but at the range is where the bulk of the shooting happens so I want gizmos and features.
I’ve settled on NF NXS compacts because they have features that work properly for having fun at the range without being too heavy or bulky, and also work great for the relatively few shots I take at animals. I think there is no down side to having a feature rich scope like this for hunting, but there is a very big upside for having fun at the range.

I bought my first scope in 1962.....a Weaver K-6.....I still have it.

Not a lot of selection in fixed power.....and variables normally cost less.....and yup.....my variables are set to 6X and never get changed.....It's just the way it works for me.

To be honest, most of my rifles have 3x9X variables mounted, one has a 2x7. A couple have a 3X with post and crosshair. Strange thing, I have a 4X Leupold that when I aimed it at my target which is a 2.5" black square with a one inch white center, it seems smaller than when sighting at it with either the 3X scopes or the variables set at 3X. One thing I've noticed is when sighting in or just shooting from the bench for fun the scopes are set at 9X but on the hunt are set at 3X. My last six elk were all shot with the scope at 3X. Come to think of it, my antelope I took in 2009 was also shot at 3X. I'm still trying to figure out the deal of that 4x. Guess I could send it back for a tune up and checking out the actual power. I'm also trying to figure out why it came with a colored lens. (yellow)???
Paul B.

obviously you guys don’t have a creedmore!

I like the weight and simplicity of the fixed power scopes. Mostly use 4 and 6x.
Have several variables, but after sighting in they generally stay on 4 or 6.
Most of my shooting is done at 400 yards and under.

I do have 2 or 3 rifles that have variable scopes on from the day i got them.

But they lend themselves to shooting paper and dog towns.

The highest power is 24X.

Most are 12X with them being ones that folks have given me.

They have their place.

Just remembered that i have an EOTECH as well.

A creedmoor?

I believe we are seeing an example of what the industry is selling.
Somehow a "creedmoor" is in need of a scope with gizmos and high power?

The truth is that a .264" diameter bullet in the chamber of the creedmoor is still .264" in diameter on the firing line, and it's exactly the same diameter at 1500 yards. It doesn't somehow grow as it travels towards the target. . The target at 1500 yards is NOT any bigger if you make it look bigger,--------------- and if you were standing 15 yards from it it would be the exact same size.
See......scopes don't shoot.
The Emperor is truly naked, but thousands believe they can see his pretty new cloths.

I shoot to some long ranges for the fun of it. 1000 and 1200 are ranges I like to fire at, because I can be to a place to do it in only 20 minutes, and I can shoot to 600 by walking out my front door. Shocking as it may be, I fire at targets out to past 1000 yards with my scopes on the rifles I hunt with mostly set on low powers. Not always. I sometimes dial them up to 9X, but I like to shoot with them set the way I actually carry them most times
Note, I do pretty well as far as rounds fired to hits made. But I DO NOT fire at game past 550. Why?
Because I have never seen a real need to do it in over 1/2 century of hunting at any game that was not wounded and getting away.

But if I owned a creedmoor I would have a fixed 4X or maybe a fixed 6X on it.

I am not much of a "gear-queer" and I like simply hunting sights for my hunting rifles. I have not shot competition in about 15 years now, so I have no desire for a high powered wizz-bang bells and whistles scope. I don't begrudge anyone using them. Have at it if you like them.
But for me I like fixed lower power scopes.

That's the reply to the OPs question and that is my answer, speaking only for myself.

No amount of magnification will make the gun stand "stiller" for the shooter. It's all about the skill of holding and squeezing, not making a target look bigger. The target and the bullets don't grow, no matter what scope you buy.

Sure, they are as useful as they always were....but there really isn't a reason to pick a fixed over a variable, other than simple personal preference. A fixed power scope doesn't magically make you a better hunter, or somehow wiser...

I like 4 to 12’s, but I shoot at game most of the time on 4x. I would say yes they are very useful, especially if you hunt in the woods.

On semi to hard kickers, I lean toward fixed power. For the ranges I'm going to hunt, 6X is more then adequate(100-200 yards). My rifles with variables are never adjusted beyond 6x except at the range. I definitely like variables, but fixed powers are a solid part of my arsenal.

Correct.
and a few of us don't have the itch to shoot across zip codes.

Amazingly, a creedmoor can still make an outdated 6x42 work. The creedmoor can really make things happen...no telling if this scope would have worked if it was mounted on a rifle chambered in anything besides the creedmoor.

My answer would be "define <necessary>".

Technically, no, but very very useful. It is not possible to achieve the level of accuracy I demand for load work-up with a low magnification fixed power scope. Since I tinker with loads off and on year around through the life of a gun, the only viable alternative to a variable is 2 fixed magnification scopes (one low power hunting scope and a 10x or more powerful range scope) with a lot of re-sight-in required as I swap back and forth between the "range" scope and the "hunting" scope.

The pluses of a variable might not be important to someone with low accuracy standards or someone who works up one load and uses it for the life of the gun, but neither describes me.

Tom

My Remington 700 Classic in 35 Whelen wears a fixed 4x and my Winchester Super Grade Lightweight in 7x57 wears a fixed 6x. Both Leupolds. No issues for me.....

All my bolt actions have 4X scopes mostly Leupolds. I have one old K-4 on my Remington 720. They are not actually contemporaries, but they look right together, and the K-4 is best Weaver scope I've ever messed with and that is a bunch.

For the last 35+ years where I hunt is not range challenging, unless you count close as a challenge. My longest shot on a deer was 125 yards measured. Nothing that couldn't be handled with peeps or even irons given enough light. That is my way of saying I don't have any perspective about what works at long range in the field. I have shot the M16 and M14 at 300 meters and managed to hit the target sufficiently well to be labeled a sharpshooter with the -14 and expert with the -16.

So I don't need a celestial observatory to hit stuff out to practical ranges, nor do I need to twiddle knobs. (No widecracks necessary)


A 2.5X Leupold M8 Compact sits on that thing and it can do this if I pay attention...these are 5 shot groups BTW



I did cheat a little with the .22 LR barrel though and put a Weaver K3 that began life in El Paso.



Perhaps the most telling example though is what happened some years ago whilst checking zero for the .44 Mag that had a Millett SP1 red dot sight.



Yeah, I adjusted the knobs a little after that and jerked the trigger once on a trip to Mississippi.

I have far more fixed power scopes than variables. Several Leupold 3x and 4x, several Weaver 1x, 1.5x, 2.5x and 3x. A couple of Leupold 7.5 X, a Redfield 2 3/4x PCH, a Redfield 12X and a Weaver T36x. I also just picked up an odd one, a Burris 6x with a PCH reticle. I'm going to put it on the mini 14 when I get it back from Accuracy Systems. I'm not sure but I have an idea the combination of the Accuracy Systems mini 14 in 6x45 and the Burris PCH scope will make a good coyote calling rifle.

I have an older 4X Leupold on my Savage 99 in (gasp) .243. If I can see it in the woods I can kill it. Many would say I need at least a 3x9x42 to even start hunting with a .243, but the variable scopes I had didn't work well on my 99. The eye relief was just wrong for me. I stuck a 4X on it just to see how the eye relief would be, and it stayed there. I don't feel a bit "under scoped" in the dense woods I hunt. I don't need to be able to see Alpha Centauri in the Kentucky hardwoods and saw briars.

I just went through the list of my cartridge rifles, and the break-down is this:

31% have fixed-power scopes, from 2.5x to 10x, with 4x most common and 6x next.

15% have "iron" sights, which even at my advanced age I still shoot game with now and then.

The other 49% have variables, but about 2/3 are on what most people would consider varmint rifles. Many of the variables get set on the top magnification, from 7x to 10x, and never get changed. Partly this is because there are far more variable than fixed-power scopes available today, so it's a lot easier to buy a variable with the features you want, including reticle. Most of today's variables are also just as reliable (if not more so) than fixed scopes were back when I started using them on hunting rifles 50 years ago.

One of the things I've learned over the decades is that magnification over 6x isn't a big handicap for most big game hunting, partly because field of view has improved in most scopes.

You must have learned how to shoot without zooming in. That skill is lost.

Almost every scope on my hunting rifles are 6X. My few variables are usually set on 6X.

I cant think of a time over the last 62 years that I wished I would have had a variable. Of course my Varmint rifles have variables.

Ken

I still think they are useful, but admittedly, don't use them now. I haven't used them in over 25yrs. I went to the 1.5x5 to replace my older 4xs, and 2x7 and 3x9 the one 6x42 I used awhile. I find that out West, "mirage" gives me a fit past 10-12X, even with an AO. But I "could" use a 4X the rest of my life and kill everything I "wanted" to kill.

All the scopes I have are set at 6X nearly 85% of the time that I am in the field.

Well, I’m odd man out.

I don’t own ONE fixed power scope. It’s been so long since I had a fixed power,
I can’t remember.

When you hunt an area with point restrictions, say 3 points or 4 points on one side
Fixed power scopes are a liability to you at longer range.

Normally my scopes are set at 6 or 8 X and I have the option of Higer power when needed.


Jerry

I hunted with straight fours until I got my first 1.5-4.5x20mm Weaver V-4.5. You couldn't get me to go back to a fixed 4x or 6x. Most of mine have 1-4x20 or 1.5-6x40mm scopes on them and rarely get off the bottom. It is nice to have 4x or 6x on the top end to work up loads and if for some chance a coyote hangs up out there a ways. I do have a fixed 1.5x on a drilling for big game up in the forests.



I call coyotes in up to five states each year and never felt under scoped.

A person needs to decide if he wants a sight or an optical entertainment center.

Bruce

Meopta 6x42mm has become a favorite of mine. I have several, all with the #4 reticle.
Bob

I have some of each - a couple of 4x, a couple of 6x, and several variables from 1.5-6 to 3-9. I did have a 4-12 for a while but didn't find much need for the extra magnification for my purposes.

A 4x would do for most of my hunting, but I do agree with erich on the advantages of a low-range variable on a drilling - I have a 1.5-6 on mine, which allows me to easily use the shotgun as a shotgun should be used, shooting birds and running game with both eyes open, looking through and ignoring the scope, while having that ability to wind up a bit for a longer shot with the rifle barrel.

Being able to wind on a bit more magnification also can come in handy on other rifles, especially on smaller game, if you have the time and the shot's a long one. For walking up pigs or deer though, I almost always either have a 4x or a variable set on the low end, and that does me fine. I also think a 4x is ideal on a .22 for rabbits.

I like the Leupold 6x36 scopes. I have three on my 7x57, 7x64 and .257 AI. I have a 4x33 on my 9.3x62. I like the fact that I just go hunting and don't have to worry about adjusting the power ring. Simples.

69% of my rifles have metallic sights of one description or another, 22% have a fixed power scope, and only 9% have a variable scope.

The three I use most for hunting have a 6x42, 4x33, and a 3-9x40 that I just leave on 6X.

The high number of metallic sights is due to lever action and milsurp rifles.

Bought a CZ 611 22Mag last week and I had a Leupold 6x36 laying about so I put them together. Seems like the pair will be a good match. I've got fixed 6x42's on Kimber Montana's in 243Win and 7-08Rem as well and again, they seem to do what needs doing. I've killed coyotes with both rifles out a bit past 400yds and shot both on steel out to 600. As someone else stated, not what I'd want for F-Class but on a hunting rifle they work pretty well for me. I use far more variable scopes than I do fixed, but, I almost always carry them on their lowest setting and end up shooting game at those lower setting far more often than the highest settings.

I have a number of 4X and 6X scopes and still find them quite useful. I'm not a follower of the sniper fad and can't imagine taking a game shot beyond 400 yards, regardless of scope magnification. Several years ago, I did some comparison group shooting at 300 yards using the same .308 rifle, switching scopes from a 6X to a 10X. I fired 4, 5-shot groups; 10X group average was 2 1/4", 6X was 3 1/8", not much difference.

I use some variables for hunting, mostly 2.5X-8X Leupolds, but leave the magnification at the 8X setting from when the rifle was zeroed. I've seldom found a need to alter the adjustment in the field regardless of range.

While there are certainly legitimate uses for high magnification scopes, many of us don't have such a need. A lot of younger shooters and hunters seem to know nothing about lower-magnification fixed power scopes. It seems that many today think lots of scope power and light triggers make up for a lack of shooting skill.

I have fixed power 4s on a couple .22s, a .30-30, a crossbow, and a revolver.

Nothing wrong with them. For deer and other big game I prefer a 3-9. And use it often.

-Jake

No fixed power scopes on my rifles all are variable.

Well..... TRY to find a 3 rd point on one side of this 6 pt, 178 lb. buck with 17 1/2" INSIDE spread WITH a fixed 4 or 6 power AT 300 PLUS yds.



I did after a few minutes at 12 X .


S M H


Jerry

All but one of my 20 or so scopes are fixed powers...the vast majority of which are either 4X or 6X. For deer and elk sized critters up to 600 yards, I haven't seen the need for anything else.

Unless I get into a S&B PMII, I am done with variables. They simply have not been reliable for me, of any brand or model that I have tried.

Jerry, do you carry binos? Just curious.

I hear you, it was the same in East, Texas. I think more people out West use Binoculars than any other. Since whitetails can be patterned, people use blinds/towers, tree stands. I "tried" to use binocs in the South ( I do now as I am more used to them and even then sparingly) but the deer were so fleeting, the openings small (no big fields where we hunted), by the time you saw it was legal, picked up the rifle and tried to get a shot, he was gone! So, the "2nd" buck I even shot with a scoped rifle was (a) my longest at 276 long steps down a pipeline (b) I couldn't tell what sex it was until I cranked my scope up to 9x ( he was feeding across the ROW pretty fast, literally "just grabbing a bite" ha) the instant I saw horns, I touched it off. I had trained myself to get used to the scope hunting squirrels with it on my .22 same way. I'd keep it on 3-4x and if they were higher up a big pine, crank it up to 9x and "snipe him". What a hoot, it still is. So, for me, I have always done the same thing, if I "have time", I crank it up. If I don't he either gets shot (or at) with the lower power or passed. Entertainment, sure, but never, ever "scope out" another human. Ever. So, no, it does not take the place/use of binocs, but a binocular is no more a gunsight than a scope is a binocular. Right?

Binos are of limited usefulness where I hunt because the cover is so close; even a stand on the edge of what passes for a clearing is surrounded or backed by trees, brush etc where a deer may approach unseen. Any movement can get you busted, even the slight lifting of one's head in reaction to a sound (as I found out last year!). I usually carry them, but mostly limit their use to verifying stuff rather than looking for it.

Have 2.5, 4, 6, and 8x scopes, but mostly use mid-range variables set on low in the woods. The dearth of good new fixed-power hunting scopes is one reason, but also that 2-7s are similar in size and weight, and often have generous adjustment ranges to boot. The Leupold 2-7s used to be my standard, but now I'll buy honest goods that meet my requirements at a fair price from anybody.

Yes, 8 X 20........... not as effective and more bulk and weight to tote.

That uses MORE time when you already have 12 X available.



Jim Knight ---- Ditto


Pappy 348.....Ditto


My variables have been VERY dependable. I have 3 (THREE) I STILL use that are @ 30 yrs. old.


Jerry

Yep, once a deer is spotted where I hunt you better be in the scope and ready to shoot as soon as you know it’s a legal buck or the opportunity is lost.

ADDENDUM

I killed 2 bucks last season. IF I'd taken the time to use binos, I wouldn't have gotten a shot PERIOD>


Jerry

Shot my buck last season with a Lyman .2.5 mounted on a 30-06. If a guy is hunting brush and timber and doing off hand shooting then 4 x might even be too much...I remember those magazine articals when I was a kid pushing those high powered scopes hunting the west ...I bought into it full bore...I have since learned my lesson...

Just asking 'cause you mentioned that you looked at that buck through your 12X scope for several minutes before knowing it had a third point. That's enough time to get a spotting scope out and set it up, let alone raise binos. Probably more movement than you'd get away with, but time wise, with this buck it sounds like you'd of been fine with a good pair of binos.

I haven't hunted the east since I was stationed in North Carolina, but in the thicker parts of the west I use binos as much as I do in the open country. A quality pair of 8X binos helps more than most think in the dark timber or even the thick repod. You'd probably think I was just getting a great look at trees 20 yards away if you saw me, but I often am focused past the closest screen of trees, and finding antler tips or ears twitching.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but ditch the 8x20s and get some quality 8X42 or something of the like, put them in a quality bino harness and give them a try next season. I am sure there are times you won't get away with the movement it takes to use them and then raise your rifle, but I'll bet there's also times you could get away with that movement, if you're slow enough and the deer doesn't know you're there. I think if you got used to using them, they'll change how you hunt.

First:

That was ONE of very few times I've had that kind of time.

Second:

Why would I opt to use 8 X 20 binos WHEN I had 12 X on the rifle ?

Jerry

Binos generally give more detail and resolution than a riflescope of equal quality, even if the scope has more magnification. Looking through both eyes vs one makes this difference even more pronounced. Maybe it just does to me, I dunno.

Ditch the 8x20s. Get some good 8x42s, or something similar.

Ringman's sock puppet. Or brother. Whichever.

because my eyes don`t see as well anymore i use 10x42 binoculars and my Ruger #1 is a 257 Weatherby Mag. with a 4.5x14 Nightforce scope . when you don`t see well bigger is better and a low recoil rifle that will knock a decent buck down too helps,out to 500 - 600 yards and with a bi-pod.

6X fixed. I really prefer fixed power scopes.

Today is the 4th of July.

Everyone has the FREEDOM to hunt with what they want. And I do too.


Jerry


EDIT >> DONE .... Tin

You most certainly do have that FREEDOM, a freedom that some would deny to us all.

The freedom to own firearms and hunt appears to be getting slowly eroded away.

Yes sir. Everyone has different preferences. Hunt with what you prefer on the power you prefer and enjoy it.

I would make the same recommendation as T_Inman on good bino's though. There's no downside to being able to see with both eyes in a pair of bino's with decent sized exit pupils. If you want to use the scope once you find game that's all good. Good bino's will help you find more game, with less movement, from a better viewing position (eye's and body), and without pointing a rifle at everything. I think you appreciate good glass in scopes. Regardless of how good the glass in a pair of 8x20's are, the ease of view with a quality 7/8/10x42 (or even 32) is a different ballgame.

I just posted this under another thread asking the same question. I love my Meopta MeoPro on my Browning BLR .308. Great glass and easy to get on target quickly and make an accurate shot. The MeoPro 4x42 has excellent FOV and light transmission, if you are in the market for fixed 6X, definitely take a look at this optic.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/13950724#Post13950724

What about the missing 5%?

I just added a vintage Redfeld 6X (that I had fully resurrected) to my CZ .22 rimfire rifle. It's about as good as one can get to the ideal scope for that gun.

I have a Leupold FX-II 4x on my primary hunting rifle. I can't think of anything I could possibly gain by putting a variable on it for what I use it for.

And THAT is what matters. + 2


Jerry

MCH,

The "missing 5%" is due to rifles that, for whatever reason, don't have scopes on 'em at the moment.

No!

You must have a scope with the objective lens bigger than a lard bucket!!

Dang,,,, what do you do, shoot animals with that or just drop it on 'em?
lol

My hunting rifles wear 6x Leupolds. I prefer it.

TOugh to beat a Tikka T3x 30-06 with a 6x S&B sitting on it for all around deer and possibly Elk Hunting.

I started using a 4x and 6x in probably 2004. Haven't killed any big game with a variable since 2003.

I was shooting a 3 gun match saturday and while getting going on a stage the RO asked me to make any necessary adjustments to my optics. Sort of grinned inside. I don't know how to adjust the 3x Leupold.

I started with a fixed 4 power at age 14. That was a long time ago and I only have one variable but it's always at 6x. My last new scope was a fixed 6x. Where I hunt 6x really works well.

This is a little off the topic but I recently found a nice old Weaver 4x with a crosshair dot. I love that dot, wish I had found one years ago. I am hoping to find another one for an old Rem. 760 but they seem to be popular in the "vintage" scope market.

Mule Deer, Were you the guy who came up with one of my favorite lines, "How small are your deer anyway?"

I can see them just fine with 4X as far as I care to shoot. Though the last couple hunts I used a 6mm Rem with a 4-12X (set up for varmints obviously) because I really like the rifle. Scope on 4 or 6X.

Rodger!

nighthawk,

Ha! Can't remember writing that, but my friend D'Arcy Echols, the well-known custom riflemaker, once phoned me and opened the conversation with, "Just how small are the #$%^* elephants we hunt these days?" A customer wanted D'Arcy to build a .458 Lott that grouped both softs and solids into half an inch at 100 yards.

I once did mention that today's deer are now apparently the size of prairie dogs, because so many deer hunters believe they need half-inch rifles.

Apparently that includes me. Last fall I hunted mule deer with two rifles, both chambered for trendy 6.5mm rounds. One was capable shooting 1" 3-shot groups at 300 yards, and the other capable of putting 5 shots into 1/2" at 100 yards. I killed a buck with each rifle, one at 101 yards and the other at 159.

Plan for the worst, take the best!

Yup.

I had a 3X Leupold on my ,375 for years and never thought I was under scoped. Upon returning from my first Safari I replaced it with a 3-9X Trijicon. I really liked that illuminated green dot. On my next trip, I used the scope to it's variable power advantage. I really liked it. Carry it around at 3X though.

Me too, me too. It's just fun. Present favorite deer rifle is a 6mm Rem commercial Mauser set up primarily for varminting. I'll claim ½ but it's probably closer to 1. Truth is I like it because it's easy to carry and easy to shoot. Actually the sporterized Springfield my gunsmith uncle built for my grandfather with a full figured Fajen stock and a 4X Daylite scope (amazingly dim compared to even today' cheap scopes) works just fine in South Dakota. Shot my first deer with it. But today I think it needs wheels.