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Thread: Fixed power scopes

  1. #1
    In Remembrance
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    Fixed power scopes

    Most of my guns are older than I and are hunters not what one would really call long range guns. Is there anymore around that likes just plain fixed power scopes.
    The 4 power or less with a post reticle seems to be my favorite personally.

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy

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    Fixed power scopes!

    Love them, they cost less, & work better!

    As an optical technician, the fewer surfaces, the better the system. A modern fixed 10 power scope will be a better system than any vari focus, vari mag scope.

    The same in any other magnification.

    A fixed power scope will generally better than any other variable magnification scope especially of equal value.
    Freedom in America was not won with a "registered" firearm, nor was it a gift of the ruling class.

  3. #3
    On Heaven's Range

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    Yes indeed!

    Most of my scopes these days are variables, if truth be told. BUT.... my hunting days are behind me for the most part, and most of what I do now involves paper targets and a bit of varmint shooting.

    Most of my hunting was in Canada's far North, and one more advantage of the fixed-power sight is that there is NO power adjustment to freeze solid at JUST the wrong time. I found that for COLD-weather use, I'd best "set it and forget it", because the power rings would solidify as if set in concrete at below-zero temps.

    I used a K1.5 on my .404 (bison), and a K4 on the .30-06 (used on over 150 caribou). The .220 had a K10......YES, we liked the Weavers.

    To this day, we still have a few fixed-power scopes, and they still work just as well as ever. One less complication!
    Regards from BruceB in Nevada

    "The .30'06 is never a mistake." - Colonel Townsend Whelen

  4. #4
    Boolit Master


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    One of my favorites is the Redfield 2.5X I have on my Ruger No. 1 RSI. Crystal clear and fast to aim.
    I sure wish Leupold still made the 4X compact.
    Best,
    Mike

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  5. #5
    Boolit Master

    LUCKYDAWG13's Avatar
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    yes i use fixed power scopes on a few of my rifles and pistols
    kids that hunt and fish dont mug old ladies

  6. #6
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    For me the best all around scope in terms of quality/value/usefulness is the venerable Weaver K-4

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master







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    Close game shots that would best be taken with a 3 or 4X, can often be missed because a variable is sitting at 9 or higher and the shooter can't pick the game on the move. IMO, particularly on deer, most are shot at under 100 yds. A 3-4X is very adequate for such.
    1Shirt!
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  8. #8
    In Remembrance


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    there`s a K-3 Weaver sitting on my .375 H&H that works just peachy for my purposes. A few more set power Weavers are on other used alot rifles. My 12 gr. 870 slug gun has a 4X sitting on it also.Robert

  9. #9
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    Picked up (stole) a K4 with a post at the gun show last weekend. I say stole because I gave him his asking price of 25 bucks and was glad to do it.
    I am pretty sure it will be replacing the lupy on my old model 99. I would like to pick up a K3 too though.
    I have a 2 3/4 redfield on my old model 14 rem that looks like it was made for it, and I love the sight picture, but haven't even fired that one yet.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master and Dean of Balls




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    does it get any simpler than this?

    My go to rifle. I bought it while I was stationed in Southern CA too many years ago. My son will inherit it.
    Leupold fixed 4 and chambered in 06. It has the cleanest 2.5 lb trigger you could ever wish for.


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  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy 292's Avatar
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    I have a Leupold fixed 6 on my Model 70, we've killed a bunch of deer.
    "Some men are mere hunters; others are turkey hunters." Archibald Rutledge

    http://doingitoutdoors.wordpress.com/

  12. #12
    Boolit Master shredder's Avatar
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    I have 2 fixed 4 powers. One on my ML that i use for 99% of my deer hunting and the other on my '06, though I have had a 3-9 on my '06 while I am doing load development. That is the only time I have ever used 9x, at the range testing loads. In the field, my vari is always set on 4x. It's literally all I have ever used and all I have ever needed. Things get pretty shaky at 9x in the field and I simply shoot better at 4.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    I like variables mostly myself and for large game like deer here in the Northeast I use 1.5x6x42mm and use the 6x at the range developing loads and for sighting in, but hunt with them on 1.5x.

    I also agree with AricTheRed about lens surfaces and to go even one better is a Unertl's, or Lyman Super Target Spot where the lens’s are in perfect alignment but require external adjustments.

    That said I have several Unertl's, Lyman Super Target Spots, Redfield 3200, Weaver T-10 and other fixed power scopes that I mostly use for target shooting and competition.


    My view is sometimes one type of scope has advantages over the other. The two weakness’s of a variable scope are the extra lenses and how well the zoom is made to hold the point of impact. The weakness of the fix power is the application that is being used in, either too much or too little power like in the three bears and the porridge, too hot, too cold, or just right.

  14. #14
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    All of the scopes on my hunting rifles are variables. The funny thing is, with the exception of my 223, the only time they come off of their lowest settings is at the range. I hunted 20+ years with a Weaver K2.5 on my 06 and never knew I needed more scope.
    Krag35

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  15. #15
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    I have a couple and have nothing against them but the problem is these days there not any cheaper at least not in a quality line. take a look at a 4 or 6 power leupold for example. You can buy a 3x9 vx2 as cheap or cheaper. Anohter problem is hardly anyone is making them anymore. Burris and nikon both quit. Also for my uses variable just make more sense. In regular rifle season a 4x is fine in a deer blind but a little much in the swamp and when doing crop damage shooting in the farm fields even 6x can be marginal on the real long shots. Sure in any of those cases i could make due with a 4 or 6x scope but just dont see any real advantage to not using a1x4 or 2x7 for season hunting or 3x9 or even a 4x12 for the real long stuff. that way if nessisary i can grab about any gun and make it work in any situation. Granted id probably never grab a 300 mag with a 4x12 on it to sit in my blind or a 250 savage to shoot deer at 500 yards but it does allow the option.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    I used to use K4's exclusively and had no problems. But then I tried a Leupold variable and now I have few fixed powers. One incident really fixed my appreciation of being able to turn up the power. On an elk hunt I was able to turn up to 6X to thread a bullet through some brush to take a nice elk. Had I used a lower power fixed scope I wouldn't have had good enough resolution to see all the smaller branches and may have only clipped branch instead of being able to shoot between them. I've made it a habit to leave a variable on the lowest power unless I need more magnification.

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master







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    As usual tend to agree with Lloyd Smale!
    1Shirt!
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    "Ve got too soon old and too late smart" Pa.Dutch Saying

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master Char-Gar's Avatar
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    When I started hunting in the 50's, variable power scopes were in their infancy and had lots of problems. A hunting rifle scope was 2.5, 2.75 or 3 power. If a fellow went out west to take a poke at a far away antelope or muley he might have a 6 power scope. The fellow who wanted just one scope for all hunting conditions took the compromise route of a 4 power scope.

    I still use fixed power scopes of the 2.5 to 4 power range except on one target rifles that carries an old Redfield 12 power.
    Disclaimer: The above is not holy writ. It is just my opinion based on my experience and knowledge. Your mileage may vary.

  19. #19
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I have old Weaver 4x and 6x as well as Kollmorgen fixed. Why does someone not make a fixed 12-15 x scope. Demand maybe??

    Shiloh
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  20. #20
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    Leupold makes a couple of 12xs and a 16x and Valdada makes a 16x but that's about it. I think the Weaver K-4 is a beautiful thing

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check