What power scope do you use ?

[cwlongshot]

For me its completely determinant upon caliber, firearm and use.

Overall “deer hunting” its a Leupold 2x7x33 VXII. But long range guns would get more power and some close (er) range guns, have fixed 2 3/4& 3x too.

But a target RF would see a gross overs scoping. IE 4x12 or 6x18 Cheap scope with focus adjust.

Lever actions dont get optics, they get a peep Site.

Close range Varmint rifle will have a red dot cause shots are usually close and quick.

I have begun to change my open site hand guns to red dots as sites are harder to see. Just last saturday, my 10” 218 bee ‘temder barrel got a Ultra dot. Its shooting 2” @ 100 again!!!

CW

[Tripplebeards]

My goto optic lately has been Nikon pro staff 5, 3.5x14 40 mm with the BDC recital. I have also gone to quite a few 2.5x10 pro staff 5’s and Monarchs as well. I have a lot of 3x9 leupolds and a few 2x7’s as well. I don’t like the 2-2.5 power on my lower power optics and bump them all up to 3/3.5 so it looks like there is some magnification through my optic. It’s almost like 2/2.5x looks farther way then normal eye sight when looking through my optics no matter what brand. I put a pro staff 5 2.5x10 40 mm on my 35 whelen carbine last year and like it a lot. More of an entry level optic IMO. Think it was around $189/$199? I normally pic out an optic to match it to my rifle weight, length, and looks so I don’t pic out an optic that looks out of place(to large for the gun). Also I gauge it on my hunting style with the particular gun, game, and average distance I know I’ll be dispatching animals with it. A good quality 3x9 would be a good starter optic for you IMO. I can say I have fallen in love with the Nikon line with the front adjustable objectives. I can really adjust to a crystal clear sight picture VS non adjustable front objective optics. I’d tell you visit you local gun shop and look through a few brand with and without front adjustable objectives before buying. I hated the adjustment in the front when I was a kid because my eyes were young. I just had lazik and need readers now but can see clearly a country mile. Before it was the opposite. Front adjustable objectives dial in for me to correct this. I still see just fine with fixed optics but the ones that adjust work better for me.

[DocSavage]

I've 3-9 power of most of my rifles,the exceptions are my 308 that's a Burris 8x32 and my 1874 Sharps has a 6 power Malcolm style made by RHO sadly he is out of business.

[white eagle]

I hunt mostly whitetail from a tree stand waiting and watching
longest shot would be a touch over 200 yds. no need for fancy
so a 3x9 variable mainly Ziess but an occasional Leupold
for my predator rigs I like mo power again variable in the 5x15
or 6x18 power range

[scattershot]

I use a 4x, and have for years. Since I started hunting prairie dogs, though, I have gone to a 3x9. I never had much use for anything over 4x. I’m 73, BTW.

[Slugster]

Just about all of my rifles wear a 3x9 or 4x12 variable. Have a .44SRH with a 4 power fixed. I don't do well with open sights like I used to. Old eyes and trifocals are not conducive to accurate shooting, at least for me. YMMV.

[Life Member]

I was using 6x now I like up to 18x If the size of the scope isn't an issue go big

[Rich/WIS]

My big game hunting is for deer and ranges are short, 100 yards and usually less. Have a Redfield 3X9 on my 243, the upper power in case I take it coyote hunting. Other wise stays on 3X. Have a Leupold 1.5X5 on my Ruger #3 in 30/40 AI which I usually hunt deer with, set at 3X. My old and much modified Rem 513 22 has a BSA 3X9 with the AO but seldom gets the high settings except when at the range. Bought it strictly for the AO feature which I now realize I could probably live without. Could use a fixed 3X or 4X for all my deer and squirrel hunting and shooting and not be handicapped.

[444ttd]

back in the day, i liked to use swift 3-9x(swift was an over the counter warranty, but not now). it was set at 4x. today i use leupold 2-7x and peep sights. the scopes' is 3x while hunting and shooting targets it is set at 6x. i hunt deer/black bear close up, 50+/- yards. i use redfield(30-40 krag) and a williams(35/30 win) and a 98 mauser(8x57) lyman peep sights.

my 20 vartarg is a 6-18x swift. it is set at 10x.

[robg]

22rf 4x16 223/308 3x9 /45-70 2x7 don't need more as the holes are nice and big

[375supermag]

Hi...
Having been blessed with poor eyesight my entire life, I have worn glasses and contacts since I was 8 years old.
Never could shoot iron sights very well because of my eyesight.
I found that a 3x9 power scope allowed me to not only shoot better but allowed me to see antlers on deer that I could not see even with glasses or contacts. I suddenly became a fairly decent rifle shot...amazing how much better one can shoot when you can actually see an in focus target.

I also had my eye doctor fashion me a pair of glasses to allow me to see the sights better on handguns. Once he did that, my handgun shooting improved dramatically. I went from being non competitive to actually winning matches over the course of about a year.

Unfortunately as I aged my eyesight has gotten a bit worse as far as being able to focus the front sights on handguns, so I am no longer able to shoot handguns competitively. I can still shoot handguns fairly well but I simply am no longer able to focus the sights and target well enough to compete.

As far as preferred scopes, I use Leupold and Vortex scopes in the 3x9 and 4x12 range. Usually one inch tubes with either 40 or 50mm objective lenses.
I have a red dot on my SBH in .45Colt and a green laser on an M&P40.

[curioushooter]

Perhaps 10% of my shooting opportunities occur at ranges beyond 100 yards, so I greatly prefer low magnification scopes. I have an UltraDot on my Contender which I think is perfect! I have fixed 2.5x on most of my rifles. I have a 3.6x on my 22 "squirrel" rifle. I have a 1-4x on my 30-30, which I pretty much leave on ~3x. I have a 2-7x on my "varmint rifle" which is a CZ527, and I leave this one on 7x pretty much. It is the highest magnification scope I use, and I do appreciate that greater magnification in this application when I almost always use shooting sticks and I want to plug the smaller target of a coyote at ranges of about 150-200 yards. Beyond 6x I find the wobbling that goes on in an offhand position irritating, and I couldn't imagine having a use for it on deer. I am pretty much a Leupold guy. I've bought other brands, even ones of the same price point, but always found them disappointing. Really wish they had a 2.5x20 Ultralight with the Firedot for reasonable money.

[Reverend Al]

I worked for 38 years in the sporting goods trade and sold more scopes than I can possibly remember. My advice was always to consider a variable power scope for a hunting rifle. If you are in thick brush and the shots you might get are short range keep the scope dialed down to it's lowest power (2X on a 2x7, 3X on a 3x9, 4X on a 4x12, etc.). If you get an opportunity for a longer shot (200 yards for example) then after you get into a solid kneeling or prone position (since you definitely shouldn't be shooting 200 to 250 yards offhand!) then you have time to turn up the magnification.

Having said that I personally have several guns with fixed, low powered scopes on them, but they are .22's and a fully rifle 12 gauge shotgun and they are all generally shot at fairly short distances. My larger calibre hunting and target rifles wear variable power scopes such as 3x9's, 3.5x10's, 4x12's, or even 6.5x20's based on the rifle's intended use and the practical range of the cartridges that they are chambered in.

[GARD72977]

I am only a target shooter so my criteria is somewhat different. It depends on the target and the rifle.

I have a Anschutz 1712 in a Pharr style stock that has a Fixed 25x Leupold. The target is Silhouette or A23 targets. The stock is very comfortable for offhand. I find the 25x very usable and gives a lot of feedback on my steadiness and trigger discipline. I see everything that happens. This set up is rewarding and ultimately frustrating when things aren't going right.

I shoot a Ruger No.1 in a 30/30. The gun is a light sporter and does not hold well offhand. It wears a 4x Burris mini. I shoot paper and 8" plates @ 200 yds off -hand. The set up works. More scope would not be an advantage because the gun is hard to shoot offhand. It does manage to hit the 8" plates a good precentage of time. I suffer from flyers that are my fault.

I shoot a High power Ar15 4x Vortex that weighs 13 points off hand @ 200 yds at paper. The 10 ring in the official target is fairly large. 4x is the most power that's legal and I really don't feel like a higher power scope would be an advantage because of the target size.

I won't list every gun I shoot but I tend to like high-power scopes on guns with stocks and enough barrel weight to hold well off hand. A regular hunting gun will not been it from extra power in offhand shooting. It is very fristrating to have a light gun wander using a high-power scope. Most of my future projects are trending toward lower power scopes.

I am mostly a offhand shooter (90% or more). Just wanted to add a different prospective to the conversation. Your shooting platform and target have a lot to do with scope slection. The 3-9x40 is popular for a reason, and there is a reason I don't own one......

[brstevns]

I am finding this all very interesting. I have worn glasses since I was 4 years old, would be legally blind without them.

[Eddie Southgate]

I use everything from a 1.5 Lyman Alaskan 3/4" with a post to a 36 power . Depends on where, on what and why it's being used . A good 3X9 30mm Weaver, Nikon , Redfield or Burris would be hard to beat . The brighter the view the better for older eyes, light transmission is more important than power on days with low light .

[Tom W.]

6x Leupold on my 30-06 A.I. and an old 4x Tasco in my 30/30 A.I.
I had a 4-12 x on the 7 mm RemMag that I had but sold the whole rig.
When I had my single shot Savage I had some monstrous high powered scope to shoot 1k yards with....10 x - 30x or some such....

[Wayne Smith]

I have a 2.5-7 on my 45-70 barrel of the Encore, a 3-9 on the 25 Krag AI barrel (because I've never invested in a 4-12!) and open sights on the 500S&W barrel.

[Lloyd Smale]

normal deer season what ever gun I have has the scope cranked down as low as it goes. For field shooting in crop damage season most of the time my guns are set at 6x. Ive shot deer from 50 to well over 500 yards set on 6x. A bit more might be advantageous at the 400 plus yard shots but I rarely looked through the scope and thought I needed more and fool with it. Unless you have a rock steady rest any more then 6x can amplify movement and even your breathing enough to make you loose confidence. 6x and let my brain deal with the rest of it works for me.

[rfd]

i'm with lloyd - for a small to large game Hunting rifle there's not much more needed than a good fixed 6x scope. for the target/dinger folks off a bench or bipod, out to 1000 yards or less, quality fixed 16x glass is the most that's needed. variable power scopes have their place, sometimes; but for the most part the better value/durability/quality will be in a fixed power scope.