What power scope do you like for 100 to 200 yards. When I was young a 4x would do, now that I am approaching 70 it takes a little more.
Printable View
What power scope do you like for 100 to 200 yards. When I was young a 4x would do, now that I am approaching 70 it takes a little more.
Most of my rifles have scopes that fit their intended uses (for the most part). For most woods hunting a 3x9 fits the bill well for me, but for wide open country deer/antelope hunting I'll opt for a little higher power like a 4x12. On my Varmint rigs I use a Vortex 6.5x20. For 100-200 yards though, I think I'd still probably go with a 3x9. Some like fixed power scopes too, but I like the versatility of a high quality variable scope. A side parallax focus on the higher power models is a nice feature to have.
IMHO, a lot depends on what type of gun and what are your usage requirements for it and at what distances. a fave of mine is the SWFA SS 10x42 for rimfire or centerfire bolt action, any distance out to at least the longest i've used it, 700 yards. hard to beat that scope for its value, quality and price point. fixed power scopes are more rugged and simplistic to use, and back in the day were the faves of military snipers who typically fared well with 6x to 10x glass. the SWFA SS was originally a Navy military contract scope, too.
That depends on the rifles and intended uses for them. On my BPCR rifles its 3/4" tubed 6X scopes ( rules for BPCR silhouette). for hunting rifles it van be from 1 .5 X to around 6X varmint and target rifles or rifle strictly for use on the range 20-36x. I prefer 1" tubes and medium sized objectives. My favorite long range or testing scope is a 6-20 lepould target with side adjust parallax. On period guns a unertal in 15-20X does very good. I have a few scopes. But made my own mounts for a lot of rifles and move scopes from rifle to rifle. Once mounted and sighted the settings noted in my range book they repeat very well.
I am finding as I get older the higher magnifications make things much easier to see.
I too, prefer the simplicity of a fixed power scope. My favorite at this time, is the 6x36 Leupold scope. Ample magnification for detail, while still giving a decent field of view. Many people that have variables, just leave them on one power anyway, while the rest tend to fiddle with them too much.
Trouble is, the fixed power Leupolds, are seldom on sale, while the variables often are.
For my hunting a 2-7x does very nicely. For varmit/prairie dog, woodchuck A 3-9 is better. I don't like anything over 10 power. The 2-7 works on big game to 400yds or so and I don't shoot at game any further than that.
Our camp rules are 8pt or better. So I need a higher power scope to see the racks even though ranges are normally under 275 yds with most shots under 150. For hunting does, a fixed 4x would be a good choice. I have a 4-12 mounted on the deer rifles.
I use a Meopta meopro 6-18x50 on my 7mm mag for whitetails, If I were to pick a favorite scope it would be a 4-16 x 50.
I don't get a chance to do much shooting over 100 yards much these days.
I'm split about half with 2x Red Dot sights which do quite well @75 yards and not bad at 100.
The other half vary from 1.5x5, 3x9's and a pair of 4x12's on my 2 best long range guns. Those higher power variables can walk all over those 3x9's at 100. I'm not 70 yet but in 4 short days I'll only be 3 years short of it.
RedDot sights are all Truglo, scopes are mostly Simmon's which have been good for me. And at around 60$ if I have to replace one It does not hurt so bad.
I use mostly use 2-7x's or 3-9x's. My rifled shotguns have 2-7x's as I am known to have let the deer climb into my stand before I shoot them, at the same time I have a 200yrd range with them so I like to have the 7x for the distance shots. I also use 2-7x's on the 22LR. Most of my centerfire rifles have 3-9x's one or two have a 4-12x. Not many places you can shoot more than 200yards or so here unless your hunting a field. Also most of my guns came with the scopes on them already and they seem to be matched perfectly for my usage.
I am liking what I am hearing.
My long range rifle( 25-06) wears a 4x12 Redfield, my truck gun 22-250 a 6x Burris, my 30-30 bolt gun gets a Weaver K4 for deer and a K10 for targets. The .250 Sav has a 3x9 Redfield; my .300BO and 7.62x39 ARs wear 4x Nikon and K4 respectively. The other ARs, M1 carbine, single shot 44-40 and Win 94 are peep sighted.
6x has always been my favorite scope overall.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Was going to put a 2to7 on one of my rifles and was wondering if it will work with my tired old eyes.
Going to give it a try and see how I do. Most of my shooting now days is punching paper at 100 yards and a few times a year at 250 yards
My woods rifles LVs have reciever sights for average shots 100yds or less. I have a few pumps & autos with 3x.
My BAs from 308 through 338 have mostly Leupold 6x. Small bore Varmit guns have from 10x to 16x. My 22s I hunt small game with have 4x top shelf models. I can abide varibles, had bad experiences with them back in 60s and don't trust them. If I could only have one scope would be 6x Leupold.
Pretty much 4-12 or higher though I have a 3x9 on my 22lr, 17hmr savage and my 30-30. I've got a few 2 though 4x fixed power scopes, old weavers and bushnells. Considering 99% of my shooting is targets, they are kinda useless. Better than irons but you still have to use the spotting scope at 100 yards to see your group.
I use 1x to 40X depending on usage. For deer rifles 2.5 to 8 or 3.5 is the most common for me. For Antelope I prefer 6.5 to 20 mostly for judging the horns. My 17 HMR are mostly Weaver T-10's Most hunting handguns for me are 2x with a couple of 4x and on my XP100R 223 I use 4 to 12.
There are several inescapable compromises with optics. One of those compromises is field of view is affected by the amount of magnification. In fact, everything in optics is a compromise: Weight, light transmission, field of view, eye relief, cost, magnification........it is all a compromise. No single aspect can be changed without affecting some other aspect. There's no free lunch when it comes to optics.
There's a tendency to seek higher magnification than needed and there is also a tendency to be fearful of fixed power scopes.
Pick the least amount of magnification you can live with and if you can live with a fixed power scope - you are better off.
Old 2.5x weaver on my deer rifle and a 2.5x prism on my AR
Most of my long range deer rifles (100-150 yards...I don't shoot beyond that)....are topped with 3-9...walking kept on 3...in the stand set at 5....if I see one from a long way out I'll bump it up as necessary.
redhawk
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
I was using 6x now I like up to 18x If the size of the scope isn't an issue go big
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.
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.
22rf 4x16 223/308 3x9 /45-70 2x7 don't need more as the holes are nice and big
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.
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.
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.
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......
I am finding this all very interesting. I have worn glasses since I was 4 years old, would be legally blind without them.
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 .
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....
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.
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.
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.