High Powered Scopes ???

S

saands

New member
I've been looking for a scope recently to do some longer range shooting (300m and such) with my .308 and in addition to the standard line of 3x-9x, I have seen a ton of 4x-12x and 6x-18x scopes out there and was considering a purchase. My line of reasoning: if 6x is good for 100 yds then I should have 18x for a similar image at 300, right? The physics are sound ... but I'm confused by other data. I ran across a description of the US Army's tactical rifle system and noticed that its M3A scope is only a 10x scope. These guys are talking about precision shots out to 800m, so why all the big magnifications? The only scopes I have now are a 4x and a 2x-7x variable. At this point, I'm questioning the need to even upgrade to a 10x since I have no intention of shooting at 800m.

If I upgrade, I would like this scope to do double duty as a range scope as well as a hunting scope.

Why have you picked the magnification that you use? Any insights into these high mag scopes would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Saands
 
Army Sharpshooters.....

The Reason for the Army only Using 10x Scopes is after 10x you have diminishing returns.

After about 14x you will be able to see your heart beat with the Reticle, heat Mirage is a major Problem at Higher Magnifacations, The Human Body Torso which the "Snipers" are Trained to shoot at is actually a Big Target..... they aim for centre of "mass" which on me is 24"x16".

That All being Said the Best Scope I have seen for shooting out to 600yds would be the Leupold 6.5x18x40 (or 50mm if you like high Rings) or the 4.5x14x40.

Above All have fun and Shoot Safe, If shooting out past 600yds you should get a set of Long Range Scope Mounts that will give you an additional 20 MOA so the scope setting is kept Centered.
 
Depends on what your shooting. If the target is small, like a gopher or a groundhog, high-power is the way to go. If bigger, stick with 10x for the reasons that westicle stated.
 
My opinion is that if you have a combination hunting and paper-punching rig and you won't be shooting beyond 500 yards, you NEED no more than a 3X9 or 3X10 scope.

On one of my longer deer kills, at 350 yards, my scope happened to be set on 3X. The deer didn't care; he just fell DRT.

Unless you do a lot of hunting at early light or during dusk, a 40mm objective lens is as big as you need.

I picked up a Bushmaster which came with a 6X24. The main advantage of the high power is seeing the bullet holes in the paper without having to use my spotting scope. :) I've shot lots of very small groups from guns with no more than a K4.

All in all, I see no particular reason--given your parameters--to have more than a Leupold Vari-X II in 3X9. It should still be doing just fine, 30 years from now.

$0.02, Art
 
Hmmm ... it's funny that I hadn't thought of the heartbeat issue as I was given a pair a Zeiss 16x binocs that are all but useless without a tripod! I have no intention of shooting past 600yds, so I think I will stay with the 2.5-10 or maybe a 4-12 ... where do you usually need to go with the higher rings? I see many with 44mm objectives ... the problems with higher rings make perfect sense. Is 40mm the limit for the regular rings?
Thanks for the insightful responses,
Saands
 
Rings depend alot on what base you are using. I use an angled base with about 15MOA built in and I use low Leupold QRW rings with a 50mm objective scope. I have about a good 1/8" between the barrel, which is a heavy custom, and the scope. Make sure you have the right set up. Don't assume you need high rings with a 50mm objective. Look at the whole system.
 
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