What's the highest magnification you need?

J

jwaldrop3

Inactive
What's the highest magnification you need, in general, if you want to shoot targets at 500 - 800 yards? I'll be shooting a Rem. 700 SPS Tactical .308
 
What size targets? I think a 3-9x would be enough for big game at those ranges. Paper, I'd like double that.
 
A lot of it is what you're used to having, plus the size of the target.

I shoot woodchucks out to no more than approximately 300 yards and I use 25X. They're pretty large, really. 15 inches by 6, give or take a couple. I don't think most long range guys go 25X at 1000 yards.
 
Im actually picking one up today in about an hour :)
Id go with 15x is about all you will need. Nothing more unless your planning on shooting eggs at that range. :rolleyes: But 3-9x is a good range. 10 fixed powers are good if you want a fixie. Not really recomended tho.

PM me some grouping and your set up when you get her all finished.
I kinda wanna see another SPS tac in action.

GL!
 
Just myself I would go with the 6.5x20x50mm Leupold. But that is just myself there are some nice ones out there. Sometimes with that bigger bell you wont get a good check to stock weld looking up. But most target or tactial rifles take that into account so the stock is fit correct for them.
 
I use 3x9 for larger targets but because of my old eyes I use 18 on a vari-pwr scope and I can say it helps me in all my long range shooting....
 
What's the highest magnification you need?
Click to expand...

Hunting = 4X
Long Range Targets = 10X

Hunting you want field of view.
Competition you want to see the target, but with anything over 10X you start washing out your target by magnafying the mirage.
 
Am I the loner here? I am not a hunter, just paper puncher. I started with a 3-9x then a few 6-18x's and now have 8-32x's. That would be on rifles that are a .308, .223, and a 22-250. I love HIGH MAGNIFICATION! My uncle has the fixed Leupold 45x. Do I need it, probably not, but I guess I really like to see what I am shooting at. Now a 32, 36, or 45x for hunting is not very practical, but being able to read fine print at 200-300 yards is awesome!
 
No, your not a loner. I punch paper, and hunt year round. I started my career as a shooter as a sniper in Vietnam. We used a 3-9x40mm Redfield ART scope.

I now use a 3-18x42mm (35mm body) as the smallest, and have only occasionally used it, with my primary scope being a 6-24x50mm (35mm body). I use it on everything from 22-250 Rem to the .33 caliber "Super Magnums". The large body and objective bell diameters give me a very wide field of view and can be used easily for close shots (300 yards and closer), but when I reach down range the higher magnification allows me to pinpoint the strike of the round on the target rather than the cross hairs covering the whole target. Most everyone I know that loves the long range rifle game as I do will generally be using a variable power scope with a lot of magnification on the top end.
 
I had a Tasco 3-9x40 that was on 7mm Mag for hunting out to 300 yards. It was fine when I was 19yoa, but not at 40yoa. I upgraded to 4-14x42mm and am comfortable out to 500 yards.

I ran the 4-14 on my .223 AR for 100 yards and 200 yards shooting. 200 yards was iffy at 40yoa. I got the 8-32x for target shooting the AR.

World champion F T/R (1000 yards) won with a Leupold 8-25x VX3 scope.

March scopes is coming out with 8-80x scope this year. Leoupold, Nightforce and Schmidt & Bender have scopes at 45x.
 
If you're shooting at 500-800 yards and your target is smaller then say, a semi trailer you're going to wish you'd got at least a 18-25 power scope. Anything less powerful and the crossed hairs or mil dot is going to completely cover any standard target- no chance for zero'ing in on the bullseye.
 
1x per 100 yards that you know how to shoot.

Making the target bigger in your eye doesn't negate the fact you have to know your cartridge's ballistics from your rifle.
 
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