Which Magnification?

D

dontcatchmany

New member
I am in the process of narrowing down the scope I want on my Savage 25-06.

I am getting a scope with FFP and side parallax and mil/mil reticle/turrets.

One scopeunder consieration is 4-16x50 and the other is 6-24x50.

Most of my shooting is 100-200 yds with a fair amount to 300-400 and I want to see clearly to about 500.

And, heck, an occasional 50 yd. Is the 6-24 way too much or is it ok....I guess the same question for the 4-16.

My initial impression is that the 4-16 is all I will ever need to see what I am shooting at pretty clearly.

I am basically confused to the lower range magnification. And just need some experienced users to give their oninions.

Thanks in advance.
 
i have a 6-24X50 mildot on my savage 223 and just love it no its not to much as u can see the bullet holes at 200yds and watch the impacked on the steal at 400yds its great
 
25-06

You don't say, but I'm guessing your 25-06 is a sporter, aka 22-24" std taper bbl and a sporting stock, I suppose your hunting deer and maybe antelope w/ it, huh?? You never really say WHAT you're shooting?

I've got an F-T/R rifle with a Burris 6-24X XTR on it, and that is one big chunk of glass and aluminum. Big, heavy, all knobs and bells. I carry it to the line (about 150 feet most times, max) and plunk the rifle and its attached stargazer, onto its bipod, and shoot.

If your rifle is a deer/antelope rifle, I would not hang the monster 6-24xx50mm on it. Such an optic will add considerably to the size and weight of your rifle. To clear the 50mm bell you will likely need medium, maybe even high rings, depending on mfg. And you will have to carry that rifle to and fro. Unless you are exclusively a shooting house guy and ATV or truck it to the stand.

On a varminter, with smaller targets, maybe. Or on a match rifle, say F-open class, sure. But a GP sporter, for me, 4-12x with a 44mm bell or so, is all the scope I would want.

But.......your rifle, your money, let us know what you do??
 
Im guessing its not his go to rifle for deer shooting as he wants FFP mildots and turrets.
6 times zoom will be fine unless your trying to do snap type shooting, trying to get a rabbit that jumps out at you feet, the majority of shooting I do with my 22lr i usually see something and then wind the zoom up to 12 times anyway, and my friend keeps his 22 scope on 7times zoom all the time so im sure uld be fine with 6 times, the extra zoom at long range will certainly be useful.
 
I really like my .257 AI.I get about 3050 with a Nosler 115 Ballistic Tip.That has a BC of about .430 something.Berger makes a 115 VLD that has a better BC.Off the top of my head,I do not know of better long range bullets.Few .25 bbls are rwisted tighter than 1 in 10.
I think you are reasonable to place your extreme ranges at 500 to 600 yds.
IMO,depending on your intended target,the 4.5-14 should be good.I am sure with my 4.5-14 I can see well enough for prairie dogs at that range.I have a 6 power on my .257,the 4.5-14 is on a M-70 Laredo 7 mm Rem mag
 
I agree 100% with Bama. If this is a hunting rifle I.E packing the rifle for hours at a time your optics choices will be a bit much. My scope choices for rifles I carry range from 2-7x33 to 4-12x44 the latter of which is on a 300 win mag and tends to get heavy during a long hard mountain hike. If your 25-06 will be fired from a stationary position then mount the hubble telescope on it. just MHO.
 
You don't mention which scope brands you are considering or your budget. Most 50mm scopes are not a good choice unless you start moving up to 30mm tubes and into the $700+ price range.

The cheaper 50mm scopes usually cut corners and use lower quality glass and you don't end up with a better scope than quality 40mm scope. A $300-$400 scope in the 3-9X40mm range will do anything you need to do out to 500 yards and will be a better scope than any 50mm scope in the same price range.
 
I have a 4.5x14x40 VX3 on my 25/06. Great out to 500 yards and beyond, and still a wide enough field of view for closer ranges.

Bill
 
I'd think a 3.5-10 would handle all your needs. I use a 4-16X40 Elite 4200 on my .25-06 and like it but I'd like to go down to a little smaller scope. Of course I'm using my rifle for hunting but that doesn't sound like what your main purpose for the rifle is going to be.
 
My favorite deer rifle has a Leupold VX3 4.5X14X40 mm. The scope really isn't that big, nor does it sit too high up on the rifle. It's a great scope, and the last 2 years prior to opening day, I didn't need to touch the adjustments at all. My favorite 220 Swift coyote rifle has the Leupold VX3 6.5X20X50, with the 30mm tube and with the Fine Duplex. Maybe it's the 30mm tube that brings in the light, but it's wonderfully bright in the late evening when those coyotes start sneaking over to the bait. If I could change anything at all on those scopes, I'd add the varmint hunter lines below the main crosshair. The scopes predate that option. I think the custom shop will add the lines and match it to my specific rifle loads, but I haven't checked on the cost to do it. I wouldn't put the 4.5X14 on my coyote gun (though it'd do just fine) and I wouldn't choose to put the 6.5X20 on my deer rifle. But...if I had to punch paper at long range, shoot coyotes, and shoot deer all with the same scope, I'd probably go with the 6.5X20, but that's just my personal thinking today.
 
I would not even consider a 50mm scope or such powers as mentioned. For big game most of my life I used 4X. The only time I wanted more power was antelope hunting where it was hard to keep up with the buck moving in the herd.

I now have a Leupold VX3 2.5X8 X 36 on my .270. It is perfect for my hunting, which may be in the timber or long range in the mountains. For trophy hunting I carried a small Bushnell 20 X 50MM spotting scope. When you get over 20X the mirage takes its toll.

Unless one is hunting long range varmits/prarie dogs Keep the scope as small and light as reasonably possible.

Regards,
Jerry
 
You didn't say what you were shooting at, either targets or game. A .25-06 is generally used for long-range varmints like woodchucks, gophers, and coyotes.

A 4.5-14 40mm is probably sufficient for most hunting conditions and pretty good for informal target shooting. Any bigger/more powerful can make the rifle unwieldy and difficult to focus on game at relatively close range. When walking around, I set the scope at it's lowest power for the greatest depth of field and turn the parallax setting to 100 yards or less.
 
I am looking at the Vortex PST FFP scopes.

I do not hunt much. Occassional deer.

My disabled body can not do a lot of walking so everything is pretty much stable position.

Any deer is less than 150-200 yds. I ain't gonna shoot to kill much past that distance.

I am looking at the Vortex because it seems to go well with my diabetic eyes. Side parallax should help me past the 150ish yard arena. Do not necessarily need the illuminated reticle, but what the heck. And I do not want to spend a couple of grand.

I co-own, with my sister and brother, a farm where I can reach out to 500 or so yards. But dadgum it I just can not see much past 150 yds with the cheap 3-9x40 that was on the rifle.

And I do not shoot this rifle more than 6-10 times a year. Mostly targets/cans/stuff not alive. I spend more time with my ar15 5.45x39 and a 22 LR since they are cheaper to shoot.

Just want to try to see how far I can shoot it with some modicum of accuracy. Just like the challenge of reaching out a little further than I have been doing. Just basically want to waste some ammo trying to see out to 300-500 yds.

And to think, I used to do that with an M14 and iron sights in Vietnam...:D

Thanks for all the replies.
 
M.O.A.

If you'd learn how to spell and form sentences it would help us understand what the heck you are trying to say.:confused:
 
6x24 is fine for paper punching, but during the day a 50mm objective lens adds nothing but cost.

For hunting such as prairie dogs, IMO 10X is marginal at 500 yards. It's plenty good for coyotes, deer or elk. 7X worked for me for prairie dogs to 300 yards with no problems.

For whitetail to 400 and 500 yards, the Eatman family experience is that 4X or at most 6X is quite adequate.
 
Art Eatman said:
For whitetail to 400 and 500 yards, the Eatman family experience is that 4X or at most 6X is quite adequate.
Click to expand...

Yes it is and just about right in-line with the old, 1x for every 100 yds of distance.

For general hunting a 2-7 or 3-9 variable with a 33-40mm objective is more than enough. When fixed power scopes were the order of the day, a 4x was usually recommended for white-tail, etc and a 6x for antelope and such out west.

If you intend on mixing in quite a bit of varmint shooting, I can perhaps see where a 4-12 might be useful, but I myself would not go higher. Twenty five years ago, or so I put a Leupold Vari-X II on a 30-06 Model 70. It was too much scope, for me, on a big game rifle. I much preferred the 2-7 Vari-X II.

You say you are looking at Vortex scopes. I would suggest that the 2-7, or 3-9 Diamondback would be plenty for you. You would save some money for ammo, etc as well.
 
For what it sounds like you want and with the conditions you described I would just get the 6x24x50 and get the high rings for it, it wont be any issue using high rings and the Vortex PST is very small for what it does
 
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