Perfect magnification ?

[TheDudeAbides]

1x-757x

No matter the scenario it will get the job done.

Only issue is that is doesn't exist kind of like a billion dollars in my bank account

 

[Miller8812]

2-12

 

[kiwi hunter]

at 71 ive settled on 3-12 as my choice after many different variations

 

[Wyohunt]

All of my rifles wear a 3x9 but I always hunt with 3x so I can acquire targets quickly and see the animal after a shot. I can’t remember the last time I shot anything higher than 3x. Most of my shots are probably in the 150-250 range.

 

[std7mag]

One thing to bear in mind with variable scopes and second focal plane is that sometimes (i didn't say always!) you'll get a POI shift if changing magnification.
Aka will hit a different spot at 3X than at 9X.

Honestly I am way more concerned with the low end of the magnification spectrum. My dream scope would be an FFP 1-8 with a decent reticle, but I have never seen it.

2-7 is on my go-to hunting rifle, 3-15 is on my precision rig.

My precision scope is a Sightron SIII 10-50X60 LRTD.

 

[RG_Adult_Onset_Hunter]

One thing to bear in mind with variable scopes and second focal plane is that sometimes (i didn't say always!) you'll get a POI shift if changing magnification.
Aka will hit a different spot at 3X than at 9X.

My precision scope is a Sightron SIII 10-50X60 LRTD.

I have never experienced this on a good scope, but on crappy ones it's hard to say (there are so many other candidates for POI shift it's too hard to isolate the issue). Moral of that story is buy high quality optics.

50x seems a bit much for me (though it might be nice on my varmint gun), but if you are chasing that 10 ring I can see why you might want it. I tend to think more in terms of hits vs misses. If I can get reliable hits at reasonable speeds I am happy, too much magnification often gets in the way of that speed. I'm not saying my way is the only way, I am simply talking about the horse trading that I have done to suit my style of shooting so that others can think about how to match their gear to their needs as well.

What is that Sightron SIII sitting on top of?

 

[std7mag]

My wife's Savage 110FP in 223 Rem. 1:9 twist, heavy 24" barrel.
Took original Tupperware stock off.
Sitting in a Choate Ultimate Varminter stock.
Original Savage "fully adjustable" (NOT!) trigger work done by myself. Set at 1.5lb pull.
Shooting Starline 5.56 brass, 69gr Sierra TMK over Alliant PP2000MR powder.

Been shooting 100, 200 yard IBS,UBR along with 100,200,300,400 yard groundhog matches and 400 yard "deer" matches.
Camels are for size reference. Lol
Dot in center of UBR,IBS targets are counted as an "X". Inside of smallest circle a 10.
Wind was really swirly that day, and caught me out.

 

[JungleShooter]

Great thread...!

Totally ambiguous question. Makes for great click bait.
Worked with me!

Like all those general questions that lack context.... — what are your shooting scenarios where you want to use that scope?

▪Hunting? What quarries? What ranges?
▪Target shooting? What ranges?


What helped me is not to think of a set magnification range, like 3-9x or 4-16x, but to look at each end of the magnification spectrum separately.
I explain:


The Bottom End Magnification
This is important for hunting for close range quick shots. For those I want a wide field of view (FoV) — so a low bottom end is important for this type of shooting.
Note that even scopes with the same magnification often have different FoV — so instead of only checking the magnification I look at the actual FoV spec.


The Top End Magnification
(a) Do I want to see enough to hit — (b) or do I want to see enough to see my hits?
Big difference....

(c) Do I want to hit quarry —
(d) or do I want to hit bull's-eyes?
Big difference....


(a) Seeing the bull's-eye or the kill zone of my quarry at 250y doesn't require much magnification —
(b) but seeing bullet holes at long range requires some high magnification.

(c) Seeing the kill zone of my quarry rarely requires much magnification —
(d) but for seeing a bulls'-eye at longer ranges it really helps — "Aim small — miss small!"



Another question I ask myself frequently when scope shopping:
(e) Do I want an all-round scope?
(f) Or do I want a specialized scope, for only certain shooting scenarios?

When buying a scope for (e) I have to bargain between different trade-offs, because what is best for one shooting scenario is actually the worst for another scenario.
When buying a scope for (f) I can get the best of the best for that particular scenario — but then I'll need a scope or scope—rifle combo for when I want to shoot in a different scenario.


Happy scope shopping all around!

Matthias