Best 223 Bolt Action Scope Choice

[Daggers_NZ]

Nightforce SHV 3-10 anyone?

 

[Woods Sleeper]

I would watch the classifieds for a lightly-used SWFA 3-9x, 6x, 10x, or 3-15x in mil-quad (or get a 10x or 3-15x new).

I really like the idea of a simple fixed 6 power scope, but I feel hunting whitetail in Wisconsin with it would not be optimal. When I’m hunting brushy grounds, I use my Marlin, but even when I’m sitting in big open woods or field edges, I feel like a 6x scope would be too much in a lot of cases. Do you or anyone else on the thread have any experience with it in situations like this? Would a 3-9x be the actual “simple” option in this case?

 

[nm.otter]

SWFA 6x is fine for snap shots at 20 yards. Low light performance is surprisingly good -- 7mm exit pupil really helps.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I really like the idea of a simple fixed 6 power scope, but I feel hunting whitetail in Wisconsin with it would not be optimal. When I’m hunting brushy grounds, I use my Marlin, but even when I’m sitting in big open woods or field edges, I feel like a 6x scope would be too much in a lot of cases. Do you or anyone else on the thread have any experience with it in situations like this? Would a 3-9x be the actual “simple” option in this case?

My personal preference is for more magnification in brush, not less. I’ve hit a fair number of branches and saplings in my roughly 37 years of deer hunting. I used a fixed 4x for a while, but I vastly prefer a 6x, 8x, or 10x scope over anything else. I have very little use for anything above 10x or below 6x.