In my quest for a new hunting rifle, I'm not sure yet on a scope. The gun will be used from 20-400 ish yards on whitetail. I know that a simple 3-9 is plenty to shoot a deer at 400, but what about to id it? How much magnification do I need to tell between a doe and a spike at 400 yards? Obviously optical quality plays a big role, and in most of the scopes I'm looking at, the optical quality is fairly good, and none of them are far above/below the rest. Is a 3-10 enough, or should I go with 12x or 14x on the top end? I don't tend to carry binos for my type of hunting, and definitely not a spotting scope.
How much magnification?
- Thread starter user2026
- Start date
Depends how small a spike you want to shoot.
^joke, sort of.
Seriously, at 400 yards differentiating between a doe vs a 2.5” spike (legal antlerless deer in my state if you have an antlerless tag) vs a 3.5” spike (legally an antlered deer that is not legal to take in many areas of my state) might actually be fairly optic intensive, more so than for a “buck hunter” who just needs to see antlers well above ears, and in most cases wont wind up in hot water if they misjudge. I dont know the answer. I think it will depend a lot on cover, background and what sort of rest is available. But in that situation Id probably want a tripod or very solid rest, combined with a bit of magnification. I dont like to use my scope for this sort of thing if Im not certain that its legal to shoot, but I think the comment about magnification helping and about a solid tripod or rest being important would apply to any optic. 400 yard shots arent a thing for me here, but I think in many cases like that I would not be able to differentiate a legal animal from an illegal one in that case and would end up needing to pass.
^joke, sort of.
Seriously, at 400 yards differentiating between a doe vs a 2.5” spike (legal antlerless deer in my state if you have an antlerless tag) vs a 3.5” spike (legally an antlered deer that is not legal to take in many areas of my state) might actually be fairly optic intensive, more so than for a “buck hunter” who just needs to see antlers well above ears, and in most cases wont wind up in hot water if they misjudge. I dont know the answer. I think it will depend a lot on cover, background and what sort of rest is available. But in that situation Id probably want a tripod or very solid rest, combined with a bit of magnification. I dont like to use my scope for this sort of thing if Im not certain that its legal to shoot, but I think the comment about magnification helping and about a solid tripod or rest being important would apply to any optic. 400 yard shots arent a thing for me here, but I think in many cases like that I would not be able to differentiate a legal animal from an illegal one in that case and would end up needing to pass.
SippyCup
FNG
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2021
- Messages
- 45
My thoughts exactly.
Good time to start.
These ARE the right tool for the job.
And welcome to Rokslide btw
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