How much magnification?

[user2026]

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.

 

[SDHNTR]

You are using the wrong tool for the job.

 

[Macintosh]

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.

 

[SippyCup]

You are using the wrong tool for the job.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[43.6N]

I don't tend to carry binos for my type of hunting

Good time to start.
These ARE the right tool for the job.

And welcome to Rokslide btw

 

[Teo74]

I really like the concept of LPVO's on hunting rifles so most of mine are lower power. But I am also not making any real long shots either.

 

[Dave Thomas]

I think you'll be better served with a good set of binoculars.

 

[Johnwell]

Figure out at what distance you can identify a spike or doe with your naked eye; then go from there for magnification. With a scope, you’ll lose some resolution compared to naked eye.

For instance I can pretty easily see a spike vs a doe at ~50 yards, but I wouldn’t want to do target ID at 400 yards with a 3-9. It’s plenty to shoot with, but I don’t think I could see a 3” spike in low light.

A good set of binoculars goes a long ways compared to a rifle scope though. Something that costs more than a couple weeks worth of groceries in the 10-12x range would probably serve you better than just about any scope for target ID. Plus, then you aren’t pointing your rifle at unidentified objects.

 

[ElPollo]

I think a lot of people confuse what is optimal to find and identify game with what is optimal to effectively shoot deer. The two things are not the same. High magnification and clarity is really important in the former, but actually hinders your ability to get on target quickly and to be able to spot shots, follow game, and get off subsequent shots. Clarity of your optics is important in the former, but is less so in the latter.

Much of the desire for high magnification and alpha optics in riflescopes comes from shooting paper at the range. Once you actually practice in field conditions, those assumptions start to come apart. 6-10x on the top end is more than sufficient for the distances you are talking about, and more than that starts to become not so helpful.

The take-home is that you should spend your optics money on good glass for your binos and spotter and on reliability and durability for riflescopes.

 

[eric1115]

To pile on to the good advice you've already gotten here, quit pointing your rifle at things in order to identify them.

Get a decent pair of binos. They are the right tool for that job.