@nobody I have heard 6x maybe 10X is best for hunting but I dont understand why. I do a lot of hunting from fixed stands, good rests, 200 to 400 yard shots. I like to get as much zoom as possible to get as accurate as possible. On the other side I hear guys using 10x for 1000 yards steel shooting. I dont shoot steel at 1000 yards... but I dont know how such small magnification can get you close enough to hit steel at 1000 yards. I crank it up to 20 on 300 yard shots.
educate me please.
haeffnkr
It has everything to do with ability to spot impacts and target re-acquisition after the shot occurs. The higher the magnification, the narrower the field of view, and the higher the likelihood you'll lose track of your animal when the shot goes off.
Old rule of thumb for accuracy (not precision, ACCURACY. There is a distinction here) is 1x magnification for every 100 yards for roughly a 12" target. I used to run scopes with 25x magnification or more, but the more I shot, the less magnification I wanted. I wanted to see my bullet trace at distance, and I wanted to be able to call my own hits and misses. I quickly found myself de-magnifying to a more modest zoom level in an effort to do so. My comfort went up, because the eye box improved, and my ability to shoot accurately and confidently improved drastically. I quickly realized my 4.5-27 (last high mag scope I owned), I never shot above about 10x, ever. Didn't matter if I was shooting our 1k yard gong, I wanted the field of view and comfortable eyebox behind the rifle.
If you pick up the 6x, you'll be surprised how good you'll shoot. You won't be winning the King of 2 Miles competitions, but you'll become extremely proficient very fast, and you'll have a fantastically capable do-it-all optic that will serve you well for many years to come.
Oh, and the price is nice too.
What rifle are you putting it on? Chambering? Model?
