The 1 Thing You Learned- Scopes for Hunting

[Blue72]

How far can you shoot with some of your fixed power scopes?

As far as I want to

people forget that the militaries around the world used fixed power scopes for a very long time on sniper rifles and many still do

even modern designated marksman make 600 yard hits with their fixed 4x Acog

there is a YouTube channel called nine hole reviews. The shooter is a former Army armorer, and has shown hitting over 1000 yards with 10x scopes and below

 

[Oregon Hunter]

As far as I want to

people forget that the militaries around the world used fixed power scopes for a very long time on sniper rifles and many still do

even modern designated marksman make 600 yard hits with their fixed 4x Acog

there is a YouTube channel called nine hole reviews. The shooter is a former Army armorer, and has shown hitting over 1000 yards with 10x scopes and below

This spring I'm going to turn down the power on some of my scopes and see how far away I can make hits just for fun

 

[Blue72]

This spring I'm going to turn down the power on some of my scopes and see how far away I can make hits just for fun

Better yet use a non magnified red dot, out to 200-300 yards using a six o’clock hold ……you just might surprise yourself

 

[Thinkingman]

I find the lower end of the magnification scale is more important than the higher end.
I'll take FOV and fast acquisition over a long, drawn out smile and dial.
None of my hunting scopes have a low end over 3X.
It's more fun to hunt in to 3X range, anyway.

 

[JeffP_Or]

I found out that if there is something on your reticle, you can't just go tearing into the scope and get that fuzz off those tiny wires..... Leave repairs to the pros.

Yes, that was a loooong time ago and it was my first ever rifle scope. BTW, even though I did that on my own volition, broke the wires with the needle nosed pliers I used, purged the gas and ruined the seals - the shop gave me a new scope! What an idiot I was....

 

[Airohunter]

I would say the importance of mounting. From using quality rings and bases for proper alignment, lapping when needed (almost always). Using the appropriate torque for screws and bolts. And a seldom talked about issue, where not to have scope rings mounted on a scope. Due to internal components there are several areas to avoid due to induced strain from improperly located rings.

 

[Zappaman]

How far can you shoot with some of your fixed power scopes?

Trick question... but I think the answer is "as far as you want to?"

Not trying to start anything here, but before we had "dialers" we had fixed, then variably scopes. I come from west Texas where I grew up on sheep ranches and WE KILLED COYOTES and hung them on the fence by the gate into the ranch-- so other ranchers knew we were doing our part. The coyotes were FEW back then (around us anyway), and shots were usually out to 300+ yards on running yotes. We had 270s and 7mm RM rifles for that work. The hoods of rancher's trucks usually had missing paint from using them as gun rests.

Back in the 70s variable power scopes cost a LOT! (haha). But some of the old timers could kill coyotes WAY out there with fixed power scopes they'd been using since like 1950 or so. Weavers were made in El Paso (nearby) and so a lot of West Texas shooters liked them. Nikon made the "Nikors" which were the cream back then with a 3-9 variable power models costing several months wages.

I caused a lot of BS meters to rise on another post when I told how far some of the rancher's killed deer back then with fixed power scopes- so I'll just say WELL past 600 yards- often enough to get the coffee shops and bankers talking about old "so-and-so's" buck that year. Old "so-and-so" also shot quail in the head with 22's and could take a deer at 500 with ease with a 270- because they were born on ranches, and lived in trucks with rifle racks on the back glass of the cab (holding a 22-250 and higher rifles). Rarely did a few WEEKS go by, that they DIDN'T used these tools of the trade- keeping sheep alive.

So the REAL answer is "pretty darn far"... if you had the right gun and used it ALL the time-- your whole life... and had sheep to (hopefully) sell at the end of the year.

And... I am sure there are SOME modern hunters with the skill to do it today, but we'll never really know since everyone is using the variable power (and dailing) stuff.

 

[MaraviaDave]

Or even turrets like on the Viper PST that have super aggressive knurling

Yeah, I agree completely, low quality scopes like the Viper PST.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Better yet use a non magnified red dot, out to 200-300 yards using a six o’clock hold ……you just might surprise yourself

I just put one of those on my new 1911. Of course it won't be as accurate as a rifle, but I'm still curious to see how far I can use that red dot. Let the fun begin!

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I find the lower end of the magnification scale is more important than the higher end.
I'll take FOV and fast acquisition over a long, drawn out smile and dial.
None of my hunting scopes have a low end over 3X.
It's more fun to hunt in to 3X range, anyway.

The low end of the magnification is something that's not stressed enough. Couple years ago I had to shoot a mule deer buck that was about 30' away. My scope only went down to 6X. I made the shot, but it was really hard to find him and it almost didn't work

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I found out that if there is something on your reticle, you can't just go tearing into the scope and get that fuzz off those tiny wires..... Leave repairs to the pros.

Yes, that was a loooong time ago and it was my first ever rifle scope. BTW, even though I did that on my own volition, broke the wires with the needle nosed pliers I used, purged the gas and ruined the seals - the shop gave me a new scope! What an idiot I was....

Oh no! We've all had those moments where we take something apart and have more pieces left when we're done

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I would say the importance of mounting. From using quality rings and bases for proper alignment, lapping when needed (almost always). Using the appropriate torque for screws and bolts. And a seldom talked about issue, where not to have scope rings mounted on a scope. Due to internal components there are several areas to avoid due to induced strain from improperly located rings.

Where would you avoid mounting a scope?

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Trick question... but I think the answer is "as far as you want to?"

Not trying to start anything here, but before we had "dialers" we had fixed, then variably scopes. I come from west Texas where I grew up on sheep ranches and WE KILLED COYOTES and hung them on the fence by the gate into the ranch-- so other ranchers knew we were doing our part. The coyotes were FEW back then (around us anyway), and shots were usually out to 300+ yards on running yotes. We had 270s and 7mm RM rifles for that work. The hoods of rancher's trucks usually had missing paint from using them as gun rests.

Back in the 70s variable power scopes cost a LOT! (haha). But some of the old timers could kill coyotes WAY out there with fixed power scopes they'd been using since like 1950 or so. Weavers were made in El Paso (nearby) and so a lot of West Texas shooters liked them. Nikon made the "Nikors" which were the cream back then with a 3-9 variable power models costing several months wages.

I caused a lot of BS meters to rise on another post when I told how far some of the rancher's killed deer back then with fixed power scopes- so I'll just say WELL past 600 yards- often enough to get the coffee shops and bankers talking about old "so-and-so's" buck that year. Old "so-and-so" also shot quail in the head with 22's and could take a deer at 500 with ease with a 270- because they were born on ranches, and lived in trucks with rifle racks on the back glass of the cab (holding a 22-250 and higher rifles). Rarely did a few WEEKS go by, that they DIDN'T used these tools of the trade- keeping sheep alive.

So the REAL answer is "pretty darn far"... if you had the right gun and used it ALL the time-- your whole life... and had sheep to (hopefully) sell at the end of the year.

And... I am sure there are SOME modern hunters with the skill to do it today, but we'll never really know since everyone is using the variable power (and dailing) stuff.

I believe ya. I also grew up among ranchers. These guys didn't have many guns or even fancy firearms, but they used them frequently. That familiarity made them surprisingly successful!

 

[arock]

Looking through a high end scope is definitely different from something like a low to mid end scope.

I have a Leica Magnus paired with their 2800.com range finder. Load ballistic data. Point at target. It tells you how many clicks and completely idiot proofs that process. Unless its stupidly windy - its really just a point and pull from there.

 

[Gunjack]

Turrets for long range varmint hunting and BDC or subtensions in optics for big game hunting.

 

[Paradox]

I would also like to know where not to put scope rings.
usually winds up where it fits on the gun and eye relief.
I had no idea there were no Mount spots!

 

[Paradox]

I second the Z3 reticle. Very clean.

 

[Wrench]

As far as I want to

people forget that the militaries around the world used fixed power scopes for a very long time on sniper rifles and many still do

even modern designated marksman make 600 yard hits with their fixed 4x Acog

there is a YouTube channel called nine hole reviews. The shooter is a former Army armorer, and has shown hitting over 1000 yards with 10x scopes and below

That's 3 rounds at just under 1200 yards from a x9. Point of aim was the weeds above my tab. Angle is deceiving as its a steep rock face and the low shot came in about 5" low of the group.

I've taken the same shot with a 6x and did very well.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Hey Roksliders! I’m back with another installment of the “1 Thing” theme, this time focused on the huge topic of hunting scopes. I think most of us make a mistake over and over again. We go on a hunt, but don’t make the effort to think critically about 1 thing we learned and will do different next time.

Think about it, how often do magazines write about a hunt, but fail to single out an action item to change in the future? Just 1 thing, maybe something you learned about elk behavior, your rifle setup, clothing, or camping system. We can consume all the information we want, but if we don’t change anything, did it really do us any good? I’d like to continue the series of discussions to get us in the habit of reviewing our hunt, and share highlights about the 1 thing we learned on a particular topic. To start, 1 thing I learned is about SCOPES.

About 10 years ago I jumped on the bandwagon of scopes with externally adjustable turrets. With a new Vortext PST mounted atop my 300 Win Mag, I eagerly chased after mule deer and elk. Then to my disappointment I noticed the windage and elevation turrets getting moved once a day as the rifle rode around in vehicles and went in and out of gun cases. Even if the turret wasn’t moved, my confidence was shaken. The hard lesson I learned was to leave scopes with exposed turrets to target shooting or varmint hunting, and only use glass with locking turrets like the new Leupold VX5 or Vortex LHT.

So what is the 1 thing you have learned about selecting the right scope for hunting? Is it simple is better, the most useful magnification range, or even specific gear suggestions so that we can make the most out of our time in the field!


View attachment 378238

A little electrical tape on the windage turret will give you peace of mind. I have never had issues with the elevation turrets.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Looking through a high end scope is definitely different from something like a low to mid end scope.

I have a Leica Magnus paired with their 2800.com range finder. Load ballistic data. Point at target. It tells you how many clicks and completely idiot proofs that process. Unless its stupidly windy - its really just a point and pull from there.

I like that system because it takes away the need for taping ballistic charts to the rifle