Western magnification: 2-15x or 3.5-28x

[Regulatorug]

What is the right answer for a new western mountain hunter shooting suppressed on a 22in barrel? More FOV at low or really need magnification beyond 15x? Carry 12x bino. Maybe carrying spotter, maybe not. Thanks for advice.

 

[Yaremkiv]

3.5x should offer plenty FOV on the low end, its the 28x that is the major overkill in my opinion.

 

[RockAndSage]

Anything much more than 15ish, and it gets a lot harder to keep the animal in your scope after the shot. I personally prefer 15 or 18 on the high end, and typically shoot at somewhere around 10-12x when I just dial magnification for what seems best for the shot, without actually looking at what power I'm dialing to. And, I have very accomplished shooters and hunters on here telling me 9 or 10 is absolutely all that you need. Anything more than 15-18 is genuinely overkill.

What matters most is a reliable, durable scope with a reticle that's fast and usable in the widest set of field conditions, for distances you are personally capable of shooting to right now. Don't get high on internet scopium, you won't shoot better with Tactical Timmy's Sniper Scope. Everything else is secondary to dependability and a good, useful reticle.

 

[Regulatorug]

Appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[43.6N]

Are we talking rifle scopes? Binoculars?

For rifle scopes, 3-9x is a good magnification range. Priority should be on field of view. The rifle will recoil, and the animal will react to the shot. You want to be able to see that reaction and respond accordingly.

For spotting game, again field of view is the priority. I can confidently see mule deer antlers on feeding animals at 800yds with a pair of 10x binoculars. I’ve found bedded elk at 2400yds with 8x binoculars. But that is pushing the limits of environmental effects in magnified glass. Basically conditions have to help the glass capture and resolve the light at those distances.

 

[JohnJohnson]

As @RockAndSage said, it's most important that the scope holds zero and tracks correctly in adverse conditions. I just woke up so my memory is probably rough right now but as far as 3.5-28 are you talking about the Kahles K328i?

Anyway here's a link to a subforum you may want to go through a bit (if you haven't already)

Rifle Scope Field Evaluations

rokslide.com

 

[Rich M]

2-15 would be my choice. I have 2-10x50 scope. That extra 5x would be nice at the range. Not sure I would use it hunting.

 

[nm.otter]

The old rule of '1x per hundred yards' turns out to be right -- at least for those of us still blessed with good eyesight. I have no problem ringing steel out to 900 yards with a fixed 6x. Spotting shots is another thing -- probably more like 400-500 yards for me.

 

[Sundodger]

If you are asking if you need anything beyond 15x, then you don't need anything beyond 15x for hunting.

I am a big fan of 3-15 zoom range for my scopes, its a nice balance. 3X generally offers enough field of view to still hunt in thick stuff and that higher 15X is nice for dialing in dope at the range a little more efficiently/cost effectively, but I have done the 3-12, 3-9, 4-16, etc. and they are fine too.