I need some help. I have nothing to base my beliefs on but I feel a variable power scope may change its point of impact when changing the magnification. I prefer a straight power scope when hunting varmints at longer ranges such as a fixed 12x. Is my thinking correct and does anyone else share this opinion? Thanks for any comments as I want to reolve this issue one way or the other.

It is possible for a variable to change point of impact.
Especially if the reticle is in the second focal plane [Typical American type].

Sometimes it only occures at one power setting.

If your scope has the retical in the first focal plane [Typical European type] The point og impact is not supposed to move.
But the reticle will get larger, ie magnify as the power goes up, just like the image.

Over the last 10 years I've been unloading variables in favor of fixed power scopes, for many different reasons.
Bottom line is I like them better
This subject should generate tons of opinions, all valid in the mind of each poster.

=1

This generated flames in the past, but here goes. My friend is a gunsmith and sights in scopes with a Sweeny Collimator. He said that other than Leupolds that Tasco World class scopes were about the only ones that didnt change much through the power settings.

I have never had much faith in vari-powers and in fact don't really see much reason for having such a range of magnification at you disposal. For the sort of hunting I have done, a good 6x Kahles on my 7mm Mag with fine crosshairs was ideal and when bush hunting, I would take the scope off. Perhaps the ideal would be a 2x for in the bush and a 6x for open country. If sighted in at 6x then any change in POI at 2x for close in bush shooting is not going to make any difference.

Why all the magnification steps in between I don't know. I will never forget when buffalo hunting some years ago, my mate had a 3-9x Kahles on his 7mm and when facing a wounded buffalo at about 3metres in the scrub he found his scope on 9x after using it out in the open range. Fortunately he did have time to screw the scope down to 3x and finish off his buff, mind you I was standing beside him with an open sighted Mauser 404 so he was safe enough but it did serve to highlight what can happen with a vari power scope during the excitement of the hunt.

I have been using variable power scope - Leupolds - on my hunting rifles for as long as I can remember.

They have been going to Africa every year, they got all sorts of knocks in the back of the truck, and I have never had to adjust them!!?

Sometimes I have to shoot at a reasonably small target - croc brain at over 200 yards - and I have not noticed that there was any change in the point of impact.

The scopes in questions are Leupold 2.5-8. Two are used on two identical rifles - 375/404 - which are used by several huntes on safari each year.

In fact, I would not even consider a fixed power scope for my own hunting rifle.

The flexibility they offer far out weighs any perceived ideas of any shortcomings.

Way back when, it cost more to make a variable power and folks used fixed powers for hunting. There was a lot of debate mostly between 4x and 6x. In those days Weavers were made in El Paso Texas and were pretty much the poor man's scope. You saw lots of Weaver K4's and K6's on hunting rifles. Open range guys seem to favor 6x and those in brushy parts 4x. Technology changed and making variables was cheaper (don't ask me what the changes were) but variables became the rule. I'm told now days that fixed power serves a much smaller market and so the scope makers will have to sell them for about the same as variables---so you may as well get a variable.

No clue if variables change their point of impact on different magnifications but I've always wondered. Only way to tell is to sight in and shoot a string while cranking the power up betwixt each shot.

The only rifle I used for 20 years was a Remington ADL .270 with an ancient steel tube Weaver K4 scope. I stupidly hunted in a hard rain three years ago and didn't properly protect it and it's toast, until I send it out for repair.

Hunted only in Montana with short to very long (350 - 500) yard shots on deer and antelope. Five years in a row I took the same 250 yard shot on five deer, all good hits in the boiler room. I never wished I had a variable and loved the simplicity. I also hunted with friends who were constantly screwing with their variable scopes and messing up short range shots.

After ruining my scope I tried to hunt with a newer fixed 4.75 Weaver GS, don't know why but I didn't like it.

I've gone to the dark side and have a Nikon 4.5 - 14 and really like it as long as I always check it to make sure its on 4.5. I'm going to mark the 4.5X setting with the indicator as a visual aid to make sure it stays on 4.5 unless I "need" to crank it up on a really long shot.

For prairie dogs I use a Weaver 6 - 20 and really like it, wouldn't want a fixed power. You have time to mess around with the power settings and parallax when shooting sage poodles.

For coyotes I'll bet a fixed 6 would be the ticket.

There are some physical advantages of fixed scopes over variables, and obviously some functional advantages of variables over fixed.

If the variable cam is "out of round" or otherwise not perfectly concentric, then yes, a variable can shift its zero as the magnification is changed. This is a significant problem in cheap scopes, which (along with issues of poor focus and image distortion) is why it is very inadvisable to buy any cheap Asian-made scope in a variable, especially a high-magnification variable.

Keeping the power cam perfectly concentric thorugh the power range is another reason that the power ring on quality scopes is somewhat stiff to turn. If the ring turns quite easily, I'd be suspicious of it. All of that said, in most makes of quality scopes, there is negligible movement of the zero point as the power is turned up and down, so I really don't buy zero shift as a viable argument against variables.

On the other hand, a fixed power scope is simpler, lighter in weight (power for power), and has one less light-eating lens than a variable. It is therefore slightly more efficient in trasmitting light, it is easier to waterproof (due to fewer moving parts and the need to seal them), and it is cheaper to build. Even the "cheapy" Asian scopes can actually be quite servicable in a fixed power. Too bad that most manufacturers don't bother to make or market more than one or two models of fixed scopes.

For a short-range hunting rifle (150 yards or less), I'm perfectly happy with a 2.5X to 4X fixed scope. But like most of us, my hunting habitats vary, so I can expect shots from "right underneath my feet" to as far away as I can responsibly take a shot. So, like Saeed, I use variables on nearly all of my hunting rifles (and I agree with Saeed that a 2.5-8X Leupold is hard to beat on a hunting rifle).

I also use variables on my varminting rifles for a slightly different reason. Finding the target in the tiny field of view of a 20X or 24X scope can be challenging, so even if you are shooting on maximum power you sometimes need to crank it down below 10X to find the target, then crank it back up to aim and shoot. Also, if mirage is bad, it is helpful to be able to back off of the maximum power to some lesser magnification which copes a little better with the poor atmospheric conditions.

Thanks for the great wealth of information. My objective is to match a scope with a .257 Weatherby rifle for an antelope hunt in 2010.

I really appreciate all of the comments and I'll definitely consider them all when setting up my rifle.


JMB
NRA Benefactor Member