What power scope do you guys like to use when testing loads for a paticular rifle for grouping etc. at 100, 200, + yds?

Same as the scope that will be on the gun when I hunt with it.

Usually a 3-9 power.

Thats what I do too. usually 3x9 s or 3.5x10 . Ive switched to a 2x7 though on this rifle .

Same as above.

Leupold Vari-X III 3.5-10x40mm

Sight-in has been the only time I ever crank it up to 10. Most of the time it is used in the field at 4-6x.

I have an old T12 weaver that I use for load development for my hunting rifles as most of my hunting rifles end up wearing 1.5x5 and 2x7 scopes. Target and varmint rifle have whatever scope they will end up with mounted.

I keep a couple of scopes around that I use for load development on new to me rifles. I like 10 to 12 power magnification

Higher the power, better the accuracy.

The more magnification (Assuming great clarity) will eliminate human error more so than lower powered scopes.

OTOH, like others said, it needs to be the scope you intend keeping on the rifle under most circumstances.

Good Luck

Reloader

I like to do load development with the highest magnification handy, currently I have a 10x Bushnell, but if I had a decent scope with higher magnification, I would use it. Then I put on the scope I intend to hunt with, or mount peep sight and sight it in with that load.

I always use the same scope as I intend to use on the rifle. The reason is it helps you understand the rifle and your capabilities as well as the accuracy of the load in the rifle as you are going to use it. Anything thing else is dream land shooting.

quote:

Originally posted by Jay Johnson:
I always use the same scope as I intend to use on the rifle. The reason is it helps you understand the rifle and your capabilities as well as the accuracy of the load in the rifle as you are going to use it. Anything thing else is dream land shooting.

+1

But:
I'm shooting subMOA and sometimes sub 1/2 MOA with a 4X on my 375 H&H and I want to try a 12X or higher scope on it just to see how much smaller it will group!

I test all rifles with the same old 40X leupold.
I dry fire a few times to see home much the cross hairs jump around when I pull the trigger.

For hunting, I like 2X for big game, 4X for semi auto squirrells, and 32X for long range squirrells.

Everything else is in between.

Whatever the scope will go up to. If I could afford it I would have a Leupold 6.5x20 on every rifle I own but for now only my .300 Winny has one.

quote:

Higher the power, better the accuracy.

Shouldn't this say "the higher the power, the more precise the aiming?" or the better the "accuracy potential"?

quote:

Originally posted by tnekkcc:
I test all rifles with the same old 40X leupold.
I dry fire a few times to see home much the cross hairs jump around when I pull the trigger.

I use a 6.5-20x VariX-III when Developing Loads. And I can see where the 40x would be an advantage.

Then I shift to scopes that I intend to hunt with, most top out in the 9x, 10x or 14x range. I only have one "Woosie" Scope left (3x) and it resides on a close range 444Mar.

I test loads at 50 yrds on about 6 power...when I get tight groups I move it out to 100 yds.. still on 6 power...

After that, it is usually just practice...

50 yds will tell me what a load will do as well as 100 yds will and one can see a lot better at 50 yds anyway....

My eyesight gets all blurry at the higher powers... even on expensive glass....

Anything over 14 power is like looking thru a fish bowl for me, regardless of conditions...or distance...

GSP7: If you are testing loads and doing load development for a Rifle then I HIGHLY recommend you use as much scope power as you can strap on that Rifle!
The higher powers eliminate so much human foible induced aiming errors that it will be worth the effort, time and if need be expense of getting a 20+ power scope for this task!
At one time I had a 36x Leupold that I would take on and off of its mother Rifle and "borrow" it so to speak for load development! This scope made load development easy. Anymore I am prone to buy scopes with 20+ power for the new Rifles anyway.
Again over several decades of handloading and load testing I fully endorse going with the highest scope power you can muster!
4x, 6x and 9x scopes for load testing are an impediment to easily finding which LOAD is best for a particular Rifle! Again because to much human error is able to sneak in to your groupings by handicapping yourself with low scope pwoers.
You would be testing your shooting skills and human influences, shortcomings and foibles as much as your loads, with these low powers.
More power is ALWAYS better in this instance, in my experience!
Doing load testing at 200 yards with a 4x scope is just backwards, slow and self defeating - I know, many decades ago I tried it.
Lesson learnt!
Best of luck to you with your load testing.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My range that is close is open 12 - 5:30 p.m. and in the foothills of the coastal range. 3 mph winds is a very good day, 12 mph is more typical. And the wind is gusty and inconsistant.

When I read another of Seafire's post about shooting groups at 50 yards, a light bulb turned on in my head.

When I get 1.5" groups at 50 yards and 5" groups at 100 yards, the wind is the problem.

Now when I sight in a .223, I sight in at 1" low at 50 yards, knowing it will closer to point of aim at 100 yards.

I can't see a major difference in group size with anything 6x or up in a hunting rifle. If it's a rifle I will hunt with a 1.75-6x that's what I work up loads with. I don't have a problem shooting a half inch group with a 6x scope as long as the rifle and load are capable. The older I get I don't hunt much with anything larger than a 2.5-8x, use a lot of 2-7x and 1.5-6x, don't ever use more than 10x on the top side. It's so much easier for me to shoot offhand or from field positions with a lower powered scope than a 4.5-14x.

I agree with the advice to use the highest power you have available for testing a rifle.

I shoot at 200 yards, and I find that the highest power on a 3-9 variable (i.e. 9X) is just barely enough power for me to see the bullet holes at 200 yards without using a spotting scope.

quote:

When I get 1.5" groups at 50 yards and 5" groups at 100 yards, the wind is the problem.

No it ain't. Not unless you're shooting in a hurricane. Assuming good bench technique, 1.5" at 50yds. does not grow to 5" at 100yds. unless you are shooting offhand. Jim

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
Same as the scope that will be on the gun when I hunt with it.

Usually a 3-9 power.

The very same scope that will remain on the gun when it is in use, whatever power that happens to be, from a 2.5X up to 8X..........