Remember when 4x was considered "about perfect" for all around hunting, or maybe a 6x "out West"? I know we have better optics now, but there is something to be said for long eye relief and large field of views "for hunting big game" (deer and up) I've killed a lot of game on 1x to 8x and more in between. A handful on 9x to 10x, but mostly, 3-5. So why carry the bulk of a higher end variable? Just wondering?

A really fair question. I've gone to straight 6 powers such as the Leupold 6X36mm and have been very pleased.

My first scope after starting with irons was a 4x Redfield. I got into a few situations where the 4x did not offer as much FOV as I wanted and switched to 2-7. Used 2-7 almost exclusively for 25+ years. Now have 2-7, 2.5-8, 1.5-6, 3-9, and 3.5-10. Mostly use 3-9 now.

The only time I typically use the high end of my variable scopes is sighting in. But I also hunt in wooded areas where most shots are in the 100 yards or less range. Occasionally I'll have a shot across a pasture or clearing that's 200 or more yards, but those are the outlier.

Most of my scopes are 1-4, 2-7, 3-9; someone that hunts longer distances would probably use higher magnifications. Horses for courses, as the English say.

Him Jim Knight,

I agree. 4x is an excellent magnification.

I generally hunt on lowest magnification.

Higher magnification does have utility; e.g., longer ranges (out to 400 yards) to assure that game is as identified and bullet placement (intended game and only intended will be felled).

I ran into a problem with a Leupold 1x4 in the woods ( on a Ruger 77 Ultralight) when I was "trying to see" if the deer had "spikes". It was in east Tx and any buck was legal. At 60yds, in the woods, I just couldn't tell. A similar problem can be here, in the other direction, when you are after mule deer does and can't tell if they are a spike! They have a white edge to the front portion of the ear edge that can look just like spikes, in low light.

1.76x6. 2x7. 1.5x5. 4x. 2.5x
Pch on all but the 2.5. Diamond x on that one.

Like the lower power variables and fixed 4x or 6x but prefer to use a rifle with VLD bullets and a higher power compact scope with ballistic reticle to include extended ranges. Example - my .416 Ruger / 3-9x. Or my .338 WM / 4-16x.

Of the 30 or more hunting rifles I have.

A third of them have 1x4s one 1.5x6 half have 3x9s the rest various others.

I do have a fixed 4x on a 30-30

For deer hunting on our property have never used any setting higher than 4X except for sighting in a rifle.

I like a light and fast rifle/scope combo and a wide field of view. So for the ranges at which I use my hunting rifles (as opposed to my varmint rifles), I favor lower variables.

I have two 2-7 Redfields, one on my Savage 99F (300 Sav) and the other (an ancient Widefield) on my pre-64 Mod 70 featherweight (270 Win). For my inline muzzle loader, I have an old Redfield 1-4. I went with a 2.5-8 Leopold VarXIII on my .338 Win.

I really don't see the point for anything more than, say, a 3-9 on a deer or elk/moose/big bear rifle. But that's just me.

Am not a high magnification guy. Except for range work... checking zero.

My hunting is in brush/trees. Long shots are the exception

Have a '60 Savage 99 with a suitably old Weaver K4 [4 power] which has a post reticule. Works really well in low light conditions.

My old M70 Winchester 270 has a Leupold Vari-X II.... 2 x 7. Usually hunt at 3x.

the sporterized Mauser [7 x 57 ] has a Redfield 2 x 7. Usually hunt at 3 x

the last several deer taken were within 60 yards.

Scopes help us have clear vision. Not necessarily close up vision

I use only a Zeiss 3-9x36 Diavari-C on my rifles. It does all that I need.

I just returned from an African hunt where I used the guide's rifle. It was equipped with a Leupold 4-12X. The country was very open and shots generally long. Despite that, I kept the scope on 4x all of the time.

Guess what? There wasn't a single game animal among the 6 species I took that wasn't large enough to see and sight on quite clearly when magnified only 4 times at as much as 300 yards.

While most of my personal hunting rifles wear 3-9 variables and I shoot them most often at full magnification (because I hunt in mostly open country), lower magnification is actually no handicap when it comes to hunting game animals. Even an African springbok or a Texas pronghorn is plenty large enough to sight on with as much as two or three power. (But 9x or 10X is nice when developing loads at the bench.)

I like 2x7s and 2x8 too, but usually hunt with them on 2-3, same with any 3x9. I found a really great deal on a Vortex Razor HD LH 1.5x8 I'm going to try out. I like the fact it has a 72ft FOV on 1.5 power. I've seen a lot of the older 4x that only had 24-25ft At 100. I once owned a Tasco World Class ( 4x46 , it was more than 40) with a 4 Minute Dot. It was super clear, held zero, tracked great...and fogged like crazy in the rain! ha When I got out of the Army in '73 there a lot of Redfield "Wide View" 3x9s. Everyone I saw fogged up. I had a Weaver 2x7 Wide View that didn't fog, it just wouldn't sat zeroed. My very first foray into scopes was in '77! I was 24yrs old, had always used iron sights ( East, Texas and Military stint) All my life all the Old Heads said "you can't use a scope int he woods, you can't get on him in time! So, when I decided to give it a try, I bought a Montgomery Wards 3x9 (made by Tasco) for $40. I put it on my Remington .22 auto with the correct rings. All summer long I shot varmints/snakes/plinked and then hunted squirrels all that October. In between I would put it on my "first new bolt gun" a Mod 77 .280 I bought that spring and planned to handload for later ( I had not started). I shot the factory 150cl, a couple boxes that summer. In November I put the scope on the .280 and in the first week of December I killed a nice 12pt ( eastern count) at 15yds from a box blind! I was sold! ha. Those "Old Heads" had heard of someone using an old piece of junk scope or something! I learned to "respect" my elders early on, so I just smiled and kept killing deer/hogs...with a scope!

Can't figure out the edit feature...wanted to say that the Tasco 4x w/dot had a 30ft FOV at 100 and I "tried" to use a used Mod 70 30-06 with Weaver 2x7 Wide View in '75, but it wouldn't hold zero so I didn't trust the scope and traded the whole mess for a shotgun! It wasn't until '77 that I went for it.

I also stick to 4X, 6X, 2X7, and the occasional 3X9 scope. This thread makes me wonder who is buying all those high magnification scopes being sold nowadays....

I think a whole lot of folks are interested in the Long Range aspect of hunting/target shooting. A lot of folks spend far more time at the range than hunting, even coyotes and varmints. That's fine for them, but I just can't get into it. The last 2 "big scopes" I had was a Leupold 4.5x14AO with the dial "CDS?" turret on a Mod 700 300 RUM. The other was a Bushnell 5.5x20 on a 6mm Varmint rifle. I quit shooting prairie dogs when the boys grew up and I realized that "IF" I ever shot a deer or an elk "over a 1/4 mile away" I would have to go over there and get the thing! I just don't hunt that way, never have. For one thing, when you get over there, its difficult to find them, even if they DRT. I did that with a big cow elk up what looked like an 80 deg ridge ( it was steep!) at 250yds. When I got up there, it took me awhile to find her. She was one game trail "above" the one I thought she was on! A million tracks in the snow too. So, its too easy to lose a fine animal doing that stuff. I 'suspect" the TV show LR shooters have about a dozen "spotters" and back-up shooters! Just me and maybe another guy....nah.

I am swapping out a 1-4x20 on my 45-70 to a 4x33 Leupold...and I've been putting 2.5-8x36 Leupolds on other rifles..even been dabbling with the 6x Leupolds and I really like how they look and how clear they are/weight.

I once had a 6x42 Leupold, but I felt it was a bit long and the Objective Bell somewhat "bulky" looking. For a deer blind scope, real good. it did have very clear glass though. I always felt the 6x33 would have "better lines", if that means anything.

Sure like the Leupold 6x36mm, have one on my .300 WM.

4sixteen,
How much does that rig weigh?

Huge fan of Leupolds 6x36.

Leupold 6 x 42, and 2.5 x 36 for me..

On my African trips I used a 2 1/2X on my .458WM and a 3X on my .375 H&H. My .300 H&H wore a 4X and that's the upper limit of magnification I have ever used in the game field. I also prefer a post or post and crosshair reticle, although they are increasingly hard to find.

The only shots I missed were with the 4X, and that was with the smallest antelopes, such as the gerenuk, which I tended to estimate as farther away than they actually were and shot over. More magnification would not have helped in the slightest.

For a couple of years the NRA experimented with allowing scopes in High Power competition and I used a Leupold 2 1/2-8X with a 2" dot reticle. I used the lowest setting for shooting off hand and rapid fire sitting and the highest setting for 600 yard slow fire, with a variety of settings for 300 yard rapid fire prone.

My scores were not noticeably higher than my iron sight scores, but I didn't need to use a spotting scope at 600 yards.

.300 WM Sako 85 Grey Wolf with Leupold 6x36mm weighs 8.8 lbs.

I have at least 5 2-7 Leupolds. Maybe more....

Good Morning Jim Knight,

We hunt alike. When I see far off game, my first instinct is to close distance. I'd rather shoot at a hundred yards than farther.

I own two "higher" magnification scopes, both Leupolds: a Vari-X II 4x12 & a VX-3 4.5x14. I bought them new and at discount. My favorite scopes are 2.5x8 & 2x7.

With rare exception and going off recollection, all of my shots have been <200 yards.

Now days, I only put Leupold 2.5-8 scopes on every rifle I own under 40 caliber. Over 40 caliber rifles are open sighted.

I hunt Colorado, Wyoming and Africa.

I do not hunt varmints anymore. Only big game, starting at Pronghorn Antelope and bigger.

On my "woods rifle", a Ruger M77 International in 30-06, I have a Leupold VX-R 2-7x33.
Exellent scope for a daytime stalking rifle.

Where I live (Norway) we do a lot of low light / night time hunting on roe and red deer as well as pigs, and then the big European scopes are the only options.

The 1.75 x 6 Leupold is a DAMN good scope

Yes Jim, that's a fair question.

I do most of my stalking around the 4 to 6 power but if I'm all set up for a shot at something longer, I like to dial-up the power to something closer to 10 +/- depending on many thing of course.

It sounds like everyone is using EXACTLY what they want. Isn't choice a wonderful thing?

Zeke

1.5x6 Leupold on all of my big bores. I like a straight 6x on most of my hunting rifles. Those that don't have straight 6 on them stay on 6x permantly.

A straight 4x scope is as useful now as it ever was, which is to say very useful. I agree with the comments about the Leupold 6x36 however; really like that scope. If night hunting were an option, I would see more use for a European style scope here. I do wish though that Leupold would make their scopes with longer tubes like the old 4x. It made it very easy to mount on a wide variety of rifles.

In the last year I've bought 5 or 6 of the Weaver Grand Slam 2-8X36 scopes on closeout from Natchez. I've put them on rifles for young hunters, my muzzleloaders, and general medium game hunting rifles...along with a predator calling rifle. Just about perfect and really exceptional glass for the $200 they cost. I have several VX3 2.5-8 Leupolds that I use also. For general all-around hunting the low power variables are about perfect!

For my western elk/mule deer I do tend to go with 4.5-14's.


Edited to correct the Weaver GS 2-8x36...great scopes

Another crazy thread. I use no less than 3x9x33 on any rifle. My eyes need as much help as they can get.

The more I hunt the lower the magnification on my scopes. On my plains game rifle (So far taken 23 species.) I have settled on a Zeiss Victory HT 1.5-6 with an illuminated #60 dot and have never missed the higher magnification. It is more compact and can be mounted lower for a good cheek weld. At 6x I can still shoot 1" groups when sighting in.

For big game I use 3-9X on all my .24 - .30 rifles and 2.5-8X on the big guns.

Small game and varmints get the bigger variables from 4X on the low end up to 24X on the high end.

I got a new Weaver 6x and 3 Vortex 6x. besides needing extension rings/bases they work fine.

For what my experience is worth, I've settled on small 2x7s or the 6x36.

If I can't see well enough with either of those scopes, I need to get my butt a bit closer!

Mark