rifle hunting big game, scope question

06 February 2010, 10:55

I am trying to make a scope decision. It would help to have a little more information.

What was the last big game animal you shot?
What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal?
What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot?
Stalking, treestand, other?
What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot?

Other thought?

06 February 2010, 12:59

Bobby Tomek

In the semi-open areas I frequent, I generally leave my variables right at 6x. (In the rare occasions I'm in the thicker stuff, they are set at the lowest power.)

The last big game animal I shot was a whitetailed deer at 188 yards. I spotted him, got set, and, without removing my eye from the deer in the scope, cranked the magnification of the Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 to 9x before touching off a shot.

I could have easily left the scope at 6x and enjoyed the same results, but there was no hurry as the buck was undisturbed.

I've used both fixed and variables over the years, and as long as you use good glass and a reticle suited to your type of hunting/terrain, either will suffice for the task at hand.

06 February 2010, 15:26

ncboman

What was the last big game animal you shot?
mature whitetail doe

What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal?
3x

What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot?
3x

Stalking, treestand, other?
treestand

What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot?
38yds

Other thought?
I like 40mm. Bigger drawns attention from some game. Smaller isn't as good in low light.

06 February 2010, 16:07

Buliwyf

1. Crocodile
2. 2.5X
3. 6x
4. Stalking and makeshift shooting rest from fallen tree.
5. 130 meters accross tributary of the Zambezi River.

6. I think a 3-9 or 3.5-10 is in general the best choice.

06 February 2010, 16:32

drm-hp

I have killed 54 Deer with a combination of rifle, shotgun, and bow. The most common scope I own,on a rifle is a 4-12 or a 4.5-14. Most hunting situations find me at between 4 to 6 power. Shortest kill distance with rifle is 5 yards, longest is 373 yards,(both in the same field incidently).
Latest Deer = 4.5 power when spotted, and shot at 45 yards. I was sitting at the base of a bush on the edge of a creek.
I tend to like high quality optics(binocular, riflescope, and spoting scope) for one simple reason, "In order to shoot something, you must first see something". Personally, I will go without something else, or sell something to get good optics.
I hope this helps, Doug

06 February 2010, 16:35

Snellstrom

1. Mule Deer
2.3x
3.9x
4. Stalking
5.200 yards
6. On several of my hunting rifles I use a 3-9 scope.
I always carry it on the lowest power setting unless I am Antelope hunting then I carry it on 4 or 5x.
Of the last 5 animals I've shot (Deer, Elk, Antelope) 4 were on 9 power one was on 3 power.
My dad always told me carry your scope on the lowest possible setting, if you jump a deer at close range you won't have time to turn down the power, if they are a ways off you will have time to turn the power up.

A lot of scope selection depends on what type of hunting you do and what rifle you plan on using under that scope.

06 February 2010, 17:49

bja105

quote:
Originally posted by ddunn:
I am trying to make a scope decision. It would help to have a little more information.

What was the last big game animal you shot? Whitetail fawn
What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal? 4X
What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot? 4X
Stalking, treestand, other? Treestand
What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot? 20 Yards

Other thought?

My last deer was with a 260 rem and a 4-14 scope. It was the scope i had available when I bought the rifle just before the season began. i didn't need the high end that day. The treestand was in the woods, I never had a long view the entire hunt. It was the first time hunting an area as the guest of some friends.

06 February 2010, 18:04

CHWine

I have some variables and fixed power. I pretty much always keep them on 5-6 power. Sometimes in thick stuff I'll crank them down to 3x.

06 February 2010, 18:44

Outdoor Writer

What was the last big game animal you shot?

Whitetail buck in Texas in Dec.

What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal?

Using a Leupold VX-III 3.5-10x 40mm on a custom .300 Win. mag, I had it set at 6X. I have the same scope with a 50mm objective on my M70 .264 Win mag. Both have duplex reticles.

What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot?

Knowing it would likely be a fairly long shot because of the fairly open terrain, I changed it to 10x as soon as I began the stalk from 600 yards away. The actual shot was between 175 and 200 yards.

Stalking, treestand, other?

See above

What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot?

See above

Other thoughts?

Yes. Buy the best VARIABLE scope you can afford. You can always decrease/increase the power to suit the situation, but you can never decrease/increase the power with a fixed power scope.

Increased power at distances over 150 yards gives you a better close-in sight picture to place the bullet in a more exact spot.

This buck was facing away from me, and I don't do Texas heart shots. So my "spot" was the base of his neck. The added power allowed me to easily center that spot and drop the buck where he stood.

That said, I don't do stands or feeders, BUT..if most of your hunting is from a treestand or blind with shots very unlikely to exceed 100 yards, a low, fixed power should suffice.

06 February 2010, 20:39

Blacktailer

quote:
Originally posted by ddunn:
I am trying to make a scope decision. It would help to have a little more information.

What was the last big game animal you shot?
What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal?
What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot?
Stalking, treestand, other?
What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot?

Other thought?

You would probably be better served to tell what kind of country you are anticipating hunting in what kind of cover for what kind of game and how. If you are hunting primarily stands in open country where shots are 100yds+. then a big high powered variable or even fixed may be just the ticket. On the other hand if you anticipate stalking through heavy cover a smaller low powered scope would be better. Whatever you decide, get the highest quality optics you can afford. Most of my scopes cost close to as much as the rifle they are sitting on. You would be amazed at the difference in clarity in the high end scopes compared to the cheapies.

06 February 2010, 21:10

Fjold

quote:
Originally posted by ddunn:
I am trying to make a scope decision. It would help to have a little more information.

What was the last big game animal you shot? Whitetail buck
What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal? 6.5-20X
What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot? 6.5
Stalking, treestand, other? 16' tall box blind
What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot? 145 yards

Other thought? I was set up to shoot out to 400 yards but got lucky.

06 February 2010, 22:34

Bear in Fairbanks

quote:
Originally posted by ddunn:
I am trying to make a scope decision. It would help to have a little more information.

What was the last big game animal you shot?
What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal?
What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot?
Stalking, treestand, other?
What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot?

Other thought?

1. My bull moose last Sep. with my .338 Wm.
2. 5x ? I think.
3. 5x ? I think
4. A little after 7 A.M. walked out of the quanset hut to go take a morning whizz. Looked across the slough & there he was, looking at me.
5. distance from me - about 75 yds.
Bang, flop - about 50 yds. to the airboat.
Moose huntin's real hard, ya know.

Bear in Fairbanks

06 February 2010, 22:57

wasbeeman

Last two deer I killed was with a .260 and a .300Sav. wearing a vintage Weaver 1x4 and a vintage K3 (both of these scopes are older than most of the folks that will be reading this post

) Range for the .260 was 250 yards and the .300Sav was about 50 yards.
As posted, you kinda need to look at where you will be hunting before making your scope decision. One thing to remember, IMO, you can make a long shot with a 2.5x scope but you can't jump a deer off the bed and nail him at 25 yards with one of those moon observatory monstrosities you see on rifles nowadays.
I ran up on a young fellow hunting on the back of my place. He had a 6x24x50mm in see thru mounts on his (ta da) thutty-thutty. As I was chatting him up, I remarked "that's quite a scope you've got there." "Yeah", he said, "it'll really help on my long shots."

In the FWIW dept, I think over powered scopes tend to tempt hunters into trying shoots that they shouldn't.

06 February 2010, 23:24

miles58

Whitetail doe

1.5x

1.5x

treestand

140 yards

07 February 2010, 00:50

George Semel

White Tail, shot three last season. Fixed 6 x one shot 20yds maybe one down a logging trail, maybe 160 yards and one 35 yards. German # 1. I when thru this a couple of times. I started out with a fixed 4 x Leupold on a 7mm Remington Mag back in 1969 it was my second rifle. I did the varables and found that all my shooting in the field were either on 4x or 6x. So Forty something years latter, I when back to a 7mm Remington Mag and a Fixed 6x scope. Gone thru a lot of rifles and scopes in the mean time. Live and learn. I am going to have NULA build me a 7mm Remington Mag, and I am going to put a fixed 4x Ziess on it and it will be a 21st century updated version of that 1969 Remington 700. This one along with my blaser will see me thru the end of my hunting days.

07 February 2010, 08:02

Sevenxbjt

quote:
Originally posted by ddunn:
I am trying to make a scope decision. It would help to have a little more information.

What was the last big game animal you shot?
What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal?
What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot?
Stalking, treestand, other?
What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot?

Other thought?

Hog
3x
3x
stalking
98 yards (stepped off)

07 February 2010, 16:38

p dog shooter

Deer I shot in Nov 1.5x 30 yards on the run in very thick brush. 2nd 167 yards 9x standing bang flop.

I guess If I only good have one scope it would be a 3x9 or 2.5x8 with mutiplex reticle. In a leupold VX3 or better brand.

07 February 2010, 17:21

RaySendero

quote:
Originally posted by ddunn:
I am trying to make a scope decision. It would help to have a little more information.

What was the last big game animal you shot?
What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal?
What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot?
Stalking, treestand, other?
What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot?

Other thought?

dd,

Unless you plan to shoot targets, too with a BG rifle - Don't make it harder than it really is!

For DG go 1.5X
For BG go 2.5 to 4X (or a variable that will turn down in that range)

07 February 2010, 19:00

ravenr

last i shot was a 6 pt bull elk
the scope was set on 6 and thou it was
open country, it was snowing hard and coming in sideways.
i knew the contact would be close so had pre=set the scope to 6
distance of shot was 80 yds,in his bed
one shot,one kill.
varible scopes allow for conditions out
of your control
a driving blizzard or dark timber
to the wide open antelope country

07 February 2010, 20:01

buckeyeshooter

whitetail deer
3x
3x
ground blind
shot at 65 yards

07 February 2010, 20:32

OLBIKER

Bear 35 yds.Red dot on a Revolver.

07 February 2010, 20:37

Fish30114

quote:
Originally posted by ddunn:

What was the last big game animal you shot?Whitetail doe
What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal? 7X
What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot? 12X
Stalking, treestand, other? Spot and stalk, sitting off of bi-pods
What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot? Around 240ish, lasered her at 235ish and she took a few steps before the shot

Other thought?

I think there are applications for fixed power scopes, but as others stated variables are more versatile. I only have a very few fixed, 2 of those are on air rifles, one is a fixed 36x for rifle testing, and one is on a rig set up for close encounters, hopefully dangerous game someday....I just can't see NOT having a variable for almost all applications myself.

08 February 2010, 02:51

phurley5

I stalked and shot a Mule Deer Buck at a lazered 285 yards with a 4.5X14 Ziess Conquest on one of my .270 WSM's. I made the stalk on 4.5 power then with plenty of time and a good rest turned it up to 14 power and saw the hair move through the scope (or was it just in my mind). A bang flop with a 140 grain Barnes TSX at 3260 fps. Bullet sized hole going in, half dollar sized hole going out. Good shooting.

08 February 2010, 04:43

garretttodd

quote:
What was the last big game animal you shot? white tail buck
What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal? 7
What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot? 10
Stalking, treestand, other? canyon rim
What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot? 287yds

08 February 2010, 05:21

ted thorn

What was the last big game animal you shot?........5 whitetails last fall
What magnification was the scope on when you saw the animal?..........4x
What magnification was the scope on when you took the shot?..........4x for all 5
Stalking, treestand, other?..........Still Hunting-3.....treestand-2
What distance was the animal from you when you took the shot?........still hunting-10 yrds,40 yrds,75 yrds. Treestand 40 X2

08 February 2010, 08:03

Sagebrush Burns

Last animal - bull elk

Scope setting when spotted - 4X

Scope setting when shot - 8X

Hunting method - spot and stalk

Distance of shot - 190 yards

08 February 2010, 17:36

Ingvar J. Kristjansson

Last animal - Reindeer

Scope setting when spotted - 8X

Scope setting when shot - 8X

Hunting method - Stalking

Distance of shot - 242 metres

Other thought ? I used my 300 wm Sako 85 laminated and 180 gr. Accubond for the task...work perfectly !

08 February 2010, 17:47

wasbeeman

Oh No!! Ingvar killed Rudolph!

08 February 2010, 18:53

LJS

Whitetail Buck November 09
Scope carried at 5x
Shot taken at 5x
Distance 110 yards
Shot from a ground blind

Gun has a 3x9 but 9 power is used only for load development and sight in. Hunt was in timber so scope was at 5x. In more open country I carry at 6x. Missed a chance at a big Kudu once by fiddling with magnification so I never change it when I"m in position for a shot. Make your magnification decision when you arrive at your hunt location and leave it there. I often wonder why I don't just use 6x scopes!