Scope Power

[John9861]

Thx JimP for the practice idea. And The Engineer broke into the area I need to remember as I begin practicing my longer shots. By filling up the scope with the animal at long distance may be a detriment. Good thoughts everyone. Now for more research...

 

[Tgood1]

This is truly the greatest hunting platform ever, been watching this thread and learning

 

[R eight]

I’d happily hunt any deer or antelope sized game with a 4x fixed scope. The biggest scope that I hunt big game with is a 1.5 to 6 x 42 Zeiss. It usually lives on 3x. Having said that I reckon your 12x is more than enough magnification for your hunt.

 

[Luederitz]

I will be on Safari in Namibia July of 24. New rifle- Browning Canyon 6.8 Win Western. This caliper lends itself well to mid size antelopes, bear, aoudad & even Elk. Flat shooting with effective range out to 400+ yds. I have always been one to want my shots under 200 yds. But it might be time to expand that range some. I currently am scoped to 12 power but am curious if others like more power for farther shots. What say You?

I hunted 11 species so far in Namibia, meanwhile more than 50 kills.
My scope recommendation is from 2/3x lower magnification to 10/12x high mag. and an objective diameter between 42-50 mm.
Red dot only required around sun set...
Robust scope, for me "less is more" - means no target towers as you will not have time during stalking to adjust the towers. If you spot the game you might measure the distance (ok or n.ok) and then place the rifle on the shooting sticks.

Important is to know you personal limit shooting from sticks. I limit myself to 250 yds.

Hopefully nobody say "i rest my rifle on the roof of the car...", this is no hunt, just a disgusting practice..

PS: regarding caliber

Legal Info – NAPHA

napha-namibia.com

As per the Nature Conservation Ordinance No 4 of 1975:

No person shall use a revolver, pistol, or automatic firearm when hunting game or use a firearm of which the bullet has energy at the muzzle of the barrel which is lower than the following when hunting a species of the game indicated there under:

Small Game:
(e.g. Dik-Dik; Steenbok; Duiker; Springbok)
Minimum caliber: .243 (or equivalent caliber in mm)
Energy: 1350 Joule

Medium Game:
(e.g. Hartebeest; Oryx; Wildebeest; Kudu; Eland and all exotic species)
Minimum caliber: .270 (or equivalent caliber in mm)
Energy: 2700 Joule

 

[BeeMaa]

Have 1X4 to 6X36 and pretty much everything in between. For a hunting scope the low power is just as important as the high IMHO. You might have 500 yard shot, you are more than likely to have a 40 yard shot where the low end is going to be more beneficial. One scope I really think is over looked is the Swarovski Z8i 1.7-13.3x42. It's not cheap, you do get a lot of Versatility.

Z8i 1.7-13.3x42P (rail mount) with the 4A-I reticle in QD mounts is the scope my wife has on her 300WM. Perfect for PG and she loves the illuminated reticle option.

 

[Elkeater]

I grew up using only fixed 4x32 scopes. It’s all anyone used in my family. We were hunting big woods whitetails and shot distances were usually no more than 60yards. The longest shot I ever took until I moved to the western US was like 120 yards. I went up to a 3-9x40 at that point and have made some longer shots over 400 yards on hunts out here where the shots can be long. These days my two main hunting rifles a 7-08ai and a .300 Winchester magnum wear matching 4-16x44 Zeiss scopes. your 12x should cover 99% of hunting scenarios just fine.

 

[sgt_zim]

My 6.5x55 Swedish has a 4-12x40 on it. It's too much scope for the kind of hunting I do with it (lots of the deer show up at 40 yards). My target rifle has a 6-24x50 on it. Even at 1000 yards, I rarely go over 15-16X.

My 45-70 sports a 1.5-4x20 Leupold, and my 9.3x62 has a VX5 1-5x24. The only time I dial past 2 on either of them is if an animal is hidden in the foliage - but I first find it at low power because FOV is bigger.

The only "long range" hunting rifle I own is a 280AI, and it has a VX3 3.5-10.

Magnification, IMO, is over-rated for hunting. FOV is everything.

At 4X, most scopes have a FOV of ~25-30 feet at 100 yards. This subtends in a linear fashion. At 50 yards, FOV is cut in half, so around 12-15 feet.

At 2X, many scopes have a FOV of around 45-50 feet at 100 yards. At 1.5X, FOV will be 70 feet or more at 100 yards.

As I told my buddy when he was trying to figure out what scope to top his 375 Ruger with - "you don't need to be able to count the fleas on a bull's nuts to be able to put the bullet in the boiler room."

 

[Buck0317]

I placed a 1.5-6x42 Swarovski on my 30-06 for my plains game hunt this past May and I shot game at distances from 70 -350 yards. 6X was all I needed.

 

[Hogpatrol]

My 2¢, distance, the shooters eyes and size of the kill zone will determine what power is needed. I've killed many a groundhog at 400 with a 10x Trijicon. Having said that, for years, a 3x-9x was the universal do all scope and will work at reasonable distances for PG in most environs.

 

[Houston Bill]

Thx everyone. So a little more in this area. I purposely left off brand of scope to not enter the "my scope's better than your scope" arena. Let's see how the following fits into this equation:
Because of deer hunting in SC being so low light dominant my scope is 56mm with a 1" tube. I'm happy with the performance but don't want these attributes to be a negative. Thx again

I have use a 3-12x56 Zeiss for several PG hunts in Africa. Your scope should be fine.

 

[Velo Dog]

Fellow Hunters and Rifle Grumps,

When using a scope on big game rifles, over my lifetime so far, I’ve had perfect success with 4x scopes.
Also, I’ve enjoyed perfect success with the sadly now discontinued 3x Leupold plus the way long ago, discontinued Weaver K3 model scope (also a fixed 3x).

I will however admit that at times, quite a few years ago, I have used a Leupold 6x (those are probably discontinued by now as well), on a Remington 7mm magnum, for deer hunting above the timberline, here in N. America.
Never wished for more scope power, only wished for less now and then.

Once while returning downhill toward camp at Karluk Lake, on Kodiak Island, Alaska, a little black tail spike buck deer, laying behind a fallen tree trunk, popped his head up, to see what was approaching.
Even though it was at very close range, I managed to shoot him between the eyes and all turned out well (for me anyway).

However, that is one of several personal experiences that further cements my opinion of myself not wanting strong magnification scopes on my hunting rifles for any species above the size of ground squirrels and such.
A lower powered scope or no scope at all would’ve been a lot better suited to that quick and unexpected scenario.

Over-powered scopes, especially ones with multiple features and techno-advanced options / gadgetry, are not well suited to big game hunting.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.