big barrel = ginormous scope?
- Thread starter mainecoon
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CaptTripps
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I think your scope ought to tailored to your shooting style and distance. a long "varmint barrel" is about gaining velocity. People mistakenl believe that long heavy barrel = high velocity+stiffness. Reality is, a short heavy barrel is just as stiff as a long heavy barrel, maybe stiffer. So, if you are shooting 400 plus yards at woodchucks, MAYBE you need that 14-25 scope. If you are shooting deer at 300, all you really need is a 3x9 or so, unless your eyes are terrible. At 24+ magnification, any movement of the game animal will cause you to lose it in the extreme close-up magnification of the scope.
cdb1
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I think just about everyone has their own idea of what looks right and many of their ideas are different. My predator(coyote) rifle has a 3.5-10x44 scope with a German #4 reticle. I imagine that’s not the ideal predator scope in many peoples minds.
Varminterror
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The scope is for the shooter, not the rifle. Most applications which dictate a long, heavy barrel also dictate a high magnification scope, but some applications can dictate odd combinations.
I have a few 10-15” barrels with 16x -25x top end magnification scopes.
I have a few 10-15” barrels with 16x -25x top end magnification scopes.
I agree that big, heavy guns, LOOK more aesthetically pleasing with larger scopes. Just as smaller guns look more "correct" with smaller scopes.
Functionally, I very much agree with VT, your scope is your direct interface with the target, and should be tailored to fit what your needs may dictate.
A general use rifle will, usually have a more adaptable optic by necessity. Specific task guns will often have much more specialized optics, and while they CAN work in other settings, they are not as easy to use.
I have know a guy with an expensive, fixed low power scope, with a very large objective on a 700 Sendero .308. He uses it for shooting pigs out of the packing shack on his papaya farm. Its a VERY odd combination of rifle, scope, and usage that works perfectly for him.
One of the neat trends in optics is the wide power band scopes, Ive got a few lower cost scopes with 5x power bands, making them much easier to use in across the board conditions.
This give you the option, should you want it, of having a lower min power on a big gun with a big scope, or a higher max power on a little gun with a smaller (they still arnt little) scope.
Im not sure if they are any more susceptible to zero drift as the power changes, than shorter power range scopes. I havent noticed it, but i usually shoot at 3,6 and max power just out of habit.
Functionally, I very much agree with VT, your scope is your direct interface with the target, and should be tailored to fit what your needs may dictate.
A general use rifle will, usually have a more adaptable optic by necessity. Specific task guns will often have much more specialized optics, and while they CAN work in other settings, they are not as easy to use.
I have know a guy with an expensive, fixed low power scope, with a very large objective on a 700 Sendero .308. He uses it for shooting pigs out of the packing shack on his papaya farm. Its a VERY odd combination of rifle, scope, and usage that works perfectly for him.
One of the neat trends in optics is the wide power band scopes, Ive got a few lower cost scopes with 5x power bands, making them much easier to use in across the board conditions.
This give you the option, should you want it, of having a lower min power on a big gun with a big scope, or a higher max power on a little gun with a smaller (they still arnt little) scope.
Im not sure if they are any more susceptible to zero drift as the power changes, than shorter power range scopes. I havent noticed it, but i usually shoot at 3,6 and max power just out of habit.
cdb1
Member
The VX-3 2.5-8x36 is about the best and most versatile scope there is IMO, until you get into scopes that cost much more money. Classy looking too.
22250Rem
Member
..............Doesn't sound dumb to me; but I would call it traditional and classic. Years ago a lot of varmint & target rifles had scopes that were very big physically even though they didn't have the big magnification that some of today's scopes offer. Big, long, scopes, some of which had external adjustments. Stuff like the old Bausch & Lomb and Unertl , among others, target scopes with external adjustments were once considered "state of the art" and were considered necessary for a first class varmint / target rig. I grew up drooling over stuff like that and although I never owned one of those classic target scopes, a physically large scope looks like it belongs on a varmint / target rifle. Got a 1960's vintage Leupold 12x that's pretty long on a Mod. 700BDL Varmint Special and a 6-18x Leupold target scope on a Ruger Mod. 77 MK II Target Rifle with a 4" sunshade extension screwed into the objective lens bell to give it that (to me, anyway), long, old school, retro, varmint / target coolness factor. Like Loon Wulf said; " big, heavy guns LOOK more aesthetically pleasing with larger scopes".
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