Low Power Scopes

[Shawnee]

A lot of deer hunters and hope-to-be-deer-hunters are very well-served by scopes of low magnification, high brightness, good portability and quickness to get into action with.

But the standard Walmart clerk doesn't know how to say anything except "3x9" and the typical gun scribbler who gets their stuff at a discount (or free) doesn't know there are good scopes out there that actually cost less than $1500.

Maybe a thread that speaks to comparison of quality among the lower-powered glass might help someone who otherwise might spend a goodly wad on a scope that has all the wrong features for their hunting.

So what say Y'All ? How about chiming in with your observations about the kinds and brands of scopes a woods deer hunter or river breaks deer hunter might find to be exactly what he/she needs? But just for Reality's sake - let's keep the price range below $500.

 

[rbernie]

Sightron makes a dandy 1.5x-6x/42 SII that sells for $250 in most places. I have several, and it's my favorite general-purpose scope. I also have a VXIII in 1.75x-6x/32 and it's probably the best glass I own in terms of utility. It cost me around $400 and I think so highly of it that it sits on my 'go-to' rifle.

Pentax sells a heavy Chinese-made 1.5x-6x that is very nice for the price; I think I paid $120 for it and it's proven solid and repeatable. It's heavy (older design with lots o' hunks of glass instead of magic glass and lots of fancy light bending) but it's a tank. It's a terrific starter scope.

In case you can't tell - I think that 1.5x-6x is the perfect range for a variable.

 

[alsaqr]

A lot of deer hunters and hope-to-be-deer-hunters are very well-served by scopes of low magnification, high brightness, good portability and quickness to get into action with.

In case you can't tell - I think that 1.5x-6x is the perfect range for a variable.

+1
It has become fashionable for young deer hunters and a lot old old deer hunters to have variable power scopes set on the highest power. Then they wonder why the scope is hard to get on close in game and is next to useless in low light. At the range i saw one guy trying to sight in his rifle at 25 yards with the scope set on 14 power.

The Leupold FXII 4X33 is a very good low light scope. If costs less than $275.

 

[moooose102]

well, i am probably not your typical hunter. but to me, anything less than 4 power, and you might as well be using open sights. my 4-12 power scopes are about the minimum for me, but my eyes are not very good anymore. but even when i was young, a 3-9 was a great tool. and given the chance to turn up the zoom, i would always power it up if i had time. if money is right next year, i hope to be able to get a 4-15 power scope for deer hunting. i really cant see my eyes getting any better. the other part of this equasion, is that i am partially color blind. i can see bright colors just fine, but dark greens, browns, grey all kind of blend together. it makes it challenging to see deer to say the least. if it isnt moving, and more than 50 yards away, i would probably miss seeing it. lets just say that my 8x binoculars get a real workout during deer season!

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

It's a good discussion & point made: "3-9x40" might be a good recommendation in Western plains/desert states, but it's a bit much for woods hunting. However, it's not a terribly BAD choice, because dialing down to 3 is pretty decent even for close in (although 1.5 or 2 is better). Here are some "Sub-3-to-9" scopes I like and have currently mounted on hunting & "militia" centerfires or hunting rimfires:

1. Burris Fullfield 2, 1.75-5x20mm
2. Bushnell Elite 3200, 2-7x32mm
3. Trijicon Accupoint 1.25-4x24mm
4. Bushnell Banner 1.5-4.5x32mm
5. Bushnell Legend 2-7x32mm
6. Nikon Prostaff 2-7x32mm
7. Sightron S2 1.5-6x42mm
8. Burris Signature Select 1.5-6x40mm
9. NC Star 2-7x32mm scout/LER
10. Weaver K Classic fixed 4x (not sure if this one is "sub-3-9" or not; I guess not).
11. Fixed 2.5 power handgun scope on a .357 mag revolver

I'm a believer in having a lower power of 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, or 2x at most on all woods hunting rifles. Or just iron sights.

but to me, anything less than 4 power, and you might as well be using open sights.

See, I disagree with that. At first light about 20-30 minutes before sunrise, and at last light about 20-30 minutes after sunset - the legal shooting times when game is most likely to be moving - having a low-powered scope on 2 or 3 (or more) power will add about 20-25 minutes of shooting time over plain irons, and add a good 10-15 minutes of shooting time over and above even fiber optic "irons", by allowing you to make out enough of the game's outline to take an ethical shot, due to the light-gathering ability of the scope.

Optics also help you identify tiny twigs that might be in the way to the game which you don't notice with the naked eye - my eyes are pretty poor however, even with glasses on.

I suspect that if you have excellent eyesight, then these advantage of scopes (to me) disappears, espec. vis a vis fiber optic sights.

Plus, there's that whole "lining up two planes instead of three advantage" which scopes have. I would even like to get a true fixed 1.0 power scope for my turkey hunting shotgun. I'm a fan of 1x optics, long eye relief, and elimination of parallax, but not a fan of batteries.

By the way, that Trijicon Accupoint is the king of eye relief and clarity. The eye relief is unbelievable. So much so that you really need to mount it in a non-traditional, forward base/ring setup, to use the eye relief to its full advantage. Mas fina!

 

[Geno]

I've taken several deer and boar with a Tasco 4X. Especially if you are a daylight hunter, you see precious little difference between a $400.00 Leupold 4X, and a Tasco 4X. JMHO based on my own experiences.

 

[ojibweindian]

The Bushnell Elite 4200 has a magnification range of 2.5 - 10 power. My first hunting rig, a Savage 110, wore a 4200. Excellent scope.

I now have a Bushnell Elite 3200 on a Weatherby Vanguard. Works well.

 

[ColeK]

Shawnee, I’ll agree with you on this one. Most hunters, at least the ones east of the Mississippi River, don’t need more than a 4X scope.
The problem is, in my area, fixed power scopes are hard to find and cost as much or more than the variables. My variables stay set on there lowest setting, I may run the setting above 4 if I have a shot over 200 yards but that is seldom happens.
I have a dozen scopes and only 3 are fixed power.
Most of my scopes are Leupoles, Burris, Nikons, Pentexes, B&L, and 1 old Charles Daily.
I’ve had other brands but for the money I like Leupoles, Burris, Nikons, and Pentexes. I’m also not afraid to buy one of these scopes used.
As far as cost goes I’ve never paid more than $350 for a scope.

 

[Asherdan]

I'm a fan of Marlin lever actions and low power Weaver scopes with a 20mm objective.

I have a current manufacture (Japan) fixed K2.5 on my 1894 in 44 mag, just had it out with me last Friday. Decided to do a little low light checking, it's been a consistent performer for me out to 200 yards on the range, good clarity and bright.

End of the day I hunkered down and glassed the evening move, starting at sundown, I checked the scope for light transmission, clarity and usable range using known distance points every 10 minutes. It was plenty good up to ten minutes after legal shooting time to take a shot out to 200 yards, even in the dimmest brush shadowed spots. $109 at the end of last year.



I also have a V3 1-3x20mm on my 1895G that is of the same quality. $138.

I notice PremiumSauces has some 2-7x32 on his list up there. The Elite 3200 or a Weaver classic in that range for longer shooting would be right up my price/effectiveness/quality alley for stretching the yardage out for those occasional longer shot chances. Shot through both of those and liked 'em.

To throw in on the low light irons vs. scope talk...

I started off with Weaver 5D aperture sights. Tried a white and gold front bead as well as a green fiber optic bead. Then I tried a wide post with a white stripe up it. In low light and especially shadowed twilight they tended to disappear against the background when every thing is shades of grey and black, even with the aperture screwed out and using just the threaded ring. The low power scopes add time at the beginning and the end of the day for me.

 

[rcmodel]

My old 30-06 still wears a 3x Weaver that has been on it since 1962.

It has killed deer, and more coyotes them I can remember. Even a few crows at 300+ yards.

I did make the mistake once of thinking I needed more power for deer hunting in Colorado. You know, those cross-canyon shots I read about in Outdoor Life!

So I put a 6x Weaver on it, dialed in a 165 grain Nosler load, and doped trajectory out to 500 yards by shooting on the Ft. Carson AMU 1,000 yard range.

And the first morning, I had a buck walk up to within 7 yards of me!
So close I couldn't see anything except hair through the 6x scope!

Oh, I got the deer alright, but the 3x scope went right back on when I got home that evening!

rcmodel

 

[Shawnee]

Hi Colek....

I hear Ya about the disappearance of low-cost, high-quality fixed -powers !

Anymore there seems to even be a scarcity of good 2x7 models.
Kudos to Nikon for still making their ProStaff 2x7 !

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

I have had great success with an older weaver k3 with post/crosshair. Killed a lot of deer and other critters with it. It finally gave up the ghost several years ago after about 40+ years of great service. I miss that old scope. Wish I could find someone to repair it.

 

[oklahoma caveman]

im amazed swift hasnt been mentioned. lifetime warranty no matter what happens, and a good cheap scope. iv had 1 and been using it 4 o maybe 11 years, and its still as good as the day it was bought.

 

[alsaqr]

I miss that old scope. Wish I could find someone to repair it.

.351 Winchester: Try this scope repair service. They repair the old steel tube Weaver scopes.


http://www.ironsightinc.com/weaver.html

 

[.38 Special]

Leupold makes a very nice 1.5-5x along with an absolutely wonderful 2.5x ultra compact. As far as I am concerned, these two scopes cover the field for shots of up to 300 yards. And as I refuse to take a shot at game beyond 300 yards, all other scopes and scope manufacturers may as well not exist.

 

[paintballdude902]

the scope on my.30-30 (and my only scope currently) is a 1.5-4.5x and is great its a bsa catseye and i payed somewhere around 80 bucks it has great clarity and gathers plenty of light

 

[30-06 lover]

I leave my 3-9 on 6x 99.9% of the time (.1 being when I sight in at the range) .FXII 6x is next for me

 

[alsaqr]

FXII 6x is next for me

That is a great scope. So are the FXII 4X33 and the FXIII 6X42.

 

[22-rimfire]

I feel that high power scopes provide an illusion that you can hit at much longer ranges that you can for your everyday deer hunter East of the Mississippi.

[Everyday deer hunter= a person who has one deer rifle who may shoot it a few shots prior to deer season to check the scope. Then heads for the woods to hunt. Hunts a couple days, cleans and wipes rifle off and puts the rifle up for the next year.]

As much as I hate to admit it, that description matches my use of centerfire rifles these days when I haven't done any varminting in years. I shoot mostly rimfire rifles and various calibers of handguns year around, but for the most part, the centerfire rifles don't get shot much. 223's may be the exception, but it is not even a monthly thing.

I like 3-9x or 2-7x scopes on centerfire rifles. But honestly I most commonly keep the scope set on 4x in the woods and never change it. I use binoculars for "scoping around". If I'm hunting fields, I will still keep the scope set at 4x and move it up to a higher setting for a shot. But I don't commonly hunt fields; never liked to much. I practice quick shots with a rifle and do that at 4x. If the rifle fits, I am pretty much on an animal when I raise the rifle to my shoulder regardless of whether or not it standing still, walking or running. I don't shoot at running deer unless it is a followup shot to put them down and that is rare unless it is under 50 yds. If I have a good hit the first shot, I generally just let them run off and pay attention to just where they ran for tracking purposes. They normally won't be far but you still track them slow and carefully just in case.

The lower powered variables work just fine and are typically a bit more compact than 3-9x variables. That is good on a hunting rifle. I choose the scope based on the rifle, caliber and the caliber's capabilities (and my use). For most situations a 4x fixed scope is just fine regardless of what folks at gun shops or walmart say.

 

[Art Eatman]

I enjoy cranking up to 9X, just for the better "picture". But that has more to do with fun than hunting.

Field of view. Repeat after me, "Field of view". Like rcmodel discovered, field of view is a really big deal. I had a similar experience, but my buck got off into the brush before I ever had anything for a useful target spot.

I had a last-chance "Shoot quick!" shot on a buck out around 350 yrds. I shot, he dropped. It was not until after the shot that I realized the scope was set on 3X. I called it a Learning Experience.

Something else about this high-dollar exotic glass: You're only going to shoot during legal shooting times, right? You don't identify the buck with your scope. You're a safety sort of guy, and did that with your binoculars. Ethical and all that. Not eat up with the stupids. So why an el gigantico lens on a hunting scope for use during legal light? Spend a tad more money on the binocs.

Next question: If you're gonna aim with the crosshairs, why would you worry about any little fuzziness out at the perimeter of the lens? The crosshairs are in the middle of the scope, last time I looked.

Field. Of. View.

, Art

 

[Water-Man]

Leupold 4x33 is a great choice.

 

[22-rimfire]

I have told this story before, but I will again as it relates to "field of view" comment by Art. I was hunting with my Dad (my first year) with an Ithaca 16 ga shotgun in PA. My Dad had a 30-06 Remington 760 with a 2-7x scope on it. He was nervous about scopes as he always used open sights. It may well been his first deer season with the scope mounted. Well to make a long story short, I met my Dad around lunch time to build a fire and have a bite together. We were walking along the crest of a mountain and a 8-pt buck jumps out about 20 yds in front of us. He was crossing the mountain as is common when deer are pushed on opening day. I pull up my shotgun and my Dad has his 760 on his shoulder just waving that thing around.... I didn't shoot like an idiot. The buck crossed infront of us and then angled to our right on a "bench" at maybe 30-35 yds distance. So he was running broad sided to us. He never could find the deer in his scope and he later discovered he had the scope set on 7x. FIELD OF VIEW!! Call that a learning experience for both of us.

Hence I keep mine on 4x because that is what I'm used to. With 35mm cameras, my brain thinks in terms of about 105mm. The 4x gives me the picture that I have in my mind with a rifle. It is fast and has a good field of view. I've shot many rabbits running at 4x with a 22 rifle. The 22 kept me in practice.

 

[BoilerUP]

I have been using a 3-9x40 Nikon that was a $149 special at Dick's Sporting Goods with good results. 9x is good for the range, but in the woods I tend to leave it on 3-4x and adjust upward if necessary.

 

[qajaq59]

The trick to 3 x 9s is that you have to know when to turn them up and down. I like the 3x for a hog or deer in the woods, but 9x works well on a woodchuck way out in the fields.