gamestalker
member
The Leupold 3x9 Hunter is a great piece of glass for 200 - 300 yards for hunting. I've shot many sub moa groups with them. For the money, it's a nice optic IMO.
GS
GS
Recommended scope power for 200 - 300 yards hunting?
- Thread starter gunsrfun1
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In position rifle (which is sort of similar to the basis for many hunting-type shots), you want to use the highest magnification possible of which you can hold steady. For most of us, this is somewhere between 2-4x. As you increase in skill, I know of shooters who use 12x in offhand shooting, which to me is really pretty incredible. The old Unertl's that people used to use were 10x usually.
The point is, which magnification range you choose (and I would choose a *range* because that is more versatile for hunting) is dependent upon who will be pulling the trigger and not so much what distance the targets are at. I usually use a 3x9 when hunting, but I almost always leave it on 3. That's my skill level and the field of view I am comfortable with.
The point is, which magnification range you choose (and I would choose a *range* because that is more versatile for hunting) is dependent upon who will be pulling the trigger and not so much what distance the targets are at. I usually use a 3x9 when hunting, but I almost always leave it on 3. That's my skill level and the field of view I am comfortable with.
From circa 1971 to 2000 I hunted with a Weaver fixed 4 power K-4 scope. In 2000, prior to a Caribou hunt, I bought a 3-9 Leupold. I've used it many times, but seldom go above 4-5 power. The higher the power, the smaller the field of view and strangely enough 4x-5x is plenty.
Most of my hunting is under 200 yards and a 4x scope for 200 yards is the same as open sights at 50 yards. Having honed a large part of my deer shooting skills with an iron sighted 30-30, 4x just seems kind of natural.
I still have that K-4 I bought on one of the Navy bases where I was stationed, it's still is one of the sleekest scopes I've ever seen. Paid $30 for it. Those were the good old days.
Most of my hunting is under 200 yards and a 4x scope for 200 yards is the same as open sights at 50 yards. Having honed a large part of my deer shooting skills with an iron sighted 30-30, 4x just seems kind of natural.
I still have that K-4 I bought on one of the Navy bases where I was stationed, it's still is one of the sleekest scopes I've ever seen. Paid $30 for it. Those were the good old days.
I like 3-9x40mm for hunting scopes and much prefer Zeiss Conquest scopes with RZ600 or RZ800 reticles over anything else. I leave the scope on 7.5x for "long" shots with my .375 H&H Mag and have "no trouble" hitting an 8" gong at 400 yards. That's more than accurate enough for an elk or deer. I would say that if I'm trying to shoot smaller groups (to verify a load) I would put something on the gong to reduce my hold, maybe a 2" orange dot.
tuj, thanks ... I like it too! I should have mentioned in my post that the photo was taken through a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40mm with an RZ600 reticle with the magnification set on 7.5X and the target at 400 yards. The circular part of the steel target is 8" in diameter. This should give folks some idea of how effective such a scope might be for them. Clearly the RZ reticle is intended for hunting rather than precision shooting since the stadia are quite thick which helps in low light, low contrast situations. It doesn't help if you're trying to shoot small groups.
Great photo and let me ask, just in case I am misunderstanding. Obviously the entire photo you posted is much bigger than what you saw through the scope. (That is, it is enlarged.) So I am just wondering how visible the target was in the actual image through the scope, which would be much smaller than the size of the photo you posted.
So I would think it would be pretty small, right? That's why I posted my original question about scope power at these distances.
Am I missing something?
Thanks!
So I would think it would be pretty small, right? That's why I posted my original question about scope power at these distances.
Am I missing something?
Thanks!
Arkansas Paul
Member
I'm not a fan of the higher magnification scopes like that myself. The farthest deer I've ever shot was 175 yds and the scope was on 6X. It was more than enough.
Personally, I wouldn't go over a 3-9X40 if that was the longest shots I was taking.
Personally, I wouldn't go over a 3-9X40 if that was the longest shots I was taking.
gunsrfun1 said:
The image was taken through the scope using my crappy Android phone and the relative size of the reticle to the tartget is of course accurate. However, you're correct that the size of the image isn't how we perceive the reticle and target while actually looking through the scope. Maybe this is closer to how I see them.
Or maybe this .... yes, this is closest to what the target actually looks like through the scope on 7.5X!
Resist Evil
Member
I have a Trijicon Accupoint scope. It stays at 6x as the best balance, for me, between field of view, light transmission, clarity, and magnification for shots out to 300 yards with ~200 yards being the average range.
Thanks MCMXI. For me, that would be a bit too small. I am impressed that you're hitting the target with that actual sight picture. I doubt I could do it at that magnification, which is why I posted my original question. Obviously this is subjective. Thanks for clarifying.
cheygriz
member
I use a Swarovski 1.5-6X42on a .30-06 for all big game hunting, I keep it set on 1.5, unless I have a 250-300 yard shot.
Even out here in the wide open spaces of the west, I can usually get within 100 yards.
I have a 3.5-10X50 Leupold on my heavy barrel 6MM Remington for prairie dogs.
If you need more than 6X for biggame, you need to get new eyeglasses.
One of my regular hunting companions, (who has more money than good sense
)
spent nearly $3,000 on a 5-25X50 S&B for his custom .30-338.
After a dozen elk, and God only knows how many Antelope, he hasn't found any need to turn it past 5X since he bought it.
BTW, my eyes are 71 years old and I wear bifocals.
Even out here in the wide open spaces of the west, I can usually get within 100 yards.
I have a 3.5-10X50 Leupold on my heavy barrel 6MM Remington for prairie dogs.
If you need more than 6X for biggame, you need to get new eyeglasses.
One of my regular hunting companions, (who has more money than good sense
)spent nearly $3,000 on a 5-25X50 S&B for his custom .30-338.
After a dozen elk, and God only knows how many Antelope, he hasn't found any need to turn it past 5X since he bought it.
BTW, my eyes are 71 years old and I wear bifocals.
Sheepdog1968
Member
I have a fixed 4x on my 30-06 and shooting out to 300 yards on deer sized targets it seemed adequate. My 30-30 lever action has a fixed 2.75 and I've shot a lot at 200 yards with it and been happy; even shoot at 400 yards with it at steel and felt it was enough.
As such, I'd likely go with a 1-6, 2-7, or 3-9 for variable or nothing more than a fixed 4x. A common error for those new to hunting is to have too much high end magnification and not enough on the low end and that's part of my rational for the scope powers
If you are into bench rest shooting as a sport then we would have a different discussion on ideal magnifications.
As such, I'd likely go with a 1-6, 2-7, or 3-9 for variable or nothing more than a fixed 4x. A common error for those new to hunting is to have too much high end magnification and not enough on the low end and that's part of my rational for the scope powers
If you are into bench rest shooting as a sport then we would have a different discussion on ideal magnifications.
LRShooting
Member
If you already have a scope, then put it on a power or take it out to a range that you still feel comfortable on. Reticle size makes a difference too as well as FFP or SFP. (Focal plane types). This is a subjective question. For hunting, you may want a low power scope for quick acquisition, target may require higher for pinpoint accuracy. Ive heard 1x for every 100 yards. I think Id rather have 3x and at least 16x for 1000. I personally like 4-16 scopes just because I have a lot of options and they work well. If Im hunting brush, then I just take a different gun because you cant have one scope/gun combination do absolutely everything you want from target to hunting.
As I said though, I feel this is subjective. Its like asking us which food we like best that way you can eat it too...if that makes any sense.
As I said though, I feel this is subjective. Its like asking us which food we like best that way you can eat it too...if that makes any sense.
GAMEOVER44
Member
Get a Zeiss Terra 3x and be happy, blows Leupold away.
I've used everything from a 2-7X Leupold to a 6.5-24X Bushnell Elite. The only time I had too much magnification is when shooting a squirrel at 10 feet or a coyote at 20 yards. My brother and I hunt together all the time and he routinely uses less magnification than I do and my eye sight is a fair amount better than his...go figure. Even when shooting 300-400 yard prairie dogs, he uses less magnification than I do. As with most endeavors, we all do them a bit differently. And, I never tire of trying things in a different way. Trying someone's advice, no matter the activity, I either learn a new way or I confirm that my way works best for me.
GooseGestapo
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I have the same scope as the op mounted on a Rem. M-7 in .223.
It's not so much the magnification, as the size of the reticle and clarity of the optics.
My preferred rifles wear Leupold scopes. I once shot prairie dogs in Montana with my .257Robt mountain rifle. The 2x-7x has a moa dot reticle. After popping pd's out to 440yds I no longer wanted any other glass on the rifle. It's worn the same glass since 1983.
All my "woods" rifles wear 4x, or low power variables. Target/varmint rifles wear higher.
My favorite is a Leupold 2.5-8x VariX III. It with a ballistic or dot reticle is as good as you can do for a big game rifle. 2-7x is next favorite.
It's not so much the magnification, as the size of the reticle and clarity of the optics.
My preferred rifles wear Leupold scopes. I once shot prairie dogs in Montana with my .257Robt mountain rifle. The 2x-7x has a moa dot reticle. After popping pd's out to 440yds I no longer wanted any other glass on the rifle. It's worn the same glass since 1983.
All my "woods" rifles wear 4x, or low power variables. Target/varmint rifles wear higher.
My favorite is a Leupold 2.5-8x VariX III. It with a ballistic or dot reticle is as good as you can do for a big game rifle. 2-7x is next favorite.
788Ham
Member
As has been mentioned earlier, get a quality scope to begin with, "buy once"! I picked up a Vortex Viper HD 6X24X50 scope back in Dec. , have never had any complaints with it. Sighting in at 100 yds. , power adjusted and clarity adjusted, target was clearer than any other scope I've owned, 5 shots into space easily, easily covered by a dime. I'm shooting Rem. 788 bolt in .223. Good luck.
+1, A new to me Remington 700 (1977) in 243 will be getting 2-7x glass. One thing to remember is that during summer heat, higher magnification powers will distort the target due to heat waves near the ground.I have a couple of old Leupolds on my two pet rifles. A 2-7 on my .243, which is plenty good for prairie dogs to 300 yards. A 3-9 on my '06, good to 350 on 3X.
Walking hunting, I always use the lower magnification for better field of view. Sitting, I might go up to 4X or 5X.
7X/9X is limited pretty much to the benchrest, testing loads or checking sight-in.
Interesting, I have a 788 in 22-250 that sports a 4x scope; coyotes are typically shot at distances less than 300 yards. Never underestimate field of vision on a moving target.
My hunting is done from a stand with shots ranging out to 375 yards max. My preferred scopes are Leupold VX3's and Mark 4's. I do a lot of pig shooting while I am deer hunting and my favorite rifle is an FD-308 with a Leupold Mark 4 6.5-20x50mm scope. I consider this setup just right as I like to shoot pigs in the head just below the ear so I don't have to drag them out (getting too old), which is not to easy at 300 yards with a 3x9 or less scope.
I also think there is no such thing as too much magnification when using a variable scope, (fixed maybe). If something nice walks out close I just turn the scope down. I also believe (Good) glass is more important than magnification or a really good rifle with a cheap scope.
This is my favorite setup...
I also think there is no such thing as too much magnification when using a variable scope, (fixed maybe). If something nice walks out close I just turn the scope down. I also believe (Good) glass is more important than magnification or a really good rifle with a cheap scope.
This is my favorite setup...
I run a Leupold VX3 2.5-8x36 on my 375H&H and love it. I have the Boone and Crocket reticle in mine which is a ranging reticle much like the one in the pics above. I have shot my rifle accurately out to a lasered 535y and hit right smack where I was aiming from a standing position.
Blade First
Member
Recommend the Valdada IOR fixed 4x32mm which uses Schott glass...incredibly clear and flawless. Easily as good as higher-end
scopes costing 2-3 times as much.
scopes costing 2-3 times as much.
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