What scope power magnification/diameter for western big game up to 500 yard shots?

What scope power magnification/diameter for western big game up to 500 yard shots?

  • 3-9x40

    Votes: 4 1.7%

  • 4-12x40

    Votes: 21 9.0%

  • 4-16x42

    Votes: 51 21.9%

  • 6-18x44

    Votes: 9 3.9%

  • 5-20x50

    Votes: 27 11.6%

  • 6-24x50

    Votes: 14 6.0%

  • 3-18x50

    Votes: 69 29.6%

  • 3-15x44

    Votes: 38 16.3%
  • Total voters
    233
Every scope I've owned with more than 20x has been less than useful past 20x. Eyebox gets small, clarity gets worse, spotting shots is rough. I could see a 3-18 being a sweet spot, as that's the range my scopes were normally used in, even if they went to 25x
 
Last edited:
USAFRet said:
Looking for what folks would choose for magnification and optic diameter for western big game no more than 500 yards. Please feel free to add why and what scope you use in the comments.
Click to expand...
500 yards...would you even need a scope? Just put a little spit on that front sight and huck some lead over there! Seriously though, I have two 3-18x44 scopes, a Trijicon on the 7 STW and a Leica on the 260 Rem, both handle everything at some distances slightly longer than 500.
 
I voted for 3-18 X 44 but for most big game I use a 2-10 X 42 - Tract Toric. Great glass, not too heavy. I have also used a Leupold 3.5-10 but like the bigger field of view in the 2-10. Most of my Elk hunting is in a combination of black timber and open ridges. Black timber is very short range!
 
The quality of the glass is going to dictate the size and magnification . A 3x15x50 tt315 is on my 280ai . Then I've got a few 5x25x56 nightforce and a few leupold in ranges from 3x9 to 4.5x14 . The perfect scope is probably a 4x20 something along the lines of a nightforce atacr or a zco.
 
While I only have a couple of 30mm tube scopes, I think that the 30mm offers a bit more of what you want in a scope……without going to large or in some cases much larger objectives.

To make it clear, a scope pun 😁, I object (another scope pun) to large objective lenses on "carry" rifles. For those, who's primary use is long range hunting/shooting from a relatively stationary position, the large objective is perfectly logical! JMO memtb
 
For deer at longer range i do like magnification of 12-16X for counting tines w/o spotter in bad light but i shoot at 8X for spotting hits, wayy easier than higher mag. I like a low end at 2-3X as im just as likely to jump em at 25yds in the brush and timber and want all the field of view i can get.

For elk i like lighter scopes and dont need high X cause elk are huge. I have a 2-10x40 on my newest rifle.
 
memtb said:
While I only have a couple of 30mm tube scopes, I think that the 30mm offers a bit more of what you want in a scope……without going to large or in some cases much larger objectives.

To make it clear, a scope pun 😁, I object (another scope pun) to large objective lenses on "carry" rifles. For those, who's primary use is long range hunting/shooting from a relatively stationary position, the large objective is perfectly logical! JMO memtb
Click to expand...
A 30mm tube just allows for more turret travel. It doesn't affect light transmission, nor low light ability. If he's only shooting to 500, a 1" tube typically has plenty of travel for that.
 
All my scopes but 1 of them are between 2-10 power and max 40mm OBJ and a pound or less in weight. 1 4.5-14x44 with 30mm tube that's a little over 20oz. That's the max I want on a carry rifle.
 
I only shoot rodents and like over 20X, 30mm tube scopes but could do it all with a hi quality 16X42 30mm tube scope. Deers are huge compared to pop can size rodents.
 

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