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

Hand Skills said:

I have a 3-12 and a 3-15 that I find to be plenty.

In my experience, optical quality trumps magnification, meaning I'd rather have a 3-12 with good glass than a cheap 5-25.

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Absolutely. Additionally on a hunting rifle I still think good eye relief and a forgiving "eye box" that doesn't require super strict face positioning to see clearly and the whole field of view being clear at lower magnification is way more important than how high the magnification can go. Magnification can be a good thing but is overrated. 3-15 is already TONS for a big game rifle out to 500 (and further).

I've got my eye on a vortex razor 3-15 with the illuminated reticle option. It seems about perfect for me and has very nice glass compared to their budget friendly options (it better! The thing is pricey for a guy like me haha).

For 500 yards and under there's honestly nothing wrong or lacking about the boring old standard 3-9x40 class of scopes if the glass is good.

Sorry sometimes I'm a little retarded if you were in the USAF I'm guessing that you were at Hill field? I work in Ogden in aerospace as well as a machinist.

To USAF retire. Sorry I didn't want to refer you're disability as combat wounds or have you think I'm saying thank you for your service because of your disability's. My father put his life on the line in Vietnam in order to gain citizenship for me and the rest of his family.
And that's the way I look at any body in the service.
Wether you agree who holds office or not.
I'm just trying to tell you thank you and the rest of the service members out their.
I would really like to know if you we're at hill field because that means you know the area and we would have a lot more to communicate over.
God bless and I'll pray for healing for you.

I voted 3-18x50 because this is the smallest aperture I use in the SFP range for such hunting.

Cheers.

Rotten said:

To USAF retire. Sorry I didn't want to refer you're disability as combat wounds or have you think I'm saying thank you for your service because of your disability's. My father put his life on the line in Vietnam in order to gain citizenship for me and the rest of his family.
And that's the way I look at any body in the service.
Wether you agree who holds office or not.
I'm just trying to tell you thank you and the rest of the service members out their.
I would really like to know if you we're at hill field because that means you know the area and we would have a lot more to communicate over.
God bless and I'll pray for healing for you.

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Don't worry, I am from the generation we joke about our old messed up bodies. Funniest one I saw was, "Vet bod. Like Dad bod but more knee pain." Haha.
I appreciate all of the kind words. Yes, I was at Hill from 2004 - 2006. However, I spent half that time in the Middle East. I did get to hunt one year and missed a chip shot on a cow elk with my bow. Got panic and did not look at the ground for my yardage. Looked at the cow and she was smaller. She was at 25 yards and shot for 40 yards. Haha.

Thank you for the prayers. The Lord has taken good care of us.

I used to have a "fleet" of 4.5-14x40 Leupold's w/M-1 elevation turrets. I had them in everything from 223's up through 300Win. I've shot prairie dogs, coyotes, mule deer, and whitetails all @ 500+ with those scopes.

I've since swapped almost all of them out for Nightforce 3-10x42 or NXS 2.5-10x42's. I have no issue shooting just as far as I did w/the 14x top power. I feel like I've upgraded image quality/resolution as well as tracking accuracy and durability. The upgrades are worth the 5-7oz weight penalty for me.

marksman1941 said:

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

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Yep not to mention mirage. There's more downsides to high magnification scopes than upsides.

You sure aren't going to be judging an animal at max magnification at low light with a high power scope.

As a single scope for the yardage stated. Something with low power not higher than 4x and max not more than 20 objective at least 44 and not more than 50. Tube whatever with 30 mm min as a standard. The obj limit has more to do with weight than anything.

For me a 3-18x44 is enough for me.

If you have not I recommend trying to get behind a big power scope with proper sight pic and formmin some of those awkward positions you end up shooting from when hunting. For me it's not worth it and at a point in increasing magnification I really would need to be prone inline to really feel comfortable with a sight pic etc. Big power scopes and large 56 obj are bulky and heavy.

USAFRet said:

No biting and no Africa. Deer hunting with a chance of pronghorn, mules deer and elk in the future.

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Brother Patrick,

You have received a wide range of recommendations. The quality of the scope, your vision for your intended purpose, and your hunting style (area/topography) play a significant role. For instance, you need low magnification in timber and high magnification in wide-open areas like the West. While there is no one-size-fits-all, you must find the best compromise for your intended purpose. Flexibility is the key, i.e., 2.5-20xXX satisfies your need; 2.5 for the close shots and 20X for the LR stuff. I would rather have the high-end magnification, which I do not need, than vice versa.

For instance, my son and I were shooting my. 270 AI with a 4-20x50 scope at a target 966Y. He hit the target at 6X, and I needed 14X, IIRC, to hit the same target. The quality of my son's vision is much better than mine.

Good luck!

Ed

Another thing to realize after hiking up a ridge, most are at least a little winded. Especially if there is a large elevation change from where you live to where you hunt. Being out of shape, not in your prime, having an injury that limits mobility, or in my case all the above. I'm at least working hard on the first issue, and can't do much about the other two (except denial).

With the higher the magnification, it magnifies the crosshairs bouncing from being out of breath and a more rapid heart rate. Coming in a day or two before season from NC to WY is going to cause some discomfort and exertion even on a hunt made to accommodate Veterans conditions. At lower magnification this bounce isn't as pronounced and actually helps one to calm down faster IMO, than to see a erratic reticle.

So keep the power cranked down to a minimum until you recover and can settle in on the game. Then adjust your power to where you have confidence in making the shot. To a certain extent I believe a SFP helps as well since the reticle doesn't change size. 500 yards and less, I don't think FFP offers a whole lot more than a SFP scope except cost.

Great info everyone. Thank you so much. I am shopping. Have about 10 scopes saved in my bookmarks so far. Trying to watch and read different reviews on them. The one right now that really has my attention is the Meopta Optika6 3-18x50 BDC-3. Reviews on the glass are outstanding. It has the low and high variables, as Ducky stated. Problem is finding it in stock where I am not paying sticker price, which is also a tell.

My favorite

USAFRet said:

Great info everyone. Thank you so much. I am shopping. Have about 10 scopes saved in my bookmarks so far. Trying to watch and read different reviews on them. The one right now that really has my attention is the Meopta Optika6 3-18x50 BDC-3. Reviews on the glass are outstanding. It has the low and high variables, as Ducky stated. Problem is finding it in stock where I am not paying sticker price, which is also a tell.

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If you plan to use BDC… do a bit of homework on the reticle subtension for each scope you are interested in.
Some will fit the cartridge better or be easier to adjust your load to.
They are not all the same