How much magnification is needed

I like high magnification hunting scopes (ex: 5-20x50) for two reasons:

1) I spend a lot of time at the bench working up loads and do most of the work at 400yds. It's hard to maintain a good hold on a small target, at distance, without the magnification.

2) Most of the places I hunt have antler restrictions. Animals have to have X number of points or X amount of antler width. Sometimes you can see tines up but can't see brow tines. Other times you need to know if the buck meets the 15" width rule. Sometimes you need to be able to see if that doe isn't really a spike or other small buck. Cranking the scope up to its maximum magnification can really help you KNOW before you pull the trigger.

There's also the issue of, "is this the buck I really want" or should I pass and hope for something else. It's funny how that ground-shrinkage thing happens when you didn't have a sufficient look at the animal before the hammer fell.

With that being said, you don't need 20x to harvest animals at almost any reasonable distance. On a groundhog hunt a few years back I was carrying a heavy varmint rig with a Nightforce 12-42x56 scope. Just as we loaded the car to go home, 3 crows landed in a dead tree, 500yds away. There was an earthen hill behind the tree so taking a shot was safe. My buddy couldn't be bothered unpacking his rifle for a crow so I figured that I'd try. I set up quickly and took the shot. Only two crows flew off and the 3rd headless crow fell to the bottom of the tree. As I was repacking my rifle I glanced at the scope to see what magnification it was on, I was surprised to see that it was set on 12x.
 
You are on the right track my friend for hunting. My experience is from a precision background,
I have the fortune of being able to shoot on my own private range with steel out to 1mile. My bench rifle has the Vortex razor gen 3 with 6-36 on it. I'm only ever using the magnification beyond 20x when trying to hit very tiny targets, zeroing or reading the wind. I'm typically shooting in the 12-15power range with it. My hunting rifle is a custom Mountain rifle that is mounted with the 3-15 vortex razor hd lht scope. I shoot regular out to 1,000+ yards on steel and am comfortable on game at the capability of the rifles maximum range for the load I am shooting. One thing to consider is when shooting at distance, how soon can you get back on target after the shot breaks? At higher magnification this generally takes longer. Your best bet would be to buy the best glass you can afford in a lower magnification range 18max IMO and make the image as crisp as possible. Even a really good 3x9 power scope is capable of repeating 1,000 yard shots all day long.
Happy hunting and shooting

If you modify your muzzle brake correctly you can see impacts at 100 yd with your scope set on 20 power. When I get a new rifle it always has a muzzle brake installed.

I take shooting loads to the range and a file. I see which way the rifle has the tendency to and file a little bit at one of the holes on that side. If it goes up I can drill a hole in the top. EventuallyoI am able to see impacts at 100 yd on 20 power.
 
I like high magnification hunting scopes (ex: 5-20x50) for two reasons:

1) I spend a lot of time at the bench working up loads and do most of the work at 400yds. It's hard to maintain a good hold on a small target, at distance, without the magnification.

2) Most of the places I hunt have antler restrictions. Animals have to have X number of points or X amount of antler width. Sometimes you can see tines up but can't see brow tines. Other times you need to know if the buck meets the 15" width rule. Sometimes you need to be able to see if that doe isn't really a spike or other small buck. Cranking the scope up to its maximum magnification can really help you KNOW before you pull the trigger.

There's also the issue of, "is this the buck I really want" or should I pass and hope for something else. It's funny how that ground-shrinkage thing happens when you didn't have a sufficient look at the animal before the hammer fell.

With that being said, you don't need 20x to harvest animals at almost any reasonable distance. On a groundhog hunt a few years back I was carrying a heavy varmint rig with a Nightforce 12-42x56 scope. Just as we loaded the car to go home, 3 crows landed in a dead tree, 500yds away. There was an earthen hill behind the tree so taking a shot was safe. My buddy couldn't be bothered unpacking his rifle for a crow so I figured that I'd try. I set up quickly and took the shot. Only two crows flew off and the 3rd headless crow fell to the bottom of the tree. As I was repacking my rifle I glanced at the scope to see what magnification it was on, I was surprised to see that it was set on 12x.
I used to have a Nightforce 12-42X and I also had a Swarovski Z5 5-25X. In order for that Swarovski to show me the same detail The Nightforce could on 12X I had to have the Swarovski set on 16 1/2X.
 
Have killed big game to 600 using 6x SWFA scopes. Comforting to know they'll dial for me correctly every time. I also have a few quality variables that go up to 16x. As I get older I have crept up a few Xs.
 

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