Question about scope powers

[jim540]

I am thinking about going to a scope on my AR,s. I will probably be shooting within 100 yards most of the time, although I may try some 200 yard shots on occasion. My question is will a 1x4 scope give me good images at 100 yards or should I think about more power? Back in the good old days I could pick things out with iron sights at that range but as we get older the eyes have a tendency to lie to us. :wink: I had a 40 power scope on an AR a few years ago, that was interesting, you could see the target move with your heartbeat :shock: and 22 caliber holes at 100 yards. No need for a spotter with that scope. :lol: I guess I'm looking for advice from the guys that have used scopes and what power they found to work the best, also I'm thinking of going with a LaRue type quick release mount for a flattop with fold down backups. Thanks.

[Jamesb74]

usually you want one magnification per 100 yds. So a 4 power would be good to 400 yards. Thats a quick judge rule. It really depends on what you prefer. I have 20/10 vision and usually see things others can't but I put 16 power scopes on rifles because I like to see a bug crawl across the target at 200yds.

[marinesg1012]

It all comes down to intended purpose, I still think a 2-7 will easily fit most hunters needs. a 3-9 is good too.

TO be honest even though I am a fan of red dots for what they do, I still would rather have some sort of magnification on my weapons. I like to see what a target is doing as I pull the trigger.

[Megalos]

kinda depends on what you're shooting.

[zoomie]

My opinion:
- A red dot (1x) is adequate for shots out to 250 yards on large targets (say coyote and up).
- A 3-9x40 is adequate for 99% of hunting shots. If 9x isn't enough, get closer. Downside is you lose speed/ease on close shots - it's tough to use 3x in even thin brush. I missed a coyote in the Ozarks because I couldn't find him in the scope before he slipped behind the next tree thicket. On the other hand, I hunted antelope in Wyoming where it's absolutely wide open, but still never dialed my scope to 9x. I used my binoculars for ID and searching.
- A 2-7x is a great compromise. Similar to 9x, if 7x isn't enough, get closer. And 2x isn't too bad for close stuff. I might have found that coyote in time with 2x! :wink: And it's a little smaller and lighter than the 3-9x.

With that said, shooting prairie dogs at 700 yards or hogs in the swamps or other "niche" hunting requires specialized optics. What I outlined above I think it's reasonable for almost every other hunting situation. I'm putting a red dot on my 6.8 and saving up for the 3x magnifier. I was torn between that and the 2-7x. I just about flipped a coin in the end.

[DDriller]

usually you want one magnification per 100 yds. So a 4 power would be good to 400 yards. Thats a quick judge rule. It really depends on what you prefer. I have 20/10 vision and usually see things others can't but I put 16 power scopes on rifles because I like to see a bug crawl across the target at 200yds.

I only take head shots on these. :lol: :lol:

[Jamesb74]

Just for comparison I am wanting a red dot for my carbine. (I have a 1x4 on it now) I have a 12 power fixed on my 5.56 because it is my praririe dog gun. I haven't decided on the Extreme but it will probably be a 2x7 and I have a fixed 12 power for my 7.62 fnar that has distance focus. I have a 6x16 on my .06. also looking at a 4x14 for my18"6.8 Rest of my rifles have high power scopes also. Just some ideas.

[jim540]

I do like red dots, I have one on my 357 magnum and it works great. I don't hunt so that is not an issue, ( like to punch holes in paper mainly ) although I did do some IPSC shooting a few years back and the outdoor shoots did have a rifle portion that AR's are great for. I was thinking about going with a Eotech type sight for the quick acquisition of targets with both eyes open, like a red dot. Just looking for input for the decision between a holo site and a scope.

[jim540]

usually you want one magnification per 100 yds. So a 4 power would be good to 400 yards. Thats a quick judge rule. It really depends on what you prefer. I have 20/10 vision and usually see things others can't but I put 16 power scopes on rifles because I like to see a bug crawl across the target at 200yds.

I only take head shots on these. :lol: :lol:
Wow. :shock: Remind me not to get on your bad side :lol: . I think the best shot I ever witnessed was a guy with a bolt action 223 with a scope that looked like 2 Vess Cola bottles stuck end to end. He shot a crane that was walking around in a pond at probably 250 yards at least ( seemed like a long walk anyway ). He got it through the neck, folded like a cheap card table. When we went down to recover the bird he was upset that he got it in the neck, he was aiming for the head :lol: .

[joshuades]

Like James said, it depends on what you want to do with the rifle, and 1 power for every hundred yards is a good rule of thumb for finding a practical power for a scope and rifle combination. Currently, I have the cheapest 3-9 power scope I could find until I save up enough for the 2.5-10 power scope I'm looking at. These power ranges make it comfortable for me to shoot close in and out to the limitations of the cartridge (I also have both eyes open using a scope, some find that difficult but I don't have a dominent eye due to having vision problems as a child). I am also getting a larger power scope (4.5-18) for target purposes, since the higher magnification will be good for punching paper, but higher magnifications like that are not advantageous for practical shooting unless the round will go out that far.

Also, for close in fast shooting, a scope is not ideal because you have to be in line with the scope to see through it accurately. A red dot works well for that because you don't have to be exactly in line to look through the red dot and have the dot on target. If you intend to do both, the probable best course of action would be to get both an appropriate scope for the distance shooting you want to do, and a red dot that suits your taste for close range speed shooting (example is I have a red dot for close shooting, a scope for practical distance shooting, and a high power scope for silhouet shooting).

[mavericks]

i may be blind or something as i prefer my 8.5-25x for 100-600 yard shots on 4" shoot-n-see stick'em bullseyes. Kinda used to shooting the wings off flys with airguns at 50 yards with a 4-16x.

[paulosantos]

Keep in mind that the higher the magnification, the lower the field of view.

For hunting out to 300 yards, a 1x4 or 1.5x6 would be nice.
For target shooting, that will depend on the distance and size of the target.

[joshuades]

i may be blind or something as i prefer my 8.5-25x for 100-600 yard shots on 4" shoot-n-see stick'em bullseyes. Kinda used to shooting the wings off flys with airguns at 50 yards with a 4-16x.

Higher powers work great for silhouet shooting. You can see the target closer and place shots more precise. Practical scope powers allow you to track a moving target and shoot it. I wouldn't try to use an 8.5-25 power scope to shoot deer in brush as it would be too hard to keep them in the crosshairs with that high a power (unless it was a deer in brush far far away).

[mavericks]

yeah, point taken. I use the 1.25-4x or the eotech for moving targets (eg, rabbits) 0-150 yrds. First to hit when the other hunters are still trying to get a sight with their 4-16x scopes. Haven't been hunting in awhile so these scopes seem to be sitting in the safe unused. Definately buy what fits for 70% of your outtings.

[jim540]

After thinking it over and reading what you guys are saying I am thinking more towards an Eotech site. I've been looking them over on the internet and am wondering if anyone has any favorites. I think I want one with the circle and dot in the center of the circle. I also saw one I think it was a 557.AR223 that had the bullet drop dots for out to around 600 yards. I think there were 4 dots altogether. A couple of questions come to mind 1: would the bullet drop for a 6.8 be comparable to a .223 and 2: would the extra dots make the sight a little busy, hard to pick out which dot you wanted to use? Inquiring minds want to know :lol: . Any thoughts?

[paulosantos]

After thinking it over and reading what you guys are saying I am thinking more towards an Eotech site. I've been looking them over on the internet and am wondering if anyone has any favorites. I think I want one with the circle and dot in the center of the circle. I also saw one I think it was a 557.AR223 that had the bullet drop dots for out to around 600 yards. I think there were 4 dots altogether. A couple of questions come to mind 1: would the bullet drop for a 6.8 be comparable to a .223 and 2: would the extra dots make the sight a little busy, hard to pick out which dot you wanted to use? Inquiring minds want to know :lol: . Any thoughts?

The 557 will work OK, bt not without a magnifier. If you are only shooting out to 300 yards, you don't really need the BDC.

[Jack-O]

Too much mag and you will lose your target in the scope, too little and you lose target clarity.

I have shot out to 600 yards with just 2.5x but it sucked.

A good all round scope for a carbine is the Leupold 1.5-5x24 MR/T with illuminated reticle. it has the circle dot reticle and allows both close range and longer range target aquisition.

trust me on this one. I spent a lot more on a scope and didnt get any better performance.

I like that 1x for each 100 yards, thats a halfway decent rule of thumb.

I am really dissapointed with the red dot/magnifier combo. IME the magnifiers are horrible glass, and the overall package price you could have gotten the leupold for a couple hundred less.

[jackfire57]

What do ya have to say about a 10-40X60mm ? Im askin cause the boys and I are playi :shock: 8) ng with it , so far @ 50yds and @100 yds. on up to 500 yds. which we havent acheived as of yet . My spotting scope begins to lose its effectiveness @ 300yds. , cheap I guess , so I positions one of the boys as a FWO which works for me .

[kenvsnow]

How good can you hit something at 50 yds with open sites? You get the same view at 350 yds with 7X.

[jackfire57]

I'm sorry , Im not following what yur tryin to say ? :wink: :shock: :?:

[paulosantos]

What do ya have to say about a 10-40X60mm ? Im askin cause the boys and I are playi :shock: 8) ng with it , so far @ 50yds and @100 yds. on up to 500 yds. which we havent acheived as of yet . My spotting scope begins to lose its effectiveness @ 300yds. , cheap I guess , so I positions one of the boys as a FWO which works for me .

The higher the power, the more less field of view you will have. For target shooting, itoesn't really matter much, but for anything else, too much power can actually hurt speed wize with target acquisition.

[jackfire57]

8) HOW RIGHT YOU ARE but the chucks dont have binocs or spottin scopes to warn them that little O'L me is about to puree their mind . We got some long open feilds around Vermont that Farmers just luv the heck out of choams like me . Not to mention the Chuck Count Competion that is always rollin until the grasses turn to hay and the little varmits start laughin off their fool faces . But the laughin dosnt last too long after farmer Johns mower/conditioner passes over their foxhole and I get wind of it , then its tomato chuck soup time in Vermont once again . Ya baby , thats how I roll . :lol:

SIDE NOTE: :mrgreen: ( They Dont EAT BAD either) :wink:

[Jack-O]

I have no response to that.

[Jamesb74]

Your placing one of your boys as aforward observer? So this means one of your children are downrange ? Can you clarify this? Please tell me that you have one of them in a flanking position and they are not actually downrange. :shock:

[Equalizer_2]

Hopefully they are using a situation like they do for the highpower rifle pits.

[dzil]

I'll pass on eating the woodchucks, thank you. :wink: