Who here scopes their gun and why?

[DartonJager]

Last season I put a Leupold
Varix-II 2-7X32mm shotgun scope on both my Turkey guns. My eyesight changed two seasons ago and I had great difficulty seeing the front fiber optic sight clearly and for the first time in at least 17-18 seasons I missed a bird. My friend test shot my gun that day and the sights were still on. Thankfully we called in a big ole Tom the next morning ad I connected at 20 yards.
I went to the range and quickly discovered I was without realizing it moving my head around trying to get a better sight picture with my fiber optic iron sights combined with an awkward seated shooting position and the front sight in limited first light of early morning was hazing up on me and I knew why I had missed.
With the scope set on and left at 2x I had no issues picking up and hitting last years Tom at 30 yards or so as he quickly was moving towards my decoys with two other Toms in tow.
I was treated to a sight I've seen only once prior when I dropped a Tom that had others with him. At the shot the Tom just drop stone dead and the two other Toms without hesitation commenced to woopping on him without mercy . So intent on pumuling their fallen fellow Tom that I got up and was able to walk within 10 or 12 yards before either Tom noticed me and then they about turned inside trying to get away from me, one ran right into a low limb and knocked himself senseless was flopping around for about 10 seconds till he regained his wits and fled like his a $$ was on fire and his head was catching.

From here on out I will be using a scoped turkey gun, I realize it could cost me on a fast moving or flusing turkey but I can't hit what I can't see.

 

[joseph singleton]

We all (me included) age with eye sight taking it's toll.53 now and thinking abit more toward LASIK...

 

[Capt RB]

I use a red dot for turkeys. No parralax and it doesn't matter where my head is if I can see the dot on target it's a hit. Especially with turkeys I feel it is a the best option. If they catch you moving where I hunt they are gone.
54 here I went from extremely good vision to needing 1.25's to see the screen I'm using to type this. I can still see well at distance but inside of 10' is not what it once was.

 

[YZ-80]

I pretty much have scopes on all of my guns except my Yugo SKS, my tactical AR and my Garand. I do alot of elevated blind and prone hunting across bean fields, so it's pretty much a necessity. It used to be that a 3 X 9 was the standard and could always get me by but I pretty much consider 14X to be the minimum magnification now. The only exception is the little Vari-X I 2 X 7 power scope I have on my old 1972 Wby. Varmintmaster.

 

[just country]

morning, I use a Eo-tech on my coyote doe cropping weatherby
32" goose gun semi-auto. my other coyote shotgun is a rem. police SPS.
both r 3" magnums. 12ga with the same Eo-tech. I am diabetic,
getting older and need optic help. I noticed that when using
my Eo-techs when I move my head the sight picture changes.
both my Eo-tech'shave the same optic sight movement with
my head movement. this will change my point of aim.
so when I hunt with my Eo-techs I make sure my
head is square with the weapons stock. I put a cheek piece
on my cropping shotguns and this helped with the sight picture.
justme gbot tum

 

[SMK1000plus]

I originally scoped all my centerfire rifles when I was 21, due to vision changes. I started having trouble seeing at distance. Even scoped several of my .22s at the time. A few years later and more vision deterioration, I scoped all my rifles, and continue that practice to date, some 37 + years later.

I can still get by without scopes, with my glasses, at the relatively short ranges I shoot handguns and shotguns.

 

[Mustang72]

I 've had a scope on a savage 24f for over 20 years. Put it on so I could shoot the 223 more accurate. Wasn't long until I realized with the scope turned all the way down i could shoot the shotgun as good as or better with the scope on it. People couldn't believe that I was hitting doves and clay pigeons with a scope on. I couldn't believe how easy it made it!

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Last season I put a Leupold
Varix-II 2-7X32mm shotgun scope on both my Turkey guns. My eyesight changed two seasons ago and I had great difficulty seeing the front fiber optic sight clearly and for the first time in at least 17-18 seasons I missed a bird. My friend test shot my gun that day and the sights were still on. Thankfully we called in a big ole Tom the next morning ad I connected at 20 yards.
I went to the range and quickly discovered I was without realizing it moving my head around trying to get a better sight picture with my fiber optic iron sights combined with an awkward seated shooting position and the front sight in limited first light of early morning was hazing up on me and I knew why I had missed.
With the scope set on and left at 2x I had no issues picking up and hitting last years Tom at 30 yards or so as he quickly was moving towards my decoys with two other Toms in tow.
I was treated to a sight I've seen only once prior when I dropped a Tom that had others with him. At the shot the Tom just drop stone dead and the two other Toms without hesitation commenced to woopping on him without mercy . So intent on pumuling their fallen fellow Tom that I got up and was able to walk within 10 or 12 yards before either Tom noticed me and then they about turned inside trying to get away from me, one ran right into a low limb and knocked himself senseless was flopping around for about 10 seconds till he regained his wits and fled like his a $$ was on fire and his head was catching.

From here on out I will be using a scoped turkey gun, I realize it could cost me on a fast moving or flusing turkey but I can't hit what I can't see.

I've found with a red dot in more precise. I know that sounds weird for a Turkey gun, but I shoot Winchester long beard with a Carlson long beard xr choke in my Winchester sx3 field 12 gauge. My patterns at 20 yards are so tight your in danger of missing if your not on them. I shot my bird at 12 yards last year and I almost missed. The hen busted us and he started to walk away and I wasnt on him all the way. Only got him with a few pellets. If I had a red dot I would've taken his head off. Beads just arent as precise.

 

[Bernie Crump]

I tried scoping my BP 10ga I didn't like it

 

[DartonJager]

Thanks for the replies. I will likely transition over to a red dot next year as I waited to long an allowed turkey season to get to close to change my sons set ups as we have the Vortex red dots on our AR's and my boys love them. But I like the fool/bomb-proof reliability of my old Leupold 2-7x33mm VriX-II shotgun scopes, with no batteries to fail.

Believe me when I say for the first 28-30 turkey seasons I used and loved iron sights and if my eye sight was still able I would still use them, but it's simply isn't, so I have little choice but to adapt.

 

[Peddler 76]

Age is the great equalizer, our slug guns have been scoped as long as I can remember. We don't have any riles that aren't scoped.

 

[Oi.223]

for better efficiency, long range shooting, because its cool. etc

 

[jimss]

I hardly ever get "buck fever" with deer, elk, or antelope but with turkeys my blood starts pumping on strutting and gobbling toms! I always seem to forget about tilting the ventilated rib correctly for shots. I've missed a few super close shots but usually settle in correctly at longer range. Plus as mentioned above the pattern is wider at longer range so more room for error! A dot scope definitely prevents this....just put the dot on the head and it's a done deal!

 

[Kimber7man]

Big believer in the Aimpoint 9000SC on my turkey gun. The thing has been beat all over for almost 10 years and still runs flawlessly.