Low end variable power

[Greyfox]

I'm mostly a whitetail hunter and have not had much of an issue using 5x for close shots on my 5x20X50 sized scopes. If I thought I could use less power they were usually hightailing it in the thick with little/no chance of a good shot anyway. The big guys don't give you much time to glass detail with a spotting scope/bino's so the extra scope power can be very useful. The advantage of the higher power isn't so much for characterizing the game as it is being able to see that 1/4" sapling that generally finds your bullet when the buck is in the edges at 300-500 yards early and late in the day. A power ring lever has proven to be one of the more useful devices for indexing magnification quickly at the moment of truth!

 

[Mike 338]

Ha ha, for a pure hunting rig, it's hard to beat a 3x9. Sometimes though, the itch to own a Corvette has to be scratched.

 

[The Oregonian]

Ha ha, for a pure hunting rig, it's hard to beat a 3x9. Sometimes though, the itch to own a Corvette has to be scratched.

Ha...for ***** and giggles I looked up a Leupold 3x9x40 to see what the FOV was. It was like 40 feet at 100 yds. Growing up I hunted woods in Georgia and a long shot was 100 yds, so all a scope had to do was hold zero. I think my forst several scopes were 3x9's.

 

[HARPERC]

3-9 always left a bit to be desired on both ends. With todays 3-18, and 2-12's, I rarely think of the the 3-9's.

 

[The Oregonian]

3-9 always left a bit to be desired on both ends. With todays 3-18, and 2-12's, I rarely think of the the 3-9's.

If the ATACR had a 3-18 I would be a happy man. I know it isn't that different from a 4-16 but in some ways it is when comparing to a 5-25.

 

[Rich Coyle]

Are

No its not. But it can be used for addl detail over binos when a spotting scope isn't available. Not sure what the point of your post was....

He wants to be "holier than thou".

 

[The Oregonian]

FWIW, I went with a 4-16...as much as I would like to have 25x I can't give up the low end for woods hunting.

 

[wboregon]

A lot of hunters use their rifle scope for classing after their 8x Busnell binoculars spot movement. I'm no cowboy, I just don't think folks understand that using rifle scopes to see details leads to accidents.

I personally know 3 people who were shot by hunters who "though they'd seen something" . Unacceptable.

I mean really looking at something through your scope that looks like a deer doesn't seem to be a problem in the least bit, if you don't have a large spotting scope handy what do you do.

 

[Rich Coyle]

I mean really looking at something through your scope that looks like a deer doesn't seem to be a problem in the least bit, if you don't have a large spotting scope handy what do you do.

There's a world of difference in thinking you saw something and knowing you saw something. Verifying can prevent a ticket.

 

[wboregon]

There's a world of difference in thinking you saw something and knowing you saw something. Verifying can prevent a ticket.

Yeah that's a given. But scoping out a deer with your rifle scope really isn't negligent like weiserbucks was getting at. if you've got a deer at distance and you want to size him up better then your 8x/10x binos will do, I see nothing wrong with using your scope.

I also feel like most people getting shot in the woods aren't getting shot by people trying to get a better look at a buck through their scope, Most are probably ND's from their hunting partners, followed by crazy bubba's just slinging lead into the bushes at everything that moves. followed by homocidal assholes who for what ever reason think it's okay to shoot at another hunter over some sort of slight.

I had an experience with the later type 2 years ago during our open cascade elk season. couple dudes were up on a ridge top hunkered down and weren't visible to me and my partner, apparently we walked through "their" area and they start shooting over our heads to try and scare us off.

 

[corsair4360]

We hunt in lodgepole pine thickets, open meadows and scattered timber. I use a 2-10x scope, the low magnification works great in thickets.

 

[MAGA]

Bushnell 6500 has 2.5-16 44mm scope.
Might want to take a look at that.

 

[Rich Coyle]

Yep. Pretty nice scope.