New scope 4 x 16 ish or 6 x 24 ish

[beanur]

I am looking to buy a new scope my wants are for deer and elk hunting close and long range shooting. I am wanting the scope to have a MOA scale and a wind drift scale but I also want a Illuminated red dot to aim with. I will be buying custom turrets for the scope to dail in a shot. I am wanting to stay in the 600 to 800 dollar range..Am I asking for to much.. What scope would give me this wishes..I will be shooting a 270 wsm but plan on next year of buy a 7mm or a 300 mag either in reg or WSM,,, Right now if i was to to buy I would probably buy the new 2012 Vortex long range scope Im afraid that the 6 x 24 would be to much for the up close shooting ..okay now that i have cunfussed the Hell out of everyone let me have it be easy...i think this might be my third post ever..Thanks

 

[kcebcj]

We are all a lot different in out hunting techniques but for me and my style of hunting the 4-16 is a better choice. Sometimes the buck I'm after is jumped within a 100 yards and all I have is a quick moving shot and the lower power with the better field of view is a plus. My max distance with the rifle I'm using now for taking deer or elk is 650 yards so the 16 power if needed is sufficient. If you prefer to set on a point somewhere and let game come to you or your pre determined kill zone is farther out then the higher powered scopes may be a better choice.

Something that will help if you choose a higher power scope is to throw down on every rabbit grouse or critter that you spook when hiking while on the lowest power. You can definitely learn to get on target quickly with practice even on 6 power.

Vortex makes a good line of scopes. The PST second focal plane scope would be within your price range

 

[davewilson]

i have a vortex hs 4-16 and really like it. i can line up on a pigeon at 915 without any difficulty. i agree with Jim. most get greedy for high magnification but on a carry gun the lower powers will get you game. to me, a 4-16 is a great all around big game scope.

 

[D.ID]

It's all personal. My elk hunting partner obsesses about the short quick shot and cringes at the very thought of a low end above 4x................I obsess about the long shot and cringe at the thought of a high end below 20x or of a close range rushed free hand shot. I have decided for me that 6-24x50 is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I have a couple and never feel over-scoped but when I use one of the "others" I always feel under-scoped. My range is only limited by the reach of my range finder (about 1300+/-) so I really appreciate the higher magnification. Either one can substitute for the other. You just have to determine which one is of greater priority and compromise to that strength. Rumor has it vortex pst 6-24 has better glass than there 4-16 but that is hear-say so ??? Good luck

 

[mrb1982]

I am no expert but I have shot both ranges of scopes and all different types of shooting scenarios. I come from the plains where it is common to shoot deer after drivign them out of tree belts and sloughs and shooting them on the run. I currently do more open country hunting muley's with longer, standing shots. I have always left my scope for running shots on 6x, never had any problem, close or long range when it comes to running shots. I currently have a 6-24x and it's nice. the difference between a 4x minimum and a 6x minimum isn't enough to make that great of difference in my opinion. Who knows. Can't really go wrong either way.

 

[Dan Flowers]

I would go with the 4.5 x 14, or 4 x 16. In my experience the scopes above 16x start giving you trouble with heavy mirage. The higher the magnification the more distortion and image displacement will be caused by mirage. I think a lot of people tend to over-scope their hunting guns. Go lower on power, and better on quality of glass. You need to be able to clearly see and identify targets, not suck the hair off them. In your price range you should be able to pick up a lightly used or close-out Leupold Vari-X III SFP with a mildot. Illumination is OK, but you will probably fine the mildots beef up the center of the reticle so you can see it under anny reasonable light conditions. Being SFP, the reticle will also stay big enough to see when you dial it down to low power. Just don't forget you are dialed down... You will have to return to max power for the reticle subtensions to be properly scaled for holdovers / holdoffs using MILS.

IF money was not the limiting factor... The Nightforce offerings with the Velocity 1000 reticles (get the one matching your ballistics) are very nice. FFP and the illumination allows quick shooting when dialed down. More money though... Might want to save some pennies!

 

[SidecarFlip]

I have the Vortex PST's both ways, 4-16 and 6-24 in MOA in FFP. You can deal easily with the 6-24 on 6 power. It has plenty of eye relief. On 24 power it's a little touchy as far as eye to optic position but any scope will be maxed out at high power.

I really don't see mkuch difference magnification and target acquisition wise between the 4-16 on 4 power and the 6-24 on 6 power...

The 4-16 of course is more forgiving in the eye relief/position department than the 6-24, something to consider.

Something interesting I found out just playing around with the 6-24 (on my 338) and the 4-16 on my 308, side by side on the back deck...

I lined both up on a house that's exactly 1.25 miles from my back deck (shot it with a Top-Con Laser Transit for distance measurement BTW). With the 6-24 at 24 power, I was able to easilt discern the texture of the vinyl ship lap siding on the house and I could see the individual wires than made up the cable that supported the electrical lead in from the pole. With the 4-16 on 16 power, I could make out the siding variations but not the cable. I had a bit of heat mirage (95 degrees). My Mark 4 Leupy's are not that clear.

I'm pretty impressed and yes, both rifles were enpty.....

The 6-24 is also a bit heavier than the 4-16 not that either is a lightweight.....

I think I'm gonna have to put my 2 Mark4's on here and sell 'em......

 

[beanur]

Thanks for all your help. I think i will be playing it on the safe side and go with one of the new Vortex Long Range scope in the 4 x 16 again Thank you for your Help