SFP - how much magnification is too much?

[BrentM]

I have had several scopes with 5-30 and unless the glass is high end they are not worth the hassle. Most everything I run now is 3-20.... For me the leupold vx6 3-18 x 50 is an fine scope for hunting. I've killed a pile of yotes this winter from 500-1125 yards and never really thought, man, I need 30x to get the job done. Even shooting PRS comps I found I never ran over 20x and most of the time I was around 12-15. Good clear glass with lower mag will seem like it is a high mag scope. It really does make a different to me. Clear bright glass just makes the target pop and allows me to focus better. So in the end, IMHO, higher power is not needed for the average long range hunter.

 

[Wanashoot]

Been reading posts for a few years but have never logged in before. I mainly read and have learned a lot just by some of the posts. I have been reloading and shooting since the 90s and I am pretty much self taught. As you can guess I am an older shooter and I have found that I need more magnification to properly see and shoot. I have 5-25s on all but one gun and it has a 4-16 which is about the least I can use. I do not shoot on max but usually between 12 to 15 if it is over 200 yrds. I also prefer 50 mm or larger just because the older your eyes the more light you need to see and it adds to your prime time hunting early and late in the evening. I would not worry with a few ounces if it gave me an extra 15 minutes of legal hunting time. Before I got the larger scopes I would have to stop hunting before legal hunting time because I could not accurately judge the game.

 

[Lenny Foffa]

This past deer season I took the Tried and True Leupold VX 3 2.5X to 8X off my 270 Win. Weatherby Ultralight Deer Rifle and replaced it with a Leupold VX 3 4.5 X to 14X , 30mm main tube scope. I did this even though I already had a Leupold VX 3 3.5X to 10X power scope I could have used. On my Kentucky first time hunt , only one day was the additional magnification ever needed as an open field had a 290 yard tree tine at the end of it. A Rutting buck chased a doe in and out of that tree line the disappeared in to the wooded area. That was the one and only " Long Shot "of the hunt. My take away from this is that I could have left the 2.5 X to 8X on that rifle for 98 percent of the possible shots, and the 3.5X to 10X would have been fine as well. As For the deer crossing the field closer to my blind, or the wooded areas I was previously put into , keeping the 4.5 X to 14 X scope at the lowest possible setting offered the only way for me to spot and track moving deer. Some within 20 yards of my blind. Some times more is not better .

 

[jarnold37]

I have a couple Leupold VX6's in 3-18. The SFP scopes generally seemed fine to me as I didn't figure I would need to hold over or dial on an animal unless it was far enough away to warrant the higher magnification anyway. I always figured that 18 power was about as high as I would want to go with the second focal plane reticle, as there are just some days that heat waves get overwhelming - particularly in the summer at the range. Of course, higher magnification also reduces light through the scope and eye relief. I worry that a low light shot at high magnification may unnecessarily limit me.

I admit that a little more magnification would be nice when looking at a deer cross-canyon. I have been eyeing a new Zeiss in 6-24 Or 5-30 to go with my 28 nosler. I like their reticles and quality, but they are both still SFP models. With that magnification range will I be wishing that I sprung for a FFP scope? Am I over thinking this? I would be interested in others' perspectives on this.
thanks
Neal

I have a 12-42 NXS on my long range rifle and use the upper power a good deal. At 800 yards 18-20 power hinders the sight picture and the viewing size of the animal. When viewing an animal, when light allows, it is on upper power. I have a crosshair reticle with dot and clear sight picture and I can light the reticle and adjust power as light decreases. I have both types but just dont feel comfortable using marks to hold over or hold off at distances over 500 yards. For me, when shooting an animal at long range, I feel dialing scope to exact range is preferred.

 

[blackburbot]

If you are going to spend the money on ziess or something going upto 25-30x. Seriously look at March scopes...5-50x in SFP. You can dial as much as you want for magnification. They have some of the best magnification ranges out there. Their 2.5-25 is incredible. Everyone is in awe of Nightforce doing the NX8 when others have been doing more for a lot more years. Its too tier glass, can't go wrong. And you will never worry about not having enough again. And if the mirage is heavy dial down to half power to punch through then dial back to full on other days

 

[Mike Matteson]

I used a Leupold 6 x 25 ( can't remember the lower powder but somewhere in that range.) while Muley hunting a great many years ago. I figure out that even on the lower powers the field of view was very limited, and higher temperatures didn't help either. Now I generally use 2 x 8 Leupold scopes on my rifles and adjust my hold as the yards increases. Put the money in the field glass, and spotting scopes for judging your animals. My feeling is that higher powers just lets you know how much your rifle is moving around when trying to make that shot. Now I do use a straight 20 power on my 220 swift, but I am shooting ground squirrels that are only a couple of inches wide at 400 yds.

 

[BlazerBeam]

I have both a zeiss v4 6-24 and a v6 5-30 that you mentioned in your original post. I have found that the v6 on 30 power is better than a lot of other scopes that I have had on high magnification. I have used that magnification and been grateful for it in two scenarios: 1. Load development and 2. I once threaded a shot between two trees on a cow elk that I probably would not have been able to do with a scope on 12 or 15 power.

 

[xsn10s]

Good glass trumps high magnification. I would take an Alpha glass 15x over a mediocre 30x all day long. Mirage is not always a bad thing if you know how to read it. You still have as much mirage at 10x as you do at 25x, you just can't see the effects as much because you are at 10x.

My scopes are as follows:
6 @ 3-15×50
2 @ 3-20×50
2 @ 4-20×50
1 @ 5-20×50
1 @ 5-25×56

I have to agree with Lance on this one. My highest magnification scope is 14X. But I have been wanting something with good glass in the 20X range. SFP would work so that a mil or moa reticle would double at 10X.

 

[Hard rock]

I have to agree with Lance on this one. My highest magnification scope is 14X. But I have been wanting something with good glass in the 20X range. SFP would work so that a mil or moa reticle would double at 10X.

Take a look at the Meopta optica 6 series scopes they offer 1st and 2nd focal plane scopes 2.5 x14 3x18 2.5x27 I personally like and have several Meoptas . My favorite is the 3x18 1st focal with the moa diachro reticle european glass best scope out there for the money check the reviews not chinese made

 

[xsn10s]

Take a look at the Meopta optica 6 series scopes they offer 1st and 2nd focal plane scopes 2.5 x14 3x18 2.5x27 I personally like and have several Meoptas . My favorite is the 3x18 1st focal with the moa diachro reticle european glass best scope out there for the money check the reviews not chinese made

I've heard good thing about their ZD series. Hard to argue with Schott's glass. I have a Meopta spotting scope so I like their quality. But I'll probably get a NF someday. Most likely a SHV series or if I'm lucky a NX8 F2 series.

 

[Pointman]

It is better to have the necessary (high) magnification and not need it than the other way around.

Exact;y. well said. When the mirage starts, I simply dial the magnification back until I'm satisfied.

 

[Rondidio]

Elk hunting I don't judge by rifle scope, Use quality spotting scope And range finder! Good luck

 

[Yeager]

I have a couple Leupold VX6's in 3-18. The SFP scopes generally seemed fine to me as I didn't figure I would need to hold over or dial on an animal unless it was far enough away to warrant the higher magnification anyway. I always figured that 18 power was about as high as I would want to go with the second focal plane reticle, as there are just some days that heat waves get overwhelming - particularly in the summer at the range. Of course, higher magnification also reduces light through the scope and eye relief. I worry that a low light shot at high magnification may unnecessarily limit me.

I admit that a little more magnification would be nice when looking at a deer cross-canyon. I have been eyeing a new Zeiss in 6-24 Or 5-30 to go with my 28 nosler. I like their reticles and quality, but they are both still SFP models. With that magnification range will I be wishing that I sprung for a FFP scope? Am I over thinking this? I would be interested in others' perspectives on this.
thanks
Neal

Sometimes I think, for me, it is more about light and less about power . I think the size of the objective lens is every bit as important: for whatever that is worth. Good luck!

 

[Bullmark]

I am probably an extremist when it comes to hunting glass. My motto is buy the best glass you can afford, but try really hard to afford the best.
Honestly, $200 glass is never going to perform like $1200 glass, and $1200 glass is never going to perform like $3200 glass....and so it goes.
Clarity, light transmission, edge to edge focus and distortion from alpha glass will reduce the need for more magnification.
I dial my yardages, and every one of my hunting scopes has the same illuminated 4A reticle. I use the illum center dot all the time, not just at first and last light.
I'm running 2 S&B's (an Exos and a Polar), a Leica Magnus, and a Swaro Z8i.....and I worked hard to find each one at a significant discount over msrp......either a showroom or shot show demo or a very rare yr end markdown.
I think most guys that think it's wasteful and useless to buy those scopes have not actually spent a week or so hunting trip behind one. Just grabbing a scope in a store and giving it a quick look through is not going to show someone the true picture of much better life can be behind a top shelf scope. I've preached enough, but I said upfront I was kinda extreme.