What's the hunting scope magnification sweet spot for up to 600 yards?

[Rockrivr1]

As I search for a hunting rifle to go Elk hunting with I'm also starting to look at scopes for it. I'm thinking that a 3-9 or 4-12 will be my best options for deer up to elk sized game out to 600 yards. Would you agree or do you like something else? I'm leaning towards a Leopold at this point, but brand isn't my key driver.

 

[JmacD]

I’m odd, but I like something that will start at 4, and I like something that will go a little higher… but that can definitely depend.

 

[Hugger-4641]

As I search for a hunting rifle to go Elk hunting with I'm also starting to look at scopes for it. I'm thinking that a 3-9 or 4-12 will be my best options for deer up to elk sized game out to 600 yards. Would you agree or do you like something else? I'm leaning towards a Leopold at this point, but brand isn't my key driver.

A LOT depends on your eyes. 3-9 is ok for me out to 300yds or so, after that I prefer a little more. 3-12 is ok to 400 or so , but 3-15 x50 with a 30mm tube is my first choice for 500yds or more. 4-20 or 4-24 is ok, but I don't want a 6-24 if there's possibility I'm gonna get a 50yd shot.

 

[Patocazador]

I've killed two elk at somewhere around 350-400 yds with a 7x57 and a fixed 6x scope. Hi-power variables always left me wishing I had kept the scope at 5x. I would zoom in and forget to zoom out until I threw up the rifle to shoot a bedded deer that I jumped and couldn't find it in the scope. I didn't throw the variables away, I just left them all at 5x. I carry a B&L 10x40 pair of binoculars for sizing things up far away .. not the scope.

 

[horsey300]

As I search for a hunting rifle to go Elk hunting with I'm also starting to look at scopes for it. I'm thinking that a 3-9 or 4-12 will be my best options for deer up to elk sized game out to 600 yards. Would you agree or do you like something else? I'm leaning towards a Leopold at this point, but brand isn't my key driver.

I like a 2.5-15, 4-16, or 3-18ish magnification for most of my wide open hunting. I also prefer 30mm tube and 50mm objectives, accepting a 44 as a bare minimum. Made a lot of ridiculous shots with a 4-16×44. More important features would include adjustable parallax, an accommodating reticle (i mostly prefer a ffp but have and have rocked a few sfps quite nicely) and thinner target hairs. Illumination is nice up until the whole tube reds out or the batteries die, so I can take or leave that, and having a reticle with subtensions that match the turrets (i.e. moa/moa or mil/mil) having a mil or half mildot and moa turrets is stupid.

 

[tdbmd]

As I search for a hunting rifle to go Elk hunting with I'm also starting to look at scopes for it. I'm thinking that a 3-9 or 4-12 will be my best options for deer up to elk sized game out to 600 yards. Would you agree or do you like something else? I'm leaning towards a Leopold at this point, but brand isn't my key driver.

600 yards is a long shot. Keeping the distance a bit closer and about any scope will do in the 3-9x to 4-12 range

 

[Hunter 08]

I've got 4-12x40 with a 1" tube, it did okay looking at to 400. Will be replacing it with a 3-15x44 with a 34mm tube first focal plane which will for me be a lot better.

 

[LoonWulf]

I dont have any real interest in shooting animals at more then a few hundred yds, but I like scopes capable of target shooting out to over 1000, and i like more magnification on my scopes than less.
Most of my hunting rifle optics start at 4/6 and end at 15/20, i rarely set anything lower than 6, even my 2-8 / 3-9s.

 

[243winxb]

To 600 yards........

6x18 power for grownhogs. The 4x12 for larger game. May need to pick a hole thru the brush, if animal is not in full view.

Both must have a parallax adjustment..

Bushnell Trophy scope or something in Leupold.

 

[jmr40]

In the real world there isn't that much difference between those 2. Most people don't realize that the magnification numbers they put on scopes are rounded off. A scope advertised as a 3-9X may actually be 2.5-8.5X or it may be 3.5-9.5X. And the actual magnification varies depending on how the user focuses it. A scope listed as 3-9X may be 2.5-8.5X when focused for my eyes and 3.5-9.5X when focused for your eyes.

In a nutshell either will work. I would be fine with 9X on the top end on any big game animal at 600 yards and you'd be surprised at how little difference 12X makes. I have 3-9X scopes on my big game rifles. On rifles that I shoot at targets or small varmints I use 4.5-14X scopes. I've managed 4" groups at 600 yards with a fixed 6X scope. The kill zone on an elk is about 18".

Most of my shots at big game tend to be closer to 50 yards, but 200 isn't out of the question. I prefer to use lower magnifications for closer work. That said, while there isn't that much difference between 9X and 12X on the upper end, there isn't much difference between 3X and 4X on the lower end either.

Keep in mind light transmission. How much light comes through your scope is determined by the front objective size in millimeters divided by the magnification. In low light you want that to be a factor of 5 or more. For example, a 40mm front objective on 4X will allow a 10mm beam of light through the scope and that is plenty for low light situations. 40 divided by 4= 10. But a 40mm objective set on 8X gives you the minimum usable light transmission of 5. 40 divided by 8=5.

If you choose a scope with a 40mm objective they won't be very good in low light at any setting over 8X. With a 12X scope you'd have 40 divided by 12 = 3.3. Neither a 3-9X or 4-12X will be useful if set over 8X in low light. The 42 and 44mm objectives still top out around 9X in low light. Even if you went to a big 50mm objective they wouldn't be good in low light above 10X.

 

[tominboise]

If this is for your lightweight rifle and your elk hunt, bigger scopes add weight and on light rifles with a lot of recoil, require a stout mount. Anyway, I have 3-9X or 2.5-10X on my big game rifles. One 308 has a fixed 6X Leupold on it, with dots on the lower reticle to help with long range shooting. I seem to always leave my scopes on about 5-6X all the time anyway.

It pays to check POI shift at the range, to see if POI wanders as you change power.

 

[H&Hhunter]

I find 2.5x10 to be the sweet spot on a scoped big game rifle. 10x is plenty for big game shots out to 600 plus yards. And 2.5 handles the up close and fast moving stuff very well. Of course high quality glass makes a huge difference. Not all 10x scopes are created equal.

I actually can’t stand more than 10x on critters inside of 500 yards. The field of view gets narrow enough that it becomes easy to lose your situational awareness on a critter after the shot.

It once took me over 4 hours to locate a pronghorn buck I shot at 473 yards in a flat field in tall grass and weeds. I was on 15x and I lost the buck in recoil. He went straight down and I almost had to step on him to find him.

 

[Peakbagger46]

“In low light you want that to be a factor of 5 or more”

Right idea (kind of) about exit pupil but overblown. My Swaro 10X42 binos only have a 4.2 exit and are full of magic light gathering powers well after legal light.

Good 3-9ish scopes are fantastic for hunting out west. If you really feel the need to shoot 600y though, probably go with 12X up top. 400y on in and 9x is perfect.

How about practicing at 6-700 and limiting shots on game to 400?

 

[Anchorite]

I keep my Leupold 3x9x40 dialed in at 6x on my 270, FWIW.
Basically set it and forget it.

 

[H&Hhunter]

There is absolutely no comparison on clarity between my Swaro or Night Force compared to my Leupold HD VX 5 at similar power settings in terms of clarity, detail and light “gathering“ ability. And especially in low light, high quality glass absolutely smokes a Leupold VX5 or 6 level of glass in every way possible.

My Swarovski is a Z5 which is a one inch tube and it still smashes the 30MM Leupold VX5 in terms of clarity and low light performance. My Night Force is an NXS 2.5-10x24 (30 mm) and even with that little 24mm objective it still slaughters the Leupold in every way possible including low light performance.

I am NOT saying the Leupold VX5 HD is a bad scope, it’s a very good scope. It is NOT an exceptional scope. Once you’ve looked through an NF or a top end Euro Scope at range you‘ll see what I’m talking about. The clarity of a NF makes up for multiple levels of magnification in a lesser scope. But you have to pay for that level of quality. Hitting the vitals on a deer or an elk at 600 yards is absolutely possible and in fact not a deficiency in any way using that little 2.5-10 NF. There are lots of other issues involved but the glass is perfectly capable.

 

[marksman13]

3-15 or 3-18 would be my choice. Plenty low enough on the bottom end, and plenty of magnification for longer shots. Sure, you could get by with lower top end magnification, but I like the extra magnification. You never know when you’ll have to pick an animal out of some thick stuff.

 

[highup]

My shooting at 600yd suggests a 5-20 is ok. However, the thickness of the reticle
cross-hairs is also important. For example, there are 5-20 Trijicon scopes with too
fat of a reticle to see what you are doing.

 

[Lo-Profile]

I like higher magnification optics for longer shots

Vortex Viper® PST™ Gen II 5-25x50 FFP

 

[Rockrivr1]

I like higher magnification optics for longer shots

Vortex Viper® PST™ Gen II 5-25x50 FFP

I have this scope on a tactical bolt action I have and like it. I wasn’t sure though if 5 is a good starting point for magnification in case something jumps up close and I need to make a closer shot.

 

[Lo-Profile]

I have this scope on a tactical bolt action I have and like it. I wasn’t sure though if 5 is a good starting point for magnification in case something jumps up close and I need to make a closer shot.

When's the last time you shot a elk under 100y
Or had one jump up that close

 

[H&Hhunter]

When's the last time you shot a elk under 100y
Or had one jump up that close

I’ve done it multiple times. I’ve shoot a lot of elk in dark timber during the middle of the day. It just depends on where and how you hunt.

 

[WisBorn]

I just bought one of these. I was going to mount it on my Weatherby 7rm, but I'm thinking that it should be mounted on a new rifle .
Do you all think that I should get a new rifle for my scope?
Good luck with your search. I would think that a 3-9 or 4-12 would be a good choice. I really think pushing to 600-yards leaves a lot of air for error. A quarter mile (440 yards) is a long ways.

TEKOA HD 4-16x44 BDC Hunting Rifle Scope

The TEKOA HD 4-16x44 hunting rifle scope with a BDC reticle is built for hunters and shooters wanting to get a little more range out of their all-around

tractoptics.com

 

[horsey300]

I just bought one of these. I was going to mount it on my Weatherby 7rm, but I'm thinking that it should be mounted on a new rifle .
Do you all think that I should get a new rifle for my scope?
Good luck with your search. I would think that a 3-9 or 4-12 would be a good choice. I really think pushing to 600-yards leaves a lot of air for error. A quarter mile (440 yards) is a long ways.

TEKOA HD 4-16x44 BDC Hunting Rifle Scope

The TEKOA HD 4-16x44 hunting rifle scope with a BDC reticle is built for hunters and shooters wanting to get a little more range out of their all-around

tractoptics.com

That's one of my favorite reasons to buy a new rifle, and if that doesn't do it for you, you haven't thought hard enough about the new rifle!

 

[irishlad]

I like higher magnification optics for longer shots

Vortex Viper® PST™ Gen II 5-25x50 FFP

Yup. 660 yards.

 

[Varminterror]

4-16x44mm scopes have been my answer for this question for over 30 years. I’ve hunted with more and less, and if I couldn’t pick 4-16x, I would ABSOLUTELY use more magnification than less. I would strongly favor a 5-25x, 6-24, 4.5-27x or 4.5-30x over a 3-9x, 4-12x, 3.5-10x or especially 2-7x. I know I CAN shoot 600+ with a lower magnification scope, but I also know I hate doing so. I’ll shoot at 20yrds at 6x with a smile (or 15x, really), but hate 600 at only 9x.