First scope...

I have all kinds of scopes from a couple of cheapeis to ones over 3 grand. If you are only shooting out to 400 yards a mildot is almost useless( for a high powered centre fire rifle)Also a fixed 6 power is WAY WAY too much power for walking through the bush or down bush trails.
If I were you I would get a 2.5-10 bushnell elite 4200 from (lebaron onsale right now at $299).There isn't a scope that will even come close to this for $300 imo. The Bushnell 4200 is also very very reliable . Make sure it is the 4200 series which is a good scope as the 3200 series aren't worth bringing home.
Then once you get it mounted line it up about 3 inches high at 100 yards and with practice and experience you will soon learn why almost every serious successful hunter on plant earth lines their hunting guns up this way.
 
Jordan Smith said:
That's laughable.

Not the part about the Bushy 4200 (a great scope for the price), but the rest is pretty funny.
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Let me guess, you line up your hunting guns dead on at 100 yards. That is fine if you are hunting in the bush only with shots no further than 150 or 2 hundred yards.
I have shot hundreds of big and small game animals where I only had seconds to get the shot off. Most of those shots were between 50 yards and 450 yards. If you line up your gun dead on at 100 yards you get into a lot of guess work. Experienced hunters figured out a long long time ago to line their hunting guns up about 3 inches high at 100 yards and you will usually have a dead on point of aim from 0-300 yards.
 
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1. 6x is way too much for bushy trails
- If your rifle fits you properly, and your scope is mounted properly, a 6x is certainly no handicap, even at hand shaking distances

2. Zeroing your scope 3" high at 100 yards is what nearly every successful hunter does
- I've known plenty of successful hunters who zero their scopes at 100, 200, 300 and even longer ranges. I personally like my scopes zero'd at about 200 yards, and typically stay within 6" of the line of sight out to 300 yards, or so, but I can place my bullet much better at closer ranges when needed. Anything beyond 350 yards, and I'm usually dialing the shot or using a drop compensating reticle, anyways.
 
Jordan Smith said:
1. 6x is way too much for bushy trails
- If your rifle fits you properly, and your scope is mounted properly, a 6x is certainly no handicap, even at hand shaking distances

2. Zeroing your scope 3" high at 100 yards is what nearly every successful hunter does
- I've known plenty of successful hunters who zero their scopes at 100, 200, 300 and even longer ranges. I personally like my scopes zero'd at about 200 yards, and typically stay within 6" of the line of sight out to 300 yards, or so, but I can place my bullet much better at closer ranges when needed. Anything beyond 350 yards, and I'm usually dialing the shot or using a drop compensating reticle, anyways.
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So, you think fixed 6 power is a good walking through the bush scope?
I will respond no further as this is one of the silliest statements I have ever read on here.
 
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Jordan Smith said:
So does the 6x42 come up short for long range or short range shooting, in your experience?
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Yes. Doable for distance, not so great for short range work. The narrow field of view and the perceived "shakes" at 6x make offhand shots a difficult task. Why run a fixed power when a variable gives you options?

TDC
 
TDC said:
Yes. Doable for distance, not so great for short range work. The narrow field of view and the perceived "shakes" at 6x make offhand shots a difficult task. Why run a fixed power when a variable gives you options?

TDC
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My ideal would be a fixed 10x with iron sights also mounted. Then you could get off quick shots either long range OR short. Speaking completely from ignorance here (first scope!) it seems to me that with a variable you're going to be there fiddling a lot with the zoom instead of getting the shot off.

However it seems that getting irons on a remmy along side the scope is not so easy to do, I have had several strongly recommend against it, and seen similar comments on other web forums when I googled it.
 
Scopes -fixed versus variable and make

Jordan Smith said:
So does the 6x42 come up short for long range or short range shooting, in your experience?
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Had a Leupold 6x on when charged by a grizzly bear that a friend wounded.
Not the best idea at 10 feet, so ended up with a Leupold 2-7x for awhile. Now am using a 3.5 to 10x leupold Variable. Works fine.

Point is what will it be used for...
 
Martin248 said:
My ideal would be a fixed 10x with iron sights also mounted. Then you could get off quick shots either long range OR short. Speaking completely from ignorance here (first scope!) it seems to me that with a variable you're going to be there fiddling a lot with the zoom instead of getting the shot off.
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Not at all. Leave it on low when you are walking around, turn up the mag if you need it. Not complicated and on low mag of 2-4x its just as fast as traditional irons.

-Grant
 
Canuck525 said:
So, you think fixed 6 power is a good walking through the bush scope?
I will respond no further as this is one of the silliest statements I have ever read on here.
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I've had no trouble shooting jumping deer at spitting distance with a 6x, and even with a variable on 9x. Granted, it's not an ideal brush scope, but it's certainly not a handicap. Acquiring a proper sight picture quickly is more a function of rifle fit and scope mounting than scope magnification.
 
TDC said:
Yes. Doable for distance, not so great for short range work. The narrow field of view and the perceived "shakes" at 6x make offhand shots a difficult task. Why run a fixed power when a variable gives you options?

TDC
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I've shot critters and targets from 20 yards to 1125 yards with a 6x scope. No problems on either end. It's not ideal for short or long, but does both pretty well.

You pay for those options with reduced reliability, toughness, and simplicity. You can be a more effective killer if your sole concentration is aim and shoot, rather than having magnification settings crossing your mind for a brief second.
 
Jordan Smith said:
I've shot critters and targets from 20 yards to 1125 yards with a 6x scope. No problems on either end. It's not ideal for short or long, but does both pretty well.

You pay for those options with reduced reliability, toughness, and simplicity. You can be a more effective killer if your sole concentration is aim and shoot, rather than having magnification settings crossing your mind for a brief second.
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I don't disagree that it can be done, but a variable scope provides far more advantages than disadvantages. As you say, you pay for those features and if you run quality optics the risk of failure is very low.

The variable magnification shouldn't be an issue. Set it to something effective for the terrain you're in and leave it alone. For thick brush, stick with the low end, for open terrain go higher. If you're running off hand, stick with the highest power you can effectively make a shot with.

TDC
 
TDC said:
I don't disagree that it can be done, but a variable scope provides far more advantages than disadvantages. As you say, you pay for those features and if you run quality optics the risk of failure is very low.

The variable magnification shouldn't be an issue. Set it to something effective for the terrain you're in and leave it alone. For thick brush, stick with the low end, for open terrain go higher. If you're running off hand, stick with the highest power you can effectively make a shot with.

TDC
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I own and use both variables and fixed power scopes lots, so I'm certainly familiar with the virtues of each, but for a general purpose hunting rifle meant for getting serious about killing big game, the FX3 6x42 is a heck of a scope, and is tough to beat. He could do a LOT worse than to make one his first scope, and in fact he'll probably be considered a wise and astute new hunter by the experienced fellas that he meets, since many new hunters show up with Tasco 3-9x40's or 8-32x Swaro's. He'll be the new guy that got it right the first time.

A quote from John Barsness, famous and respected gun writer from another forum:

"I don't know exactly how many big game animals I've taken with fixed 6's or variables set on 6x, but it must be well over 100. The ranges have been from 10 yards (on a running feral pig that weighed close to 250 pounds) to around 450. Never had to pass up a shot because the animal was too close or too far."
 
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