24x too much for big game?

jayman_1975 said:
I live in SK. Getting to 250yds after the deer have been spooked up real good for a couple months during archery and muzzle loader season is pretty decent hunting, especially considering there is no crop left for cover and we have to wear orange here during rifle season. But i know what you are saying.
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Guess as an easterner I was a little unfair on the 'just hunt better' attitude. But I guess it still stands that 200+yards in the east measures the same as 200+ in the west! Personally, I'd feel I have some serious practice to do myself before consistently being able to shoot those ranges under pressure. For myself, my practice mostly involves snap shooting at 50 yards. I'd have to come up with a whole different practice routine if I hunted where you do.

Best,

RG

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There are a few scopes offering 5x or 6x magnification range, that are perhaps the ideal solution. I purchased a Swarovski Z5 3.5-18x44 to mount on the 7mmstw that I have on order. I can live with 3.5x on the low end, but 18x is overkill. I would have preferred a 2.5x-12.5x, or a 3x-15x, but Swarovski chose to go with a 3.5-18x, so that is what I purchased.
 
A scope with quality optics will beat a lesser scope with higher magnification every time.

Resolution and brightness > magnification

You need to take into consideration the weight and size of the scope you're using. The higher the magnification, the larger and heavier the scope. This may or may not matter, depending on what you do with the setup.

I often bust milk jugs with 9x magnification all the way out to 900 yards, and smack steel with 6x out to 750 yards. The reticle makes all the difference.
 
jayman_1975 said:
Hey everyone. I am in the market for a new scope. It will be sitting on top of my Savage model 116. I hunt deer, moose, elk with this gun. I am finding my 3-9x40 leaves me wanting more magnification sometimes so i am considering something up to 24x. Can i get some feedback from guys using this much power for big game? How often do you actually dial it in that far? Would i be better off spending the money on a better 14x scope? Thanks in advance.
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I tried it one year with a 24x. It was a disaster. Target acquisition when the adrenalin running is very frustrating. I dialed it back to 6x and had much better luck.
 
Don't take this the wrong way, but...it seems to me that asking that question pretty much indicates that you are not ready to be shooting long distance at game. Have you ever looked through a 24x scope? Extremely limited usefulness for just about any big-game hunting.

I haven't used the DOA reticle, but just how heavy is it? At 9x or 10x, my scopes don't cover up that much of a target the size of a deer at 300 yards. They do, however, provide you with a sight picture that reminds you when a target is a long ways off...which is a good thing to remember.
 
jjohnwm said:
Don't take this the wrong way, but...it seems to me that asking that question pretty much indicates that you are not ready to be shooting long distance at game. Have you ever looked through a 24x scope? Extremely limited usefulness for just about any big-game hunting.

I haven't used the DOA reticle, but just how heavy is it? At 9x or 10x, my scopes don't cover up that much of a target the size of a deer at 300 yards. They do, however, provide you with a sight picture that reminds you when a target is a long ways off...which is a good thing to remember.
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Yes i have looked through a 24x scope. I much prefered it dialed down half way or better at least but it didnt look too bad at 24x.

I guess my thinking was that i could use the extra magnification to dial in and have a real good look at the deer just to be sure i wasnt going to pull the trigger on something that wasnt quite what i thought. This happened 2 yrs ago to me. I was belly crawling along a windrow treeline in a wheat stubble field closing in on what looked to be a dandy buck. I didnt take my binos out of the truck with me because i didnt want them dragging through the dirt while crawling 300 yrds or so on my belly. I got to 250 yards of him but couldnt get any closer without exposing myself to him so i pitted in and got ready for a prone shot. He looked decent through my scope. I took the shot and dropped him like a sack of taters. When i got up to him there was significant ground shrinkage lol. Had i been able to zoom in much closer i would have been able to get a better look and would have passed on him.

So i guess my intentions are not to be using 24x to shoot but it would be handy to have in a pinch. I imagine 12 would be a more realistic/usable magnification.
 
I have and still feel that a 2-12 is the best of both worlds. You get great FOV at the 2 rge, and a scope with capabilities out to well past 600yds, if the driver can steer it properly. I have been waiting to see if anyone else is going to come up with something like the burris six x. I was going to buy the Burris but, I don't like the idea of a 35% increase in Canadian price overnight, while the US price remained the same.
 
I'd buy a good quality 2x7 or so, even a 1.5x5, and spend some money on a decent set of bino's!

a 5x is all you need for any big game at any reasonable range to get on target. (get a proper reticle)

Use the right tool for the job.
 
nanuk said:
I'd buy a good quality 2x7 or so, even a 1.5x5, and spend some money on a decent set of bino's!

a 5x is all you need for any big game at any reasonable range to get on target. (get a proper reticle)

Use the right tool for the job.
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Thanks for the advise. I am going to consider another 3-9 possibly up to 12 but just a duplex reticle.
 
I completely understand that hunting in Sask after the first week of rifle season is exceptionally difficult. Any deer that would be considered "trophy class" has most likely evaded a couple of bullets already at that point.

My biggest suggestion would be for you to get a scope with a different reticle, but don't allow yourself to be talked out of buying what you want. I shoot a Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x56 on my hunting rifle with an NP-1RR reticle. The reticle is very fine and I have taken game at long distance with it.

The hunting pressure in the prairies and regulations stipulating blaze orange etc. during rifle season is the biggest reason I spend the majority of my time hunting with primitive weapons..
 
Some guys just don't get it. Guy at the range yesterday telling all how a 3x9 wasn't enough for 100yds on a sporting rifle for target shooting. :rolleyes:

.
 
Mur said:
I've never felt handicaped by the 2.5x8s.3.5x10 or 3x9s on my rifles.I do have a 4.5x14 on my coyote/antelope rifle but it is not really neccesary.I carry binoculars to look at game,I DON'T use my scope for glassing. Mur
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x2!

2.5 x 8 Leupold scopes rock!

10x binos for spotting, usually 3 or 4x for shooting.
 
One thing to consider as well would be that almost all scopes with some type of hold over system only match their respective distances at full power. I like the 4.5-14 leupolds. The Boone and crocket reticle works good but I find that it's a bit heavy sometimes when practicing at the range at distance. I switched over to a varmint hunter reticle and like it better but since it's for lighter bullets that generally drop more than than hunting bullets you need to go to the range and find out what the holdover marks represent for distance
 
.284 said:
One thing to consider as well would be that almost all scopes with some type of hold over system only match their respective distances at full power. I like the 4.5-14 leupolds. The Boone and crocket reticle works good but I find that it's a bit heavy sometimes when practicing at the range at distance. I switched over to a varmint hunter reticle and like it better but since it's for lighter bullets that generally drop more than than hunting bullets you need to go to the range and find out what the holdover marks represent for distance
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I have considered the B&C reticle but i dont see how it would be much different than the DOA on my Bushnell. I also thought maybe milidot as my cousin uses it and loves that reticle but again, close to what i already have. I just find those dots too darn distracting and sometimes cover too much of the body to actually pick a spot to hit. I think a plain old duplex might be the best for me.
 
I should have chose better wording. By heavy I meant thick holdover marks and was trying to say that the varmint holdover marks are much thinner. What I was getting at was that if you find the doa marks thick on your current scope thel`ll probably really disapoint you at 24X. Off on a small tangent - I thought that the ziess z-800 reticle had very thick holdover marks and never really understood how one was to use them on the 800 yard mark as they covered so much of the target and you only had 14x power to boot.
 
I should have chose better wording. By heavy I meant thick holdover marks and was trying to say that the varmint holdover marks are much thinner. What I was getting at was that if you find the doa marks thick on your current scope thel`ll probably really disapoint you at 24X. Off on a small tangent - I thought that the ziess z-800 reticle had very thick holdover marks and never really understood how one was to use them on the 800 yard mark as they covered so much of the target and you only had 14x power to boot.
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generally thicker reticles are used on big game scopes, because they are easier to see in low light conditions. On the other hand, the reticles on the higher magnification target scopes, are usually quite thin, to allow more precise aiming.
 
this high power scope magnification reminded me of a guy i met while was out hunting .i do believe he had a 6 to 24 power scope on his rifle .i was glassing a ridge over 800 yards away .he showed up on his atv .we started chatting for a while .he said he could kill a deer with his rifle set up from where we were .crank the scope right up to 24 power and shoot he said .it seems to be the fad today long range hunting/shooting .
 
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