Appropriate magnification for western hunting

It boils down to the individual and method of hunting. I can only talk personally what I use. Most years ( the first 35 years of big game hunting) I hunted in the prairies and mountains with a Leupold 3x9x40. Now that I'm getting up in age the old eyes are not what they use to be, especially on the rifle range..............small white or black dots are harder to see. Therefore, my scopes are primarily Zeiss because of it's great clarity along with higher magnification, up to 12X and 14X., on the rifle range.

For the past 7 years I have been using these Zeiss scopes, however I hunt with only the setting on 9X which is plenty of power for me.....................I'm not a long range shooter.
 
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Practise good hunting skills and long distance shooting is unnecessary. I have shot quite a few elk in the wide open of Saskatchewan, and a bunch in the bush too. I have found that elk farther than about 300 yds seldom know that a hunter is around unless that hunter expects to drive up to them or walks around without any attempt at concealment. Just stalk closer! I use a 3-9 Zeiss with 50 mm objective most of the time, because low light is a FAR bigger challenge to deal with than long distance. I seldom if ever have it set on 9x. In the bush, non-critical eye relief and quick aiming is the most important factors, along with a reticle that can be seen under all conditions. A straight 4 or 2-7 is fine in the bush. I'd also rather use my .35 whelen with 250 grain bullets at 2500 fps than a 7mm magnum with 160's, even though the trajectory is "inferior" Just my opinion based on experience. Your preferences or conditions in the "West" may be different.
 
Match the tool to the use. Longwalker speeks volumes. The vast majority of my Elky bretheren have fallen with shots under 100 yards. Last years was 6 yards. If you are open country and field sitting then you could find the need to scope up. If you are bush hunting, calling, stalking then stick to a fixed 6 or the ol tried and true 3x9. 3x for the thick, 6 normal setting, 9 when your out in the open. Perhaps even pick up a bow:evil:
 
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So owning a 3-9x makes you a good hunter and owning a 3-15x makes you a lousy hunter....interesting.....learn something every day.
 
sheephunter said:
So owning a 3-9x makes you a good hunter and owning a 3-15x makes you a lousy hunter....interesting.....learn something every day.
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Nope, never said that. Not even close. Somebody pee in your cornflakes this morning? Use whatever you want. If you have the skill to shoot elk more accurately in hunting conditions with a scope that goes up to 15x go have fun and enjoy eating your elk. But then, a great many people who promote high powered scopes and long range rigs for hunting are selling something. Manufacturers, Marketers, Writers, et al have their own motives.

However, I do stand by my statement that long distance shooting is seldom necessary. And I will also say that working for a medium range or close shot is almost always a better choice than taking just any far shot. The original poster asked for opinions based on experience. That's mine.
 
Longwalker said:
Nope, never said that. Not even close. Somebody pee in your cornflakes this morning? Use whatever you want. If you have the skill to shoot elk more accurately in hunting conditions with a scope that goes up to 15x go have fun and enjoy eating your elk. But then, a great many people who promote high powered scopes and long range rigs for hunting are selling something. Manufacturers, Marketers, Writers, et al have their own motives.

However, I do stand by my statement that long distance shooting is seldom necessary. And I will also say that working for a medium range or close shot is almost always a better choice than taking just any far shot. The original poster asked for opinions based on experience. That's mine.
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LOL...never said you did say that.....I had Total cereal with milk this morning.

I totally agree with your last statement and I've said it here too....some people just choose gear and practice to allow them to take those seldom necessary shots other don't. For those that do choose to take them, the 15x is likely a good choice....for those that don't, perhaps not. I respect both :)
 
Well, I am gonna go way against the grain here.

Reticle and clarity/quality of glass is very important when hunting and especially during poor light conditions.

A 4X with a fine cross hair showing an intersect right in the lung area is much better than a 10X with a big fat cross hair covering from spine to brisket.Now, when looking at your animal and not being able to differentiate between willow branches and legs , that is also bad.

Now, that all being said, you do have to select your optics for conditions and figure what you want to hunt with that rifle/scope combination.Moose, deer, elk, antelope - today's new 1-7 or 1.2-5 will do well due to quality of glass.If you want to throw varmints into the mix then maybe something like Bushnell in the 2-16 area.Yes the most common is a 3-9 but don't be set on that , a poor quality 3-9 will be more of a hindrance than a good quality 4X or 6x or even 1-7.

I have everything from fixed 4X up to 10-50and I would not feel uncomfortable going after big game with the 4X, not at all.

What I do like(for now I have good eyes)is a nice fine reticle and clear glass.A person will however get used to and learn to be proficient with whatever is on hand.

Now back to the elk usage, they aren't a small critter so high magnification I think wouldn't be a necessity.The Zeiss Duralyt with an illuminated reticle and nice clear optics would be a very usable option for low light/dark cover hunting.
 
Most of my pure "hunting" rifles wear the excellent Leupold 6x42.
I have never felt handicapped with one of these because I felt it did not have enough power.

A muley at 600 yards found out the hard way how well the 6x42 works when time and conditions are right.

As Kelly mentioned, an Elk is a much larger target...so should be no issue, particularly within 400 meters.

Regards, Eagleye
 
Eagleye said:
Most of my pure "hunting" rifles wear the excellent Leupold 6x42.
I have never felt handicapped with one of these because I felt it did not have enough power.

A muley at 600 yards found out the hard way how well the 6x42 works when time and conditions are right.

As Kelly mentioned, an Elk is a much larger target...so should be no issue, particularly within 400 meters.

Regards, Eagleye
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Yep.

I have ran various scopes - but have reverted back to fixed 6 power. I have shot Elk to 400 with them with no issue. Kind of nice not have to fart around with power rings. I also like the simple design.

I also don't ever anticipate taking shots longer than that - wind doping is a art form in southern Alberta, and those 7-800 yard shots are often not feasible. I should be able to get closer than that.
 
Every animal I ever shot in Alberta was looked at through a scope in the 3x9 range.

I generally hunted at 6x all the time, plenty for a shot way past my ability to estimate range.
 
Really appreciated the thoughts! Right now the Zeiss 2-10x 42mm or the Zeiss 3-9x 40 mm; same model as my Winchester 70 30-06 wears, is winning out. I love the eye relief on the Zeiss! I had convinced myself that I want a ballistic reticle like the Rapid Z 600 rather than turning turrets. Maybe that is for another thread.
 
There is a time and a place for both low and high power scopes. what your asking, greatly depends on what your calling western hunting. I live in the kootenays and have killed many elk, ranges from 10 feet to 500 yards, most have been inside 30 yards in heavy timber. for years, all I used was leupolds 2x7, set on 2 power and only changed power when needed. 2x7's are good here, but not so good when I head for the praires, there I use a 4.5x14 leupold. figure out what type of "western" hunting YOU are going to do, buy a scope for that type of hunting and practice at all distances to be confident YOU can make the shot...No YOUR limits and hunt within them.
 
Lots of good advise in these posts. The lowest variable I use is a 2-7 and it works good for average distances but like others have said it will also work at much further distances although for longer range I believe there are much better choices. For whitetail hunting in low light, I prefer my Swarovski 3-12x56, the light gathering ability of this scope is amazing...its almost like cheating! and at 12 power you have a distinct advantage over the 2-7 power scope for longer distance shooting. I also use a 4-16x50 for general purpose hunting and believe this is a good compromise as on 4x it works great up close in the bush and at 16x you have great magnification at what ever distance you feel your hunting rifle is capable of. Now I also use a 6-24x50 and this might be getting a bit over the top but at 6x I've never thought I was over scoped at close range and in good light conditions it is hard to fault 24x for distance shooting. Last year I also used a 8-32x56 on a few hunting trips, this is definately more than what is needed for hunting but I have to say, it is nice to be able to clearly see the pupils on a moose at 300 yards.
I guess the truth is, there are lots of good choices and it depends on you and your preferences....the worst IMHO, would be to limit yourself to one rifle and scope combination for western hunting, as western hunting can be wide open and long rang or close up and personal in thick bush.
Its all fun, enjoy!
 
A 3-12x Swarovski 56mm sounds great! I always worry a bit about objectives larger than 40-42mm because I'm worried that I will need med or high rings and I prefer the scope mounted nice and low.
 
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