Are hunting rifles over scoped?

C

chuck nelson

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I was shooting again last night with the rifle I’ll be hunting with this fall. I’ve hunted with a lot of rifles over the last 15 years. 95% of them wore the same model of scope. A light small fixed 6X scope that can be mounted low over the rifle, not affect balance, carry well in the hand, go into a saddle scabbard, and most of all maintain zero. I’ve taken game cleanly with that scope from 5 yards to over 550 yards.

Are hunters, in general, over scoped?
 
Have fist fulls of 6x42.

Economical to purchase at one point.

2.5-10x36 tac scopes with 30mm bodies are very impressive.


Your and my style of hunting rifle these days is pretty much old balls anyways.
 
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I found my fixed 6x on a hunting rifle to be too much magnification at close range. I was happy with fixed 4x. My current lineup is 1.5-4x, 1.5-5x, 2-7x, and 3.5-10x, ive been quite pleased with the lower power scopes.
 
All of my hunting rifles carry a VX3 3.5-10x40 on them. I use 10x for load development, then do a final zero on 6x and it gets carried that way when hunting unless I’m in the bush, then it gets turned down to 3.5.
 
It's all about what works for you.

IMO technology has aided in allowing more opportunity to pull the trigger in adverse conditions.

As well, as technology had advanced in performance of a cartridge so it's only natural for a optic to do the same.

If you have a rifle doing 1/2" groups you should be able resolve those groups.
 
I prefer lower power. 1-4, or 1.5-6 variable, or 4x fixed. Thats for hunting on foot. Stand hunting you have more time to find the target, so higher magnification is possible, but once the scope is sighted in, better to just get used to one style and always use it.
 
Nothing I hunt with has more than a 3x9 power with 40mm. My everyday rifle has a 2.5-8 for sitting on stumps waiting. Anything I still hunt with has either irons or a red dot. Never needed more, but I’m just a hunter not a target shooter.
 
I'm a target shooter and hunter, hunting rifles have 6x scopes on them, the variables are set at 6x for hunting as well.

Targets to 1000+ yards require a 10x or better depending on conditions, so a 6x24 or some such works well for moa sized targets.

I think many hunters equate scope power with performance, more doesn't mean better or use the higher end of the range as a spotter.

That is what binoculars or a spotting scope is for.
 
All depends on what you're hunting or shooting. A deer at 300 yards is a far bigger target than a gopher at 200. My gopher gun, which doubles as a target gun, wears a 6-24x. Most of my regular hunting rifles wear a 3-9x. I do have a long range deer rifle with a 4.5-14x. I'm currently looking for a 2-7x for a 22wmr. And I have open sights on some others.

If I was strictly hunting in the bush with an occasional over the swamp shot, I'd likely go for something in the 1.5-5x range. But most of my shots end up in the wide open prairies where its not uncommon to have to stretch out your shot. I guess thats why they make variable power scopes....
 
I picked up a .444 XLR just so I had a good open sight rifle, then had a eye injury. So now it has a Pentax 6x42 Gameseeker on it.
 
Lots of guys/guns use way more scope than required. Biggest scope I use is a 3.5x10, always carried on 3.5 power. I'd be quite happy with a 2.5x8. Trying out a couple fixed power scopes this year (4x and 6x), have not used one on a big game rifle in 40 years!
While we are "at it" lots of guns have scopes on them that are too heavy. Nothing like a real lightweight with 16+ ounces sitting on top of it to help with balance, along with 4-5 ounces of mounts!
 
I have a couple each 4x, 2-7, 2.5-8, 3-9, 3.5-10 and one 4-12. As the magnification goes up, calibers get smaller...

Except the 4-12 VXR CDS on my .338wm, cause I got a super deal on it. Have never had it off 4x, even shooting moose anywhere from 300-450yards.
 
I think many are because that is what is being sold. I see a lot of lightweight rifles which are saddled with a 1 1/2 pound scope and a bipod. Still, people will do what they will do. When hunting, I carry rifles a lot more than I shoot them so portability and balance is important to me. Maybe, when I get older and don't walk so much, my equipment needs will change.
 
I like minimum 16x for load development. After that though most hunting has been on lower power settings with the odd longer shot where I crank the scope to max. The higher magnifications are nice though for confirming/counting antler points over the 8x or 10x binos as I don't want to lug the big spotting scope around all the time. Never tried it but I feel 6x would be too high for close range/bush as I found even the 5x on 5-25x scopes too much for lower end. That being said we have sagebrush hills and grasslands around here so opportunity of seeing animals at longer distance and not being able to stock up closer is probably higher. Heck even some of the logging cuts are kms long. Trying to count a crab claw 4 point at even a hundred yards can be tough.
 
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littlehughey said:
I found my fixed 6x on a hunting rifle to be too much magnification at close range. I was happy with fixed 4x. My current lineup is 1.5-4x, 1.5-5x, 2-7x, and 3.5-10x, ive been quite pleased with the lower power scopes.
Click to expand...

+1 on this for me as well.
I just put a 4x on my 30-06 single-shot and that may be my close range bush rifle this year.....

I do think some hunting rifles are over scoped these days. I tend to use variable powered scopes such as 1-4x, 1.5-4, 2-7x, 2.5-8x, 3-9x, etc., which all have a nice low power for the tight stuff which works well for me.
 
highest power i use on a hunting rifle is 3x9. mostly use 2x7 vx2 or straight 6 power. have luepold,metopia and sightrons in 6x.. i like the 6x and set my variables to 6x when i hunt anyway. have shot animals at under 50 yrds with 6x scopes no problem. never shoot over 300 yrds mostly around 100 or less.
 
IMHO most hunting rifles are over powered for the job at hand.

Reality is for the average hunting situations a rifle in 308 win(or similar) and 3 to 9 power or a fixed 4 or 6 is more than enough.

That being said, I've got a lot of Magnum chambered hunting rifles with scopes of up to 24 power.

For me the flavour of this season for hunting rifles will be a Christensen Traverse 300PRC with 4.5-18x44 LRTSi and a Kimber Ascent 7-08 with 3.5-10x40 CDS VX3i :)
 
3-9 or 2-8 is about perfect for me. the lower number of moving parts in a fixed would be nice for set it and forget it, but the i do enjoy the aspects of 3 and 9 power for different scenarios.
 
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