Scope magnification to 500 yards

[jerrya]

I have been reloading for a year now for my hunting rifles so have shot it a lot more at the range than I used to and enjoying the time spent there. I would like to shoot out to 400- 500 yards at the range but with with my 3x10 Swaro scope and my old eyes I just can't see well enough to focus on a small target. I am thinking of buying another scope for just this purpose. What magnification would I need ?

thanks

 

[Ganderite]

10X should work. How small an aiming mark are you using? If there is real bad mirage running, I use 10X.

For competition I use 15X to 24X.

 

[hometownhero]

I like at least 14x

 

[rick357]

I like seeing where my bullets hit at 300-400m, so, 32-50X. 400m is the absolute limit for that though and the air has to be stable with no mirage. Still looking for a decent target cam that doesn't cost a zillion dollars.

 

[Rifter]

Clarity of glass matters. Ive shot my Vnnguard S2 @ 500 before at 10X and can see small targets ok, its a Nikon monarch 3 2.5-10x50. A friend has a old husqvarna 1600 with a cheaper nikon prostaff 3-9x40 on it and it is much harder to acquire a small target at 500 yards using this scope. Dont get me wrong the prostaff is fine for what it is, and at shorter distances is fine and this rife will likely never be used past 300 for hunting anyways. Under 200-300 yards any cheap $100 china scope will likely be ok But when going 500+ i find quality of glass comes into play and more so the farther you want to go.

 

[Dogleg]

Sometimes you just need a bigger target so you can see it.

 

[jjohnwm]

Bingo^!!!

If you want to see bullet holes then you will indeed have to mount a spotting scope on your rifle as so many seem to do.

If you want to shoot good groups, then a larger target will let you do that with your current scope. How on earth do you think long-range iron-sight shooters manage? They use big targets...you know, stuff like bison!