scope power?

For 300 yard max any thig 10x with good glass will be good . I recommend buying the best you can afford as soon you will wanting to push out further and further , a good 15x will get you out to 1000
 
If you have a spotting scope then most any rifle scope will do. But, if you don't have a spotting scope and want to actually see what your groups are like, then you need a scope that has enough magnification to see holes (it's easier on white paper). With too low a magnification you will be shooting blind and that does not lend itself to improving your abilities.

Go to the range and look through some other people's scopes to get an idea of how much magnification it takes. I suspect you'll find it's more than you think.
 
I have a Swarovski Z6 2.5x15x44 for my 22-250 and if I was shooting 300 yrd target with any regularity I would want more magnification. Like the Z6 5x30x50. I'm very happy with the product.
 
A 6 to 18, or a 6 to 24 power varible would do the trick for up to 300 yards. That would cover target shooting and hunting. Bushnell Elete and Leupold. The duplex crosshairs are better than straight lines, and the target dots are fun, too. You will have heat waves in the higher power settings on sunny days, but I just turn the varible power down until the picture focuses clear.
 
As you can see from above, a lot of experienced users recommend what in my view is a lower powered variable or 10x fixed. For my part, I prefer to go with a minimum of a 6-24 or preferably an 8-32. In escalating price I would recommend Bushnell Elite 4200; Sightron Siii, NF NXS and S+B Pmii. Again, in my view you almost cannot have too much magnification and you can turn it down - whereas if you max out at, say, 12 wishing all you like will never make it 14.
 
Buy a 8-32X40-50-56 and never look back...No need for a spotting scope.
Shooting for groups on paper not hunting.The higher magnification is better.
 
johndeeretimex said:
Range shooting! Looking to get into long range shooting
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Then more is better. No need for variable magnification but nothing really wrong with it either. You'll be happy with at least 25X, and if you want to go higher (e.g. a Nightforce at 42X) there's nothing wrong with that at all.

You don't need more magnification for longer distance. You need/want high magnification for all distances. Yes there are some disadvantages to higher magnification that have to be balanced against, but those don't depend on distance.

The only things to keep in mind about higher magnification:
- smaller field of view at the target end
- smaller exit pupil - the position of your head/eye becomes quite critical
- dimmer image

For target shooting in daylight from a steady position, these don't tend to be much of a problem.

For what it's worth you can shoot very very accurately at 300 yards or 1000 yards with a 10X or 15X scope - but it seems/feels quite difficult to do so. It is usually "feels easier" to shoot well with higher magnification.
 
johndeeretimex said:
are you saying the 10 or 15 should be your lower power?
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The lower power doesn't really matter much (to the point that using a fixed-power scope is also fine).

I have shot F-Class with a fixed 15X Weaver, a 6.5-20X Leupold and an 8..5-25X Leupold.

- the 15X Weaver worked great and I shot some really good scores with it, but it felt *small*.

- on my two variable Leupolds, I would almost always shoot the entire match with the scope set to the maximum available power and I would still be wishing for more.

Sometimes when setting up a rifle before the beginning of a match, setting the scope to its minimum power can speed things up by a few seconds (because at min power you get a larger field of view, so you can more quickly get rough-aligned onto your own target).

On occasion I'd shoot a sniper match, and oftentimes it's safer to shoot with your scope set to 12X rather than 20X because the bigger field of view is more important than having a bigger looking target. That said, I have been beaten in more than a few sniper matches by somebody shooting a "wrong" scope like a 36X benchrest scope (he won the match because he was overall a better shooter, not because of his scope).

I haven't shot one but I have looked at one in the gunstore and the $1000-ish wide-range-variables (eg 6-30X I think?) Bushnells look pretty decent, I'd certainly give one a try. Or one of the $800-$1500 Leupold target or military scopes, fixed or variable power. If you have money to spare you could buy a Nightforce, you don't *need* to go to that level of scope but then again you would not be needlessly tossing money around either.

If you have hardcore tactical sympathies you could shoot with a fixed 10X scope and you will be able to achieve at least 95% and more likely 99% of the score you'd be able to get with an all-out target-shooting-only-scope.

If you want the ability to shoot at 800 yards or beyond at some time in the future, then one thing you should look at is the amount of elevation adjustment available in the scope. A great many otherwise excellent target scopes partially or fully cripple themselves by offering only a modest amount of elevation adjustment range. If you only need to go up to 600 yards then any scope will do you just fine, in this department.
 
johndeeretimex said:
Looking at getting a new scope but I don't know what power I should go by? I know I will be shooting a 308 at 300 yards max. Any suggestions at to what power/make/ model? And money at this time in not a problem
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For punching paper at 300 yards my own minimum preference is 3x16-40. With this scope, I can in reasonable conditions, make out my 308 hits and get an idea of group size. If you were on a budget then a 4200 3x16-40 is good value for money. This is the scope I have used probably more than any of my others. The 4-16 power is a good trade off with magnification while not being overly bulky. Lots of uses not just targets.

However, more is better when looking at your groups at 300 yards. I would much prefer to shoot my 8-32 power scopes as I can then see my groups in almost all conditions and I can have more confidence that I have the cross hairs on the same spot on the target every shot.

And your not on a budget so I would say the best scope that I have looked through was the Sightron 10-50x60. This is a great value scope for target shooting.
 
Some sniper matches involve moving targets and snap shooting. A fixed higher power scope is a real disadvantage for these events.
Lower power of, say, 8X, with what ever higher power comes with the quality scope you choose would be fine for most any target shooting.
You do want a quality scope, for clarity, resolution, repeatability of adjustments, and lack of shift when changing power.
 
10 power works well out to 1000 yards. The problem with 20 power or more is it greatly amplifies target distortion due to mirage. Also, you will see your heartbeat in your sight picture. I have shot up to 1300 yards with a 10 power with no problems. I never had a problem seeing the orange shot indicators either with a 10 power at a competition. I personally would not go beyond 16 power.
 
How big is your aiming point?

If you are trying to hit a 1/2 moa spot then a higher mag scope is going to let you see the entire aiming point. If you have a smaller mag scope you will obliterate your aim point with the reticle.

I went from using a 5.5-22 to a 12-42 and trying to use the 5.5-22 now leaves me feeling like I am at a disadvantage.

If your goal is to work up to long range then I would highly recommend NOT getting anything under 24 or 25 max power.
 
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