Pit Falls In Selecting a Rifle Scope

June 13, 2010 - PRLog -- Hunters have more and more been leaning in the direction of rifle scopes with higher levels of magnification recently. It’s not unusual to see magnification rates of 6x to 24x, or even higher. The bigger is better concept is broadly accepted in areas like vehicle horsepower, it is often a mistake for hunters to apply such a plan in their hunting.

In the past, the rule of thumb for rifle scope magnification, for deer hunting, at least was 3x to 9x. Using 3 x powers, a hunter is able to precisely take close shots at less than 50 yards, a frequent distance in deer hunting. Now a day, though, it is becoming more widespread for hunters to be using 6x-18x magnification, sometimes higher – and the higher the level of rifle scope magnification, the narrower the field of view. With 6x as the lowest magnification rate, it’s almost not possible to lock onto a moving target at 30 yards.

A deer is going to appear six times larger than it would to the naked eye at 6x power. At distances of about 30 yards, a hunter is going to be peering through his rifle scope at a brown patch of fur, making it almost impossible to zero in on an aiming point. Not only do hunters in this state of affairs find that they are zoomed in too close to the animal, but obstructions are exaggerated at the same rate as well. Trees and brush are common obstructions in deer hunting situations, so a person hunting a deer that is already over-magnified now has to deal with a three-inch twig that just became a deer’s 18-inch defensive weapon.

While it is clear that in wooded situations, with shorter distances, a high powered scope is not at all times ideal, that doesn’t mean these scopes don’t have a place. High powered rifle scopes are perfect for an open shooting environment that are mostly free of obstructions, where targets are at 250 yards or greater. Scope power ranges of 3x to 9x work very well in these circumstances. Hunters and shooters can step it up to 18x to 24x scopes when the shooting distance increases to 400 yards or more. A lot of what goes into choosing the best scope is personal choice, but shooting surroundings is equally important, if not more so.

Today there are more rifle scope models to pick from than ever before, and scope manufacturers are developing an increasing number of high magnification scopes. The Zeiss Conquest rifle scope line-up, for example, boasts 64 scopes, and more than half of them have 3.5x magnification as their lowest level. Even the reasonably priced Burris and Bushnell rifle scopes are now available in 20x magnification and higher. Leupold rifle scopes are very popular, and they offer a scope with a range of 8.5x to 25x.

The wide assortment of scopes available on the market today is breathtaking, but hunters need to decide wisely, based on shooting conditions and environment. Remember, “Bigger is better” doesn’t always translate to “better”. We all remember how the “more power” motto often worked out for Tim Taylor on the hit 90s sitcom Home Improvement, right?

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