Are hunting rifles over scoped?

[Stinky Coyote]

definitely with Chuck, Cat & Sillyak on this

up to 600-ish yards i vote the leupold 6x36 wide duplex with a cds-zl turret installed as perfect, and the most scope you can get per ounce, 9.5 oz is mine

i've set up a couple rifles recently with 200 yards zero and collected drop data to 500-ish yards, one was fixed 4x33 leupold and the other fixed 6x36 leupold, i found myself wanting a little more with the 4x but didn't feel that at all with the 6x

have also done well with coyotes in quick as close as 30 yards at 4x so i'm sure 6x will do fine in these situations just as Cat experienced

my favorite hunting scope is currently the leupold fxII 6x36 wide duplex with leupold center adding the new cds-zl turret, as quite possibly the most bombproof simple set up going, but wouldn't be opposed to putting that same turret on a vx3i 2.5-8x36 for a variable option

more than enough for 600-ish yard work on coyotes/big game, simple, light, and low mounting on the rifles maintaining top handling and feel, and also head alignment in many cases on sporting rifles (getting down on the gun without need for raised cheek pieces etc.)

if you're into dial up and wanna spruce up the ole 6x36 one day, send it in to korth for the new cds-zl turret, that thing is money, it's locked on the zero, when need to dial up, push the button and go, have them engrave it with only the whole/half numbers so (2,2.5,3,3.5,4,4.5,5.5,6) etc. and no other hash marks, so you just range, dial to the number you need and shoot. The turret only has one revolution capability, so the only thing you can mess up is if you dial up and forget at some point to run it back down to the zero..which you can do without even looking as it locks in as soon as you get there. Hunt friendly simplicity.

the only hitch to the above modification is that you can't just have a turret made up from 1/4 moa per click data, and it's not 1/3 moa per click either, it's exactly .3 moa per click or 4 clicks is 1.2 moa instead of 1 moa...probably a little more efficient for hunting dial up anyway

[32-40win]

For me, a 2-7 and a 3-9 have done the job. I always carry at low power. I have used magnification to get a bit better detail on a shot. Depends where you are hunting. I can see sitting in a stand on a cutblock, a power line, a pipeline or a seismic rd or open prairie or a field with a higher powered unit, but I don't want to spot and stalk in the upper reaches of the mountains or long the edges of a prairie coulee with a 3-18x50 or 56 all day, either. I find bigger scopes to be a pain to carry, I noticed that much at the range or in a gopher field with them. Even shooting at ranges I found a 6.5-20 to be more than enough power, often used it at 12x for offhand if mirage was up, but the 20x was nice for spotting tight hits. For gophers, usually ran it at 20x, sometimes turning it down for mirage.

[Coiloil37]

I’m happy with a 2-7 or 2.5-8 variable on a big game rifle and a fixed 4X on a rimfire. It’ll have a lifetime warranty and a gold ring on it, weigh about 11 ounces, offer me an expansive FOV on 2X for up close work or lead on a moving animal and plenty of magnification out to 400 yards. I’ll sight in 3” high at a hundred and I don’t need to adjust any turrets EVER because I don’t shoot before I’m in range. The whole rifle will weigh under 6.5lbs which keeps me happy to carry it.
Is anyone else overscoped? Who knows, who cares. If they need the Hubble telescope to hit a gopher at 30m or a deer at 300 that’s their choice.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by chuck

They are brighter. In my experience they hold zero like grim death, they are lighter, the ring spacing is better, generally they can be mounted lower, reticle subtension doesn’t change, eye relief is constant, eye relief is generally more generous, eye placement more forgiving, and I’m sure more.

Bah. Much of what you say is minutiae.

If that were all true then everyone would be using a fixed 6x. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with your choice, but if I am on a cutline, trail, or small clearing in the bush, I would rather have a scope on 3x than your 6x. If I am in an open field and I need to take a longer poke, I'd rather have a scope on 9x than your 6x. In both scenarios, a 3-9 offers a 50% improvement over your fixed 6x. That is why 3-9 are the biggest sellers.

I have also never had a quality scope lose zero either.

Having said that, I hunted for 15 years with a 4x and never felt I NEEDED anything different. My eyes are not the same anymore though.

BTW, I also owned a newer Leupold 6x and it was a nice scope, bright, and generous eye relief. No issue with it at all, I just don't think it is the panacea like you make it out to be.

[W921]

Originally Posted by obsessed1

I use a 12 g with #4 buck and dead coyote choke for those close in running dogs. When calling in often packing the 12g and 22-250. 12g in lap and 22-250 right beside on bipod. I clip a plastic clamp on the shotgun tube so if I have to set out down quick it acts as a short bipod and Keeps the muzzle clear of the dirt/snow.

I'm talking more like a farmer/ rancher ,/ logger,etc who packs one gun most of the time. Lots of game gets shot when your out doing something else. Best gun is the one you have on you. If its to big or delicate you won't have it handy. Dont you oil and gas guys carry checking leases or whatever you do?

[Brbpuppy]

I like the 1-5x20mm

[W921]

In my above post I meant to say varmit,not game. I have a varmit rifle but its to big,clumbsy,heavy to be of much use to me.
Most rural people that I have known generally pack a gun. Usually if its not a rimfire then its their hunting rifle.
I dont go hunting for varmits under grain bins but I have shot them there in my yard under bins and in other strange places.
Close shots do happen and in the field hunting big game I see bigger scopes as being not as rugged and more awkward to pack around.

[boonedocks]

I’m itching to mount my new 1-4x20 on my 30.06 as my designated push pushing rig? My hunting partners don’t get it!

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by W921

In my above post I meant to say varmit,not game. I have a varmit rifle but its to big,clumbsy,heavy to be of much use to me.
Most rural people that I have known generally pack a gun. Usually if its not a rimfire then its their hunting rifle.
I dont go hunting for varmits under grain bins but I have shot them there in my yard under bins and in other strange places.
Close shots do happen and in the field hunting big game I see bigger scopes as being not as rugged and more awkward to pack around.

My walking Varminters is a lightweight 54 Anschutz in .222 with a 3-9X
My truck/ tractor gun used to be a 340 Savage with irons or a .22 but I never considered that hunting at all because I wasn't, I was shooting stuff when the oppurtunity presented itself .
Cat

[obsessed1]

Originally Posted by W921

I'm talking more like a farmer/ rancher ,/ logger,etc who packs one gun most of the time. Lots of game gets shot when your out doing something else. Best gun is the one you have on you. If its to big or delicate you won't have it handy. Dont you oil and gas guys carry checking leases or whatever you do?

I pack a cut down mk4 no1 every day in my truck / on the quad. It is either wearing a 1.5-5 scope or its irons. I live/ work rural, never been employed in the oilfeild a day in my life. I hunt lots, anything/ everything that's legal and when hunting I pack the best tool for the job.

Anyways it seems you and I have similar tastes- preferences for glass so whatever. For the majority of shooting / hunting any thing from 1x-10x is about all that's needed

[W921]

These hunting experts on TV I think are using sponsors equipment for advertisement dollars. Company's are always coming out with something new to sell you the latest and greatest.
I dont really watch these shows hardly but I think there was a trend n big honking scope tubes and super big com!plicated scopes with lots of features.
I still have some gun racks in some of my trucks. Kim Campbell wrecked that with safe storage laws. I can't leave them in there unless out of sight. Have to keep my house locked to now whenever I leave. Crook will just kick in the door anyway. Thats happened to a couple of different people I know. Both didn't lock up but the crooks didn't check to see if it was unlocked so they broke the doors anyway. So police will come and I would be the only one to get charged if they came into my unlocked house and stole my gun.

[W921]

Originally Posted by obsessed1

I pack a cut down mk4 no1 every day in my truck / on the quad. It is either wearing a 1.5-5 scope or its irons. I live/ work rural, never been employed in the oilfeild a day in my life. I hunt lots, anything/ everything that's legal and when hunting I pack the best tool for the job.

Anyways it seems you and I have similar tastes- preferences for glass so whatever. For the majority of shooting / hunting any thing from 1x-10x is about all that's needed

You have good tastes! Very classy guy.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by chuck

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?

Thats a hard yes IMO Chuck. The best is when you see something like a 4-12x50 mounted on a BLR or a model 7, blows my mind.

[marky_mark]

With the magnification ranges in today’s optics you can get a really wide range of performance. Pretty easy to have a 3-18x which is good for almost any situation.
The light fixed leupolds have their niche, but I’ve been there and won’t be going back. Less moving parts, less things to fail helps with reliability and repeatability.
To me it’s all personal preference. But there is a lot of different options these days.

I’ve never had a situation in the field where I thought 3x was too much. I have been in situations where 9x or 12x wasn’t enough

[Kurt505]

What exactly happens when someone is over scoped?

[6.5 shooter]

Having played the bigger is better game....now ALL my scopes on my hunting rifles wear 6X Leupolds or equivilant.

I have tons of high powered scopes on my gopher rigs and my target rigs... but for general hunting 6X and if I could, most would have 4X or lower....Quality glass is much more important the magnification.

[260 Rem]

I doubt there is a single best optic for all hunting situations and boils down to personal preference. I am convinced a good quality 1X red dot is hard to beat for short range (under 100M) bush applicators. For longer range applications my preference is a Leupold VX ll 4-12 X40. The red dot makes acquisition quick and easy to follow a moving animal. The VX 11 is relatively compact, light and bright.
Perhaps as interesting as “over scoping” is the choice of “over powered” cartridges

[AndrewM]

I like high magnification to look at the animals when I don’t have my spotting scope or binoculars handy.

[W921]

I think where you hunt might play into this. If you have access to private land that doesn't see much pressure? Maybe you see stuff in the open?
This isn't directed at anyone but they do sell a lot of big scopes.

[stob]

Used a 2.5 x 55 leupy for decades on a 6.5 x 55 zeroed 3" high @100 and knew where the top of the duplex post hit as well and it did everything i needed without ever having to show daylight on the cross hair ... now I use leupy 4.5 x 14's on everything as i went down the accuracy rabbit hole ... a side note is that i have rediscovered the magic of a good peep and have been able with target modification to get 5 shot groups from an l579 in 308win down to about 1.0 ish moa ... as one AO member stated the red dot set a say 3" high at 100 would serve most very well which means i will try it on my 9.3 x 62

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by W921

I think where you hunt might play into this. If you have access to private land that doesn't see much pressure? Maybe you see stuff in the open?
This isn't directed at anyone but they do sell a lot of big scopes.

I’m not sure what is relevant here.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by chuck

I’m not sure what is relevant here.

I think he is trying to insinuate that the only place that a person gets longer shot opportunities, is on private land. Of course that is total nonsense

[Stinky Coyote]

Originally Posted by 260 Rem

I doubt there is a single best optic for all hunting situations and boils down to personal preference. I am convinced a good quality 1X red dot is hard to beat for short range (under 100M) bush applicators. For longer range applications my preference is a Leupold VX ll 4-12 X40. The red dot makes acquisition quick and easy to follow a moving animal. The VX 11 is relatively compact, light and bright.
Perhaps as interesting as “over scoping” is the choice of “over powered” cartridges

lol, you tryin to start something here, what if markymark sees this?

i think the direction of this thread for a single 'do all' rifle that does 99% big game hunting inside 600 yards using 'kiss' principle and offers most versatility...and i agree with many here, a leupy 6x36 is tough to beat

on the range it's sometimes it's nice to dial up to 10x or more when out past 500, and for those with upper limits in hunting in extreme long range 600+ well yes they will likely want scope up to 10x minimum but most get well into the teens

[markg]

I think it depends on what kind of hunting your doing. If you in northern AB in the bush much of what you guys are saying is spot on. Same goes for much of the hunting done in the mountains.

However, not everyone does that kind of hunting. Southern AB has some very wide open country where Big Mulies and Whitetail live. The WT are particularly crafty critters and long shots can be the norm. In this case I would say people with High Magnification scopes have an advantage.

So in summary I think it depends.

[W921]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I think he is trying to insinuate that the only place that a person gets longer shot opportunities, is on private land. Of course that is total nonsense

I wasn't trying to insinuate anything. I was asking a question because I was thinking about how others might see things or go about things differently. I'm not trying to win an argument. I just like talking to people.
You notice those cartoon characters like this that most use
Notice there isn't just a normal one there with a friendly smile that I can use.
Anyway back on scope topic. One important thing for me that nobody has mentioned yet is with a small scope say 1 to 4 or 5 x without a bell in front. When you carry these rifles the balance point is usually close enough that you can wrap your whole hand around the rifle. Just ahead of the scope where the bell would be you can put your thumb and fully grasdp the rifle when carrying it. I think this makes it more handy.

[260 Rem]

The physical differences between the FX ll 4-12X40AO and a F 6X36 amount to the latter being less than 2 oz lighter / 0.6” shorter / and a couple of mm smaller diameter.

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by Stinky Coyote

lol, you tryin to start something here, what if markymark sees this?

i think the direction of this thread for a single 'do all' rifle that does 99% big game hunting inside 600 yards using 'kiss' principle and offers most versatility...and i agree with many here, a leupy 6x36 is tough to beat

on the range it's sometimes it's nice to dial up to 10x or more when out past 500, and for those with upper limits in hunting in extreme long range 600+ well yes they will likely want scope up to 10x minimum but most get well into the teens

With a 6x36mm scope, your probably packing up and going home when the big bucks are just starting to leave the timber.
Hunting the forest fringe you know that there is a very high chance that the big buck your looking for might come out somewhere different than where you expect. It could be 400 yards away instead of 150 yards. It’s usually going to be in the last 5 min of legal light and you have to be able to identify if it’s the deer your looking for, a young up and comer, or one you’ve never seen before.

You would sure save weight on the pack in with a 6x36mm scope
You’d also save a lot of weight on the pack out because you’d be going home empty handed

To each their own. I had a red dot ZEISS 2.5-10 victory scope on my xcr. Was great for running shots. It was just like playing buck hunter. Just didn’t like having to shoot a deer multiple times with those small cartridges. I learned that they are pretty unethical and sold that rifle
🤷*♂️

[W921]

Just refresh my memory
So with a bigger objective bell on the scope you gain shooting light.
Higher magnification dont you loose shooting light unless your bell or objective lense is big enough?
Do you gain light with a bigger scope main tube?

[260 Rem]

I assume the factory set parallax on a F 6-36mm is 150 yds ...which would translate into a fair bit of potential for error at even 300?

[sns2]

Originally Posted by 260 Rem

The physical differences between the FX ll 4-12X40AO and a F 6X36 amount to the latter being less than 2 oz lighter / 0.6” shorter / and a couple of mm smaller diameter.

As I said earlier...minutiae.

Chuck is not a shrinking violet, and can take people disagreeing with him without his feelers getting hurt. From what I have seen of his hunting pics, the territory he and his son hunt seems to be pretty wide open. If so, I think that other than simplicity, his choice of scopes is not a good one at all.