Rifle Scopes Magnification for long distance shooting.

[ms6852]

My brother is giving me a 300 winchester mag Sendero and was thinking about spending money on a high end scope such as a Night Force for the first time. I've taken my 30-06 hunting rifle to 1200 yds with just a regular $500 Sightron and noticed that I could not use 16x which is max for the scope because of atmospheric conditions in West Texas which is very hot in the summer but 16x is okay during cooler months.

Anyway, I want to shoot the Sendero at 1500 yds or longer as my brothers have acquired more land and was wondering, what is the maximum magnification and distance you could use reliably on very hot days when shooting distances of over 1000 yards. When I hunt my settings are usually between 2X and 6X. The rest is just to determine antlers etc. Would the 3.5-15X50 be enough to get me 1500 yds?

 

[Niles Coyote]

I have not gone past 1k, that said my scopes have 10x, 15x, 16x, 20x and 21x top ends. I find myself saying on the top power setting the majority of the time even on high mirage days... and I have more 15x top ends than any other. That said if you are going to 1500+ I would want more than 15x, as I dont mind using 10x at 1k but prefer more and that would be about the same with a 15x at 1500 yards I would think.

 

[devldogs55]

I'm just getting into medium to long(ish) range shooting... but personally I found 16x to be less than optimal for 600-800 yd shots on my 8" steel plates. I guess it would depend on your target - but I got rid of my 16x scope and today got one with 24x top end.

 

[atomicgray]

That is almost 1400m! If you can hit out to there with a basic hunting rifle, it is you that should be telling us ?


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[ms6852]

Well I grew up shooting, pop took me with him since I was six, learned to shoot with a BB gun killed my first deer with a 30-06 he had borrowed when I was eight. I shot it the first time when trying to zero and was knocked on my butt from recoil, but he convince that if I wanted to hunt that year this is all I had to shoot with. We could not afford a rifle and this was a loner.

I do not own high end scopes but now that I am older and retired my sight in not that great so I figured the better optics will be suitable but I know that in 95 degree temps mirage is hell as is the haze. Do not want to make a mistake so I was hoping that some of you longrange shooters might help by letting me know whether 15X is good or should I go with 22X. I have a Nikon Monarch with BDC reticle mounted on my RRA and shoot it regulary at 500 to 800 yds, never going above 8X. But at double and triple the distance that is a whole new ball of wax.

 

[ms6852]

That is almost 1400m! If you can hit out to there with a basic hunting rifle, it is you that should be telling us


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If you're ever around west Texas, especially Alpine Tx. Let me know in advance and we can do some shooting.

 

[alleycat72]

For years i ran a 14 power and it worked fine. I shoot mainly 24/25 power on LRP rifles now. I run a 55 power on my 1000 F-class gun. I very rarely go under 40. My 10 year old daughter runs a 42 power and doesn't go below 35.

 

[Bill Larson]

most who compete at "F" class shooting (600-1200 yds.)...use 12-42 NF.

 

[DroidSniper]

MY NSX was a 22 power top end. I had to chuckle when people complained about it being SFP since I just used it at 22 (ranging power) all the time even at 100 yards. I just bought an ATACR and it will likely stay at 25 power (It's maximum). Nightforce Scopes have excellent Field of View even at high magnifications. I am not very familiar with other brands of scopes as nightforce is the most expensive I could afford so your mileage may vary.


I also had a .300 win for a long time great round in fact if you were to step up do a .300 rum I would say dont waste the time and go .338 edge. Being a belted magnum after a few reloads you may run into expansion just above the belt that will make cambering difficult. This is easily resolved with a belted magnum collet die. Innovative Technologies - Reloading Equipment

 

[GLB]

I used a 3.5x15 NF to make hits out to 1400 yards and felt that was adequate.

 

[david8989]

Currently I run a 5-20x50 Vortex razor and I find myself wanting just a little more at 1K. But I also shoot semi regularly at 1400 yards and for shooting any kind of MOA target, 20x isn't enough for me. I'm about to switch to the new razor 4.5-27x56 which I believe will help me a lot with those smaller targets at distance. Something that also needs to be considered is the quality of the glass itself and not just the magnification. Especially if fading eyesight is one of the reasons for the scope purchase. Nightforce, Vortex, Bushnell, Steiner all have good offering in the $1500-$2500 price range

 

[MontanaMarine]

I'll be the contrarian.

After using 16X (MK4 Leupold) for over ten years, I've migrated down to 12X (SWFA).

I prefer the wider FOV, and non-critical eye-relief.

12X with the Milquad reticle is easily able to see and bisect a 1/2 moa target at any distance. I've used it out to a mile with 100% satisfaction.


That's just my preference. I've used another shooter's Nightforce ATACR, and dialed it down to about 11-12X because I just liked it better. Shooting at 2000 yards.

 

[coach4christ]

You can get good deals on the NF NXS 5.5-22 now, or you can jump up to the ATACR with a 25 power on the top end. I have both and they are both great.

 

[samnev]

For long ranger shooting I have the Nightforce NXS 8-32X56 scope on my TRG 22 and AIAW.

 

[LongArm]

Bushnell Elite Tactical HDMR 3.5-21 is my choice. I've shot it out to 1100+ (using holdover) and could see much further. It'll take a beating and can be found for around $1100 new.

 

[Beiruty]

This the wrong question, it is better to ask what is the Apparent MOA of my target. First, state your target size in inches, then state your distance to target, compute Size of Target in MOA. Usually, I like to shoot at 2-3 MOA targets, unless I am zeroing at 100 yrds where Target size is 1MOA. Now, as per Magnification, at max magnification, can you resolve 1MOA or smaller?

 

[ms6852]

I agree with montanamarine and glb. I think the 3.5x-15x is all I need. Target is a 36" X 36" and 18" X 24", I believe this will replace my 4-16X42 Sightron and I will use my Sightron for 300 yds on my 22 lr.

Appreciate the Info guys.

 

[skeeterIII]

I sold my Barrett 99A1 50cal with a SWFA 10X42HD scope on it and found to my surprise I could hit objects just fine at 1500 yards. I would not want to go much past that point but with the 15 power available I would think you could go past that.

 

[ahhshoot]

I've gone to 1200 with my NFF1 and never felt like my scope was limiting me. I don't think I would feel bad shooting it further if I had a range that went that distance. The good thing about my scope and many others like it is you can dial down to 3.5x for the woods which if you hunt on the east coast you'd know 5x is too much for most applications. I'd try and find a NF like mine it sounds like your application would be similar. Mines in a bobro mount and I swich it between my 338 lapua and 7mm depending on what I'm doing, it is ideal for both situations. I live in Florida and we have so much heat and humidity that 25x even through the best scopes is annoying when mirage is taken into account. I don't like the target to be moving around in my reticle for no good reason. Sure you might have a bit of scope envy on the perfect 60 degree day in the morning or at dusk but these conditions are the exception and not the rule in our environment and you won't want to be searching for a big buck at 40 yards with 5x trust me.

 

[BERTMAN77MK2]

Resolution always outweighs magnification for me. That's why the great variable scopes cost so much.

 

[Tristian19]

Resolution always outweighs magnification for me. That's why the great variable scopes cost so much.

+1

 

[Gunner's Mate]

You stated that you hunt and look at antlers get a 6 x 18 shepherd, I have stretced my shephard out to 1100 yards on a 6.5 grendel ar 15 platform Glass is clear only complaint is there is no side adjust parallax. For hunting a shepherd is hard to beat.