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Rifle Scopes What magnification at what range

Sincerd

Drone
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 29, 2019
923
267
Freestate
I've shot ARs out to 600. Few buddys bolt guns alittle further. As the title says. What magnification for what range?

Bouncing between the atacr and a vortex

If I go atacr itll prob be x35

If I got vortex x27

At what point do you NEED that extra mag.

At what point is the extra mag helpful but not necessarily needed

At what point does it not matter?

Will probably be ringing steel or shooting paper over 1000
 
As long as you have good glass like the two you mentioned you will be fine with either power range as both give plenty to do what you need to do. The farthest I have shot is 2500 yards on an MOA sized target and used an old NXS 5.5-22x on 17x to do it. I have a bunch of 4.5-27x Razors and really only go to 27x when load testing at 100 yards mostly. The higher power is a nice to have when needed feature for me. So bottom line is either of those will work. Pick the scope with the features and reticle you like best.
 
FWIW, I shoot my AR-15 at 600 yards with 12x scope.

And, I shoot my RPR 6.5CM at all distances out to 1,000 yards with the scope set at 18X (though it goes to 24X). It's a SFP scope, and the reticle is calibrated for 18X.
 
I have used 50x on my delta and have used 24x either way clear as the air allowed that day at 1/2 the cost of the atacr at 100 - 600 still wanting to try it on a longer range .
 
When you have a good/clear sight picture and a good reticle, then magnification becomes a personal preference only, imho.
 
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A guy on YouTube has the gen 2 Razor 4.5-27 and keeps it on 15x to shoot a mile. I like the extra magnification myself and usually keep my Nx8 maxed out on 20x for target at that range and further. Same for my XRS ii it’s usually at least in the 20x range up to 30. Just depends on what I’m doing really.
 
I have always went off the 1x per 100yd you plan to shoot to unless it's a tiny target at distance like a prarie dog, or match stick. My custom 06 has a 16x and my competition 22lr has a 16x. Those are my highest magnification scopes. The rest are all up to 4x, 6x, or 10x.
 
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Here’s one of my targets I shoot often.
16” gong at 1791 yards.
There for me the 29x is nice.
I’ve hit it with a 16x henny and 25x Atacr many times as well but the extra power is nice at times.
D0D64F27-51D0-4CE3-9E94-C82A053A60C1.jpeg

9AF70B0E-7FAD-4507-ACFC-A1A87B96A922.jpeg
 
While my scopes are all 6-24, 5-25, the vast majority of my shooting is done at 10-12x. This includes really long mile + shots.

Magnification isn't as critical as you may think for distance shooting. If I'm shooting paper targets at the range, after shooting a group I may zoom in to full power to get a good look at the groups, but rarely if ever do I shoot near full power.
 
While my scopes are all 6-24, 5-25, the vast majority of my shooting is done at 10-12x. This includes really long mile + shots.

Magnification isn't as critical as you may think for distance shooting. If I'm shooting paper targets at the range, after shooting a group I may zoom in to full power to get a good look at the groups, but rarely if ever do I shoot near full power.
Your eyes are a lot better than mine!
 
Longest shot I've made is 1200 yards (308 Win) on a 12x12 plate and 15X was just enough. 16 to 18X would been optimal. More than that, probably too narrow a FOV and probably mirage might start being a problem.
 
I'm usually at Max power shooting mostly 4x10 inch targets at 1200 and further. If I had more mag I'd use it. Hunting I'm pretty much always at lowest setting
 
I regularly shoot to 1400 yards and very seldom go above 15-18x on my razor 4.5-27 and can spot my own hits. Above 20x mirage can be a problem and image quality just seems to be better in that range.
 
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I find anything over 12x can get really shaky. 15x would probably be pushing it for most applications. On a bench, the sky's the limit.