magnification

[T78 4]

after reading the topic about 4 x 20 scopes and seeing how people looked down on the idea(myself included! ) i got to wondering,for the majority of us are our scopes wasted on us? i.e. i use a 4-16 x 56 but its ALWAYS on 6x mag.and even though most of my shooting is lamping,i'm sure i don't really need all 56 of those mm's!! .my scope is £220 new and sat on £50 reach forward mounts(as its so long!)i know its nice to have quality but im sure a 6 x 40 for a quarter of that price would be fine! who else has similar kit that they don't use to its full?(my scope also has px and illuminated ret',which i very rarely use! )

[Sgt.McMuffin 0]

not the biggest but i use my 3-9 x 40, and usually i'm on 4-6, i only got to the max for open fields and that.

[hiho 5]

my scope is set to 4 all the time because i no what range to use the milldots when its set to that and its good for lamping

[Timelord 0]

Well I've have many scopes over the years and magnification is no good if the image is blurry. I went lamping a while back using a standard 4x32 scope and it was very good to use. I now have a a JSR 3-9x Illuminated PX pro scope and because of the larger bell (50mm) I found a little more clearer at night with the lamp.

Tranference of light to the eye is all about the quality of the optics and how well the light going down the tube hits the eyeball. You must take into account the the eyes dilate in darker conditions (night time) so that more light can reach the retina. So maximising the amount of light travelling to your eyeball is key when it comes to scopes. The better quality you can afford the better you'll see your prey with the lamp at night.

I used to have a Simmons Whitetail classic 3.5-10 x 50 Nite View scope and this performed excellent under low light and lamping conditions, the only thing I did not like was the reticle a (30/30) as I prefer a milldot etc but it's all down to personal choice and how much your pocket can afford when choosing a good scope. I think for hunting a lower magnifications are better to keep the field of view as wide as possible. Higher magnifications are more useful for field target/plinking etc.....

[curly 3]

i use a 3x12-44 mtc mamba great scope for long range day time use, my favorite lamping scope is the simmons

WTC 1.5x5-20 fitted to theoben sirroco he. great for ratting to.

[Deker 3,491]

after reading the topic about 4 x 20 scopes and seeing how people looked down on the idea(myself included! ) i got to wondering,for the majority of us are our scopes wasted on us? i.e. i use a 4-16 x 56 but its ALWAYS on 6x mag.and even though most of my shooting is lamping,i'm sure i don't really need all 56 of those mm's!! .my scope is £220 new and sat on £50 reach forward mounts(as its so long!)i know its nice to have quality but im sure a 6 x 40 for a quarter of that price would be fine! who else has similar kit that they don't use to its full?(my scope also has px and illuminated ret',which i very rarely use! )

 

 

I too tend to use 6x for the majority of my shooting....on the air rifle, FAC air rifle, rimfires, and centerfires, commonly up to 200yards!!!

 

Being realistic I do use the higher magnification for checking detail but will then wind it back for the actual shot.

 

You will "tend" to find the less expensive scopes have larger objective lenses to, in some way, help compensate for the lower quality optics, this is not a criticism, it is a simple fact, my most expensive scope has a list price of £330 and the rest are £220 or below!!! This trade off can produce very acceptable scopes. Many mid to expensive priced scopes do not have enormous objective lenses as the optics quality is far superior and there is no need...but you pay for it!!

 

Scope magnification is down to the individual but it seems to me MANY use a magnification around 6x for many uses. Some target shooters will commonly use what I consider obscenely high magnifications...each to their own!!