How much magnification?

38ExtraSpecial

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General shooting from a bipod. Not some bench rest rig.
Bolt gun in .308
Ranges up to 500

Reading the Vortex website they’re saying lower power than I expected them to.

What say you and why?
 
General shooting from a bipod. Not some bench rest rig.
Bolt gun in .308
Ranges up to 500

Reading the Vortex website they’re saying lower power than I expected them to.

What say you and why?
dunno, i don't even think about magnification when talking about the scope. it is a reticle that matters, and features. zero stop, illumination, eye box, contrast etc.
what do your eyes see at 300yds and 500yds? the 25x scope will let you see bullet holes in the splash target at 300. it helps.

on both AR10s in 308 and 6.5CM i run a 3-18x scope - athena and apollo primary arms. they are OK for a purpose, both in MRAD and have convenient reticles. i cannot see bullet holes well with 18x at 300.

vortexes 5-25x - viper pst2 and venom (a $500 glass, no illumination) are both on same MOA reticle, both are very clear and you see bullet holes fine at 300.

for a long range gun i like 5-25x and it is pretty much standard for such application. when you expect a inch wide group at 300 - it matters to be able to see it.
if you want to hit a 16" steel plate at 300 - a 10x or even 6x scope would suffice.
 
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I like clarity more than magnification. Too much magnification makes it more difficult to find target and makes “wobble” seem more.

it depends on what you want to do at 500, shoot man size steel targets or shoot small groups. For up to 500, I would do a 4-12X variable. 4x I can still find a deer at 50 yards, but at 12X I can be confident to hit 10” steel at 500.

To be honest you don’t need the 12x to go 500 yards. I once shot prone at 600 yards with 4.5X, Then dialed up to 12X and shot some more. I did a little better at 12X but it could beI had better handle on wind
 
I've got a Vortex Crossfire II, 6-24x. Really only dial it up to max when I don't feel like bringing along a spotting scope. 10-12x is plenty. Especially if you're just doing "general shooting." In the service, we went out to 500y with iron sights.
Like the others said, depends on what you want to see. If you just want to be on target, you don't need much. Or any. If you want tiny little groups and want to see where each one went, go higher.
 
Reading the Vortex website
btw, if you shop for a vortex - do not forget about this:
and, i would say, specifically this one:

a best deal on a pst2 glass. only negative - reticle does not have a central dot, just crossed lines.
 
After recently purchasing Sig optics, I'm with them all the way.
The clarity is bonkers.
In comparison to the Bushnell optics I have.

I'll be selling them in the coming months
 
After recently purchasing Sig optics, I'm with them all the way.
The clarity is bonkers.
In comparison to the Bushnell optics I have.

I'll be selling them in the coming months
Hmm. There comes leupold and Swarovski.
:)
It is simple to buy a top tier glass in a premium segment. To find a good/decent budget one is more difficult.

Pst2 glass is better that sig clarity wise and warranty wise.
 
I do have a Leupold MK4 3.5-10 illuminated with mil dot reticle and 1/4 MOA turrets.

Not sure if want to upgrade or not.
A tall order to upgrade from that.
Pst2 will have inferior turrets and slightly less contrast.
More magnification with less clarity is not really an upgrade.
Latest razors 4.5-27x will be on par.
If you want light scopes - try svarovsky z5(I), razors are bricks.
 
A tall order to upgrade from that.
Pst2 will have inferior turrets and slightly less contrast. Latest razors 4.5-27x will be on par.
If you want light scopes - try svarovsky z5(I), razors are bricks.
That’s my worry. I like the idea of an upgrade on magnification but I wonder if it’s won’t cost me a whole lot to up the magnification and keep the quality all around.
 
Magnification range and clarity are subjective and honesty Im more interested in an optic that is dead reliable and repeatable. Glass quality is nice but you don't need Tangent glass to hit targets out to a mile. What you do need is a scope that can reliably track and return to zero. I run a 7-35 for PRS stuff out to 1K and it lives between 14-16x for match use. I do sometimes find myself cranking it up to around 20 or so when shooting groups.

I think the 4-12 or 3-15 range is a great range for a do all optic personally.

As for the Mark 4, unfortunately that optic was plagued with reliability issues so I would be sure to do some tracking tests on it. It might have good glass but id take a Razor any day of the week over a Mark 4.
 
I would definitely run it for now and see what you think about the magnification, if your left wanting more than you will know before just dropping money right now just assuming. Your budget will also really dictate which direction to go with an optic but there are some really good ones out there in the last few years that hit all the major price points.
 
I would definitely run it for now and see what you think about the magnification, if your left wanting more than you will know before just dropping money right now just assuming. Your budget will also really dictate which direction to go with an optic but there are some really good ones out there in the last few years that hit all the major price points.
I need to get my butt to the range and do a little work with it.
So caught up with lever guns the past couple of years I think I have 100 rounds down the tube of the rifle since I bought it maybe 6 or so years ago.
 
I have a.pst2 5-25 and found it was ok when i shot at 1k. At half that distance, no more than a 15-18x .

Id like to try a fixed 10x on a.rifle for the weight and simplicity .
 
Id like to try a fixed 10x on a.rifle for the weight and simplicity .
if i get myself any lightweight rig i really want to try the swarovski z5 with a ballistic turret. a 15.9oz for a 3.5-18x sounds pretty good, but, no clue how operationally usable it is.
puls the ballistic turret is a different operational concept more or less. still, sounds interesting enough to try it out.
 
I need to get my butt to the range and do a little work with it.
So caught up with lever guns the past couple of years I think I have 100 rounds down the tube of the rifle since I bought it maybe 6 or so years ago.
Scopes are such a task/personal choice.
Not to mention any rules restrictions
I have old school 5/8 4x scopes on some older rifles , one if my favorites is a older 2x8x32 leupold VXIII

Then I have a big 8x32x54 sightron SIII
That I use with 22lr and it lives on 24x for 200 yRd fun. Plus at 24x thats the reticle subtension.
Im currently looking at a scope option for service rifle which has to be with in the rules.
My scopes are some what “older”
Lack a lot of features luck zero stop!
Im a simple reticle type , the sightron I have is called a MOA2 ret. I like how it has a 1/4 moa center dot
I have a handful of budget scope $300-$500 .
I have a AR I set up as a varmint rig, and shoot that at 600 yards at a any rifle any sight match once in a while.
 
My scopes are some what “older”
you are missing out a lot. in last 3 years a lot of lenses that get cut in china got to a really great level.
assembly is still unreliable, but the glass quality really went up to a proper level. i went over a lot of that junk lately and kept some. :) it is not all bad.

the turrets quality is still a weakest link, of course.
 
My sweet spot for optic magnification. Is about 3 or 4 x per 100 yds. I try to favor less magnification and challenge myself. Less magnification also equals less chance of cross shooting a paper target at rifle competitions.
 
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I’d say very low… That looks like a scope for a very specific niche. Discontinued model with the weird match of mil reticle and moa turrets.
Seems they still get some love though.

It’s weird but those older scopes came mismatched a lot. I have no clue why it took them so long to match turrets to the reticle.

Edit to add. It looks like this scope was on the M24 rifles at one point which is why people like them. They want a clone.

I found the box and it’s actually a VX-III LRT which was the predecessor to the MK4. Basically the same scope other than the name. Same SKU also. Looking back they disco’d this model and introduced it as the Mk4. I’m reading that these supposedly track better than the Mk4s do also.
 
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