What power zoom (on a spotting scope) is recommend for a 300 yard target and a 500 target?

Answer 1

my target range is only 100 yards and i just use a cheap simmons 24 power spotting scope. i have never seen any over 76 power and the price was still reasonable. around $ 120 from sportsmans guide magazine. but that was a generic brand. im sure good companys like zeiss or leupold make alot better.

Answer 2

This really depends on what you are shooting at. My concept of what hunting scope really depends on what the rifle is to be used for, hunting deer, elk or other large game, varmint hunting or target competition shooting.

If your purpose is to build a big game rig, a 3-9X power from my experience works great. I shot an elk with at .300 Win Mag at 150 yards from a staning position with my scope at 3X. I shot it at once and my shot went right where I wanted it to go. Also keep in mind most big game shots are usually with in 50 yards, and even a 1.5X power scope will suffice, but I use 3-9X on all my big game hunting rifles, and never regretted the decision.

However, when I am hunting smaller game, like woodchucks, I use a heavy bull barrel varmint/target rifle in .243 Win. I have found that most of these shots are with in the range that you are referring to. I use a 4X to 12X scope on this rig. I found the 4X will give a wide view for finding the target from the field of view, and I will usually "zoom in" to 12X before I fire at my intended target.

My advice is to evaluate what you entend to shoot at, consider how large the target is , and if its large you may not need to spend a lot of money for an expensive scope. If you shoot at small distant targets go with the larger magnification of at least 10X up to 12X or even 16X.

Good luck, keep em in the ten ring.

Answer 3

I have a 45X spotting scope and at 300 yards it's hard to see bullet holes. That's the farthest we can shoot at our range. One thing that helps is Shoot-N-See targets. The bullet hole turns green and against the black it shows up great. It saves a lot of walking.