How much scope magnification?

[Windshooter]

Just curious how much scope mag you guys are using. Also if you maintain that mag setting for all animals or mix it up.

[375Short]

It will be intersecting to read the responses you get. I started with a 25x then a 30x in an effort to pick up detail on the target, aiding in picking a specific aiming point on the target. I’m not fully committed on the following but I’m starting to lean towards less power now, especially with HD glass that allows you to discern details at 20x that 20 years ago (or more) took more magnification to see. Good glass is expensive but will likely last a lifetime and will likely carry a lifetime guarantee. I also shoot cowboy more and Smallbore less than in the past and wonder if that is not influencing my recent taste for less power.

[acorneau]

I started with 9X (it's what I had when I got started in Silhouette) then moved to 16X, then to 20-24X, played with 30-32X for a while, and now nine years in to this game I have settled on fixed 24X across all my rifles.

For a while when I had the variable-magnification scopes I played with lowering the magnification a little for Chickens, up a bit for Pigs and Turkeys, and a little more boost for Rams. Again, I have abandoned that in favor of fixed magnification.

I've settled on 24X because it gives me my preferred balance between being "zoomed in" and field-of-view so I know where I am on the bank. I have a shooting partner that shoots at 40X and he makes many more cross-fires on the wrong target because he's so zoomed in it's easy for him to mistake where he is supposed to be.

Just my two cents. Hope that helps.

[richard]

It depends on what you like. I started with a 4X scope, then went to 2-7X, then I put 12X scopes on all my rifles. Then in 1995 I went to Ridgway and i was the only one shooting 12X so then I discovered Leupold Vari-XIII scopes. i now have some 6.5-20X scopes and still have three Premier boosted scopes 18-40X. The 6.5-20X would be a good place to start. Many shooters like to use 20X or 24X, but again use what you feel comfortable with.
Rick B.

[hermit5]

Windshooter,as the comments verify,we all started low power,then moved up ,some to middle 20x,others to max 40x.
Then age,eyesight and strength start being the defining factors.At that point it’s whatever power you can hold best.
Some days are better than others.Therefore the advice on variable power such as the proven 6.5x20 EFR target Leupold
gives some leeway.Your own ability is the key,magnification not so much.

[Grantmac]

Currently trying 36x but I think my ideal would be a fixed 25-30x.

[Windshooter]

I appreciate the replies. Good insight for sure. How much mag is such a subjective thing with many factors.

Back in the days when I was a serious Field Target (air rifle) shooter, I used to shoot the standers at 24-32X mag. In the early days I tried 50x (the old Nikko/Hakko 10-50); with a crude offhand form and unstable hold I was lucky to get 50% of the standers.

For the last few years I’ve enjoyed low mag offhand shooting - 4-6.5x while casually plinking. Things appear “oh so steady” . My first smallbore match last month I used 6.5x mag. Last match I used 14x mag. The plan is to work my way up to 20X.

[shooterer]

-1.25 or +2.25 (I shoot iron sights with my reading glasses )

[Windshooter]

-1.25 or +2.25 (I shoot iron sights with my reading glasses )

Had to do a double take on that one

[DavidABQ]

I have moved from a straight 25 power down to a 20 power variable powered scope. It doesn't come off of the 20 power position.

[chickenhater]

I agree with other posters, in that less magnification on poor hold days is helpful. The lower magnification wont suddenly transform what would be a low score into a match win, but its more akin to damage control. The more wobble i see, the more prone i am to staying in the shot too long, and ultimately jerking the trigger.
A good example would be a recent HP match, std gun one day, hunter the following. The cf guns hadnt seen any action in about 8 months, so they felt foreign to me and my hold was terrible. My std rifle has a fixed 25x scope, so i had no option except to continue on at 25x. There were a lot of examples of poor trigger control in those two matches and scores reflected my struggle. The hunter rifle has a 14.5-35× variable on it, since my hold was just as bad the following day, i set the scope down to its minimum mag. It didnt turn things fully around, but my score did improve by a few points.
So my reccomendation is to opt for a variable rather than a fixed power scope, just to cover those bad days... as we age there are more and more of those bad days...

[psteiger]

40X mostly. depends on what's on the gun.

[Windshooter]

Great insight, thanks again guys. Variable mag can come in handy on the bad hold days, definitely.