What magnification is good to shoot ~400 yard?

Stupid · Post by **Stupid** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 9:05 pm

What scope magnification should I get if I want to do 400 yard shooting?

Mostly prarie dog and varmints plug paper. No interest in big game animal.

SC1903A3 · Post by **SC1903A3** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:07 pm

The answer is very subjective. Whats good for one person won't be for another. What ever magnification your most comfortable with is the best setting. Just don't forget the greater the magnification the greater the parallax.

Stupid · Post by **Stupid** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:12 pm

My friends say 9x is good enough, but I am thinking to get at least 16x.

Oh, I am really stupid when comes to rifle and stuff. Still try to learn.

Plus my good eye is pretty bad already.

jhutto · Post by **jhutto** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:23 pm

I use a 24 power.. it is nice.
I would reccomend a 24 power burris black diamond or burris signature.

Greybeard · Post by **Greybeard** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:52 pm

Depends, for starters, on size of primary target(s). Big difference between prarie dog and elk.

Stupid · Post by **Stupid** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:39 pm

Mostly prarie dog and varmints. No interest in big game animal.

G.C.Montgomery · Post by **G.C.Montgomery** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:06 am

Greybeard is right. You have to decide what kind of shooting you'll doing. Question one might ask would include what size targets? Are those targets moving or not? How big a field of view do you need? Will vibration be an issue?

Benchrest shooters tend to like high magnifications. They are shooting for the smallest possible group on a regulation size target at a known distance. This is actually true for many "traditional" forms of rifle competition. Benchrest shooters in particular often go for very high magnification scopes like a 6.5-24x. Now you can actually find rifle scopes that that offer magnifications of 35-45x which used to be the domain of bulky spotting scopes. If you really want to be able to target the hole your last bullet went through, this may be the option you want. Just remember, there's no free lunch. Higher magnification usually means a reduced field of view. It also means vibration becomes a much bigger factor in being able to see and focus on your target.

I'm at another place on the scale. I'm not uber tacticool but I do shoot three-gun matches occasionally and I've been to a few defensive rifle schools. I've come to like 1-4x and 2-8x scopes a lot for most stuff out to about 500 yards. However, that's what I'm mounting on my FAL or AR. For precision shots I'd take with my M1A or a Remington 700, I like more magnification but nowhere near what the benchrest guys often want. For me, a fixed 10x is great but I also like some of the variables that go 3.5-10x or 4-12x. In any case, I want a big enough field of view to see lots the area around my target. At the same time, I still want enough magnification to see details on the target. For instance, if I'm out popping coyotes in west Texas where a 400 yd shot isn't unreasonble, I want to be sure I'm shooting a coyote and not some ugly but beloved mutt that escaped from some kid's backyard.

YMMV but to me the really high magnification scopes, those above 14x, are pretty specialized and I just don't need that kind of magnification. You might find those scope are great for your intended purpose though so please don't discount them based on my musings here. I have a picture in my mind of how I will use my rifles. My mental picture may or may not look like anything you have planned or envisioned.

KBCraig · Post by **KBCraig** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:16 am

I come from the school that says you use the lowest magnification that lets you clearly see the target and the relationship of the crosshairs to the target. High magnification is for spotting scopes.

I've shot some high magnification benchrest. I find the magnified wobble to be distracting and unacceptable; it actually detracts from my accuracy.

Then again, I'm an old forward observer. I tend to "see" a lot farther out than most people bother looking. Eyes are amazing things, once you learn to actually use them (the vast majority of people never try). It's been almost 20 years since my last call for fire, but I still scan all the way to the horizon.

I get asked sometimes, "How did you see that?"

Easy: I looked.

Kevin

HankB · Post by **HankB** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:07 am

I'd say it's a tradeoff between magnification and field of view.

On hunting rifles, I'm comfortable with more maganification than conventional wisdom dictates (for example, I have a 6x42 on my .375 H&H) provided the rifle fits me well . . . but at higher magnifications, the 6.5-20 Leupold on one of my .308s has such a small field of view, that quickly finding a moving target would be a problem.

For targets that are usually stationary (prairie dogs & paper) I see no problem with a 'scope in the 20x range. For other varmints (Fox? Bobcat?) that don't often stay put for long, lower mag would be advised.

A good variable would seem to be just the ticket.

cyphur · Post by **cyphur** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:36 am

I have a variable scope on my rifle, its a 6.5-24x50mm. Its got a good field of view at 6.x - ~12-14x, after that, you're looking at shooting stationary targets.

I prefer variable scopes as that allows great versatility.

jimlongley · Post by **jimlongley** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:21 am

I'll chime in on the "It depends what you're shooting." part. I used, in my misspent youth (oh for the good old days) to shoot at 600 and 1000 yards with NO magnification, ie iron sights, and did ok.

Now would I try to shoot at those ranges today without a scope - no way, at least not for more than funsies!

My personal preference for prairie dogs would be somewhere in the 10x to 24x range, but I would tend to stick to lower magnifications due to the (as pointed out) enhancement of wiggle.

Like KB, I find I can depend on my eyes to do magnificent things for me, if I just let them.