I built a 16" 6.8spc for deer hunting.  I played with it some and liked it with a Vortex Crossfire II 3 - 9 x 40 on the range and 45degree offset iron sights for close in.  Before deer season I took it all apart to get it cerakoted.  Well now deer season is over half over, but I will be getting it back soon. Since then I have fallen for my Vortex Strike Eagle 1 - 6 x 28 on a play toy.  My hunting ranges from dog running deer almost in your face to half mile fields and shooting lanes.  Most shots are under 200 and my 6.8SPC caliber limits me to 350/400 yards MAX under the most ideal conditions.

Which should I put on it

Vortex 1 - 6 power strike eagle ( 3 gun set up)

Vortex 3 - 9 power Crossfire II (traditional )with 45 degree offset irons for the sprinters

Both have BDC stadia that work well for my ammo.  The Strike eagle has a horseshoe reticle that almost perfectly sizes a dears body at 350 (max range)

Aim small miss small. 6x is not enough for me to confidently place a 1-2moa shot in a deer at 400 yards. I would want at least a 9x.

Yes, I know everyone says 1x per 100 yards, but that's for torso sized targets. If you're trying to drop the deer with a heart shot I want to be as accurate as I can. I would go with at least a 9x and offsets even though I think the strike eagle is a better scope.

I vote 3-9x40

My go to deer rifles get abused. I dont take my 1500$ rifle with 2000$ glass in the woods   I run a simple Leupold VXII on my 2 hunting rifles and my wifes.  Good for 400yds and I am blind as a bat.     Now if you have a nice rifle that doesnt hunt as much as it target shoots I put nicer optics on them.

I am not a fair weather hunter, my stuff gets wet, snowed on, dropped in mud, drug through briars etc. You have to decide your rifle/scope usage

even if you were to have a deer walk up to you at 20yds a 3x wouldn't be "over magnified" but you'll be glad you have the extra magnification of 9x if the same deer is out at about 200yds

I put a clean shot through a PA Whitetail at about 270yds a few years back. Longest kill for me, only had a 9x and I feel like I got lucky! You'll be glad you had up to 9x OP.

I'm going with this as well.



 

I just took a Primary Arms 1-6 off a gun and replaced it with a Vortex 3-8 with standard duplex. I felt the reticle of the PA was too busy and not as precise as I liked for hunting. The Strike Eagle has a similar reticle.

I have been using a 3-9x40 since I started really hunting, and that includes in the Midwest and Coues hunting out West.  Have taken deer between 15 and 330 yards.  The only situations where I can see something else being a better choice is extreme long range hunting (more magnification), or hunting really brushy stuff where all shots will be within 50 yards (aperture sight or 1x red dot).

I was running a Primary Arms 4-14X44mm with the ACSS HUD.   Love the scope for target and daytime shooting.   I switched to my AIM Sports XPF 3-12x50.   I just wish someone would make a good 3-12x60.   Where I hunt there are a lot of very dark shadows.   Need more light.   40 and 50 just don’t pull in enough light.

Wolf

Nikon/Leupold 2x8x32mm

Enough exit pupil to make sense in the dark shadows, enough power to make out tines at range.

Depends on where/how you hunt.  Do you hunt from a tree stand in the top of a Sequoia, shooting deer two counties away?  Or, do you hunt in thickets with most shots at 50 yards or less?
I hunt the second way and like a red dot or scope with less magnification, but wider field of view.

Leupold.  Only way to go.

If most of your range will be no more than 200, a max of 6x will be fine.
Then the 1x gives you other up close options and uses for that rifle.
Certainly the 3x-9x is the tried and true favorite of deer hunters, and what I picked for my own rifle.
You will be fine with either option, there could be a situation where you want a little more power for extended range to decide is that a big buck or a small buck, that is where the 9x would be nice, but both options have their plusses and minuses, you need to decide on your priorities.
Agree with Leupold, I have had the great customer service success story with them, although I realize there are a lot of other good scopes out there too.

Ding, Ding!
1xwhatever for 200yds or less is ideal.
My current rig is Leupold VX6 2x12 w/ firedot - Love it
No matter what , do not go cheap on your mount,rings and scope!

I use a 1-4 on my 6.8 and it is sufficient for out to 350 yards for me.  If I were to do it again I would pick the 1-6.  I have only killed deer with it at 1.5 magnification, however.  The 3-9 will limit you on your fast, close shots.

I use a 1-4X on my 30-30 and keep it set to 2X when I stalk, 4X when I'm hunkered down and its never failed me. I plugged a deer a bit over 220 yards, shot was a little high but I blame myself more than optics.

I'm another of the 3-9x40 guys.
Going to or from the stand I set the scope to 3 power.
If I need to do a distance shot I  have enough time to up the magnification

3-9x is the most you will need for that caliber and barrel length IMO.  A look at velocities on Hodgdon's site, with a 24" barrel, and you'll be using a 16", I think 300yd shots are a bit optimistic for that caliber for deer, but that's my 2 cents.  In reality, I think 2-7x would be a better combo for you.  If you want more range, either step up to an AR10 platform, or go to a bolt action.  I'm sure I'll get flamed for that, so flame on, I just don't consider that caliber as well as similar ones legit for long shots on big game, ethically speaking.

My Nikon M223 1-4x does perfect for me doing dog drives. Fast acquisition and the point blank reticule is perfect. However when I was hunting yesterday and some deer walked out 200+ yards away, with it being right at the end of shooting hours and them down in a valley, I couldn't really tell what they were. It definitely left me wanting. However my 4-12x was always hard to use on dog drives. I just ordered two Nikon 3-9x's and will put the 1-4x on a dedicated dog drive gun and use my 6.8SPC with a 3-9x for all still hunting.

I have had zero issues using a Vortex 2-8x out to 350 yards (hits made at that distance).

Not sure what the obsession with magnification is. I find too much magnification distracts me because the reticle moves so much. An 8" deer kill shot at 400 yards at 8x is the same as an 8" kill shot with no magnification at 50 yards, FWIW.

I like high power magnification because then I have no need to lug around a pair of binoculars also. But my sight range is only 200-300 yards at most usually. But when the different between 5 points and 6 points is a $50 fine to the club I like to zoom in and see all the detail I can. Then dial back out and make the shot if I need to.

My 16" 6.8 wears a 2-7 right now. The low end seems to be usable in brush, but has enough magnification to be effective out to 300. If you do not want to buy a new scope, then I would zero both scopes in QD mounts, and put whichever on that will be more useful for the hunting area you plan to go to on a particular day.

Opening Poster here.

First, my vortex was actually a 3-9x50.  I used it and it was definitely the best choice.  I never needed the 45 degree irons, but did kill two runty little deer.  One at 125 yards on 9x still hunting and one on 3x at 20 yards with the dogs on its heels, but stopped cause it saw me.  Still hunt @ 125yds ran 35 yards and was dead by the time I got there (about 2 or 3 minutes).  20 yarder ran 40-50 yards and was gone in 30 seconds.  Both were double lung shots just above and behind the heart.

Same gun killed a MONSTER buck at 1 yard.  Someone else gut shot it with a 30-06.  My younger nephew ran in on it from a field road and took my gun cause I was the only one with a gun, and he was the only one with youth enough to run.  He tried to cut its neck while it was down on 3 legs, but when it saw him 5 feet away, it turned towards him full power and tried to gore him.  He ran back with knife in extended left hand and AR in right hand and gangster sytle / oh crap style pumped one it its neck.  It slowed its charge, but was still close enough for the silencer to touch.  he fired a double tap from 1-3ft with a split I swear was around 0.20 seconds and it dropped like a light switch turned him off.  He said he used the scope on the last two shots and just saw brown.  He no longer trusted 6.8 after that cause the first shot did not stop it.

1-6x would have gained me nothing.  I had no shots on a moving target and in each case my skill level would have stopped me from making any good shots on the runners before they fell.  I also scoped someone elses 75 yard doe that had just been fatally shot.  I never pulled the trigger as I never got the crosshairs lined up @ 3x.  No magnification change would have helped that.