Posted: 4/5/2008 7:22:58 AM EDT
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Can anyone school me on scopes in laymans terms? Is there a way by looking at the magnification #'s to know how many yards the scope is for? How do you know how many yards the scopes are for? Just the basics please, like windage and elevation for up to 1000 yards and below. |
It's personal preference. I like a 3-9 for everything but I'm not shooting 1000 yds either. |
i believe your elevation needed is going to depend on your cartridge and your mount. some mounts have built in elevation thus requiring less adjustability in the actual scope. Buy good glass. The guys that are really good do not require as much magnification as those of us that are internet commandos, so it just depends on how up close and personal you want your target. |
| I am looking for a scope for a remington 700 sendero 300 win, if I go to the store and start looking at scopes it is mind boggling. I just would like to know how you tell how many yards a scope is for? Do you tell this by the #'s or some other way? If it is not by the #'s what are the magnification #'S for say you have a simmons 8 point @ 3x9x50 what is the 3 for? Is the 9 for magnification? 9 times what 20/20 vision? 50 is for what? The same scope has windage and elevation, in 1 click is a 1/4 inch @ 100 yards, is this with 5-10 mph winds? No winds? what is the rule of thumb on this? The elevation is 1/4 inch at 100 yards, this I can understand depending on the rifle and type of ammo, caliber ect. ect. |
A good rule about scopes is, to pay half as much for the scope as you did for the rifle. It's advised against some of the cheap scopes (under $100), and many consider Luepold to be the absolute minimum. The format scopes go in is pxpxo. The p is the scopes power, and when you see two of those together the lower number is the lowest magnification, the higher number is the highest magnification. The last number is the size, usually in millimeters, of the objective (front) lens. Basically the objective is important to know how big the overall scope is, but is also used in a formula to figure out how well it gathers light (which you don't need to worry about unless you are shooting in the dark). The POI/POA adjustments are designed with fraction (usally, but there are some military designed scopes that have adjustment in inches) of inch adjustments at 100 yards. This is used to zero in the scope. You should zero in your scopes during as little wind as possible. To calculate POI during windy, (and many, many more) conditions, you need to figure out the ballistics of the ammunition you are shooting, and how different conditions affect that trajectory. Long range shooting isn't as easy as it looks, especially when you are trying to do it seriously. |
3-9x50 means 3X magnification to 9X magnification with a 50 MM objective lens. The bigger the objective the more light it lets in making things brighter, at least with all else being equal. 1 click is 1/4 MOA. Minute Of Angle (MOA) is 1.0471996 inches at 100 yards. Wind has nothing to do with it. Zero your rifle on a calm day. Then you can practice in windy contitions to see how much the wind moves the bullet off Point of Aim and just adjust your aim accordingly.. |
Or look here at this ballistic calculator. |
People get touchy about optics. Some say to spend as much as you paid for the rifle, you say half, and another poster said twice what the rifle cost. IMO $200 is the minimum for a serious shooter. Anything much more than $300 for a riflescope is just snob factor or someone needing a specialty scope. Brands aren't really that important. A good quality scope is a good quality scope regardless of brand. Just get one with a good warranty from a reputable company. |
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Every one of those reply's are helpful, but the original questions hasnt been answered. How do you figure out what yards a scope is good for? I am going from looking up the simmons 3x9x50 which is under 50 bucks at wally world, well this tells me it is not worth using on a sendero 300 winn. How do I know this? I dont, just using common sense. |
So a cheap scope like I have, 3x9x50 will work to 800 or 1000 yards, just the picture you get so to speak, is not that clear and powerful? If I wanted a powerful, bright detailed picture I would want to go up in magnification to a 4x12? So basically the first numbers determine the magnification, the larger the #'s the more magnification. Is there a rule of thumb for the #'s ? Example- you have a 3x9 best optics are 1/2 at say 6 Example- you have a 4x12 best is at 1/2 at say 8 Now what about yards can you convert the magnification to yards? Example- 3x9 gives its best at say 6 which is say 200 yards? 100 yards? 500 yards? |
Just telling you cheaper scopes don't use the best quality materials. The glass isn't as clear, there is alot more distortion, they break from recoil, the zero shifts from recoil, etc. If you want a definite answer on what scope you should get, I'll point you here , some will say this is not what you should get however. It all comes down to what works best for you. A very desired scope brand is Schmidt&Bender, and they make very high quality stuff, but the price is usually in the couple of thousands of dollars range. Another piece of advise, get really solid, quality scope rings. If you don't have good rings, they might come loose under recoil and it will throw your aim off. |
your going about it all wrong. magnification is no indicator of how far you can shoot with it. 1st, it has to have enough "clicks" to adjust to 1,000, a cheaper 3-9 will not. your 700 receiver is not milled at the top to get this amount out of it either. you need to by a long range base. which is canted to make it higher in the rear and slope down toward the front to give you an addirtional 20 moa of scope adj. If you do not buy a scope meant for long range you have to shim the rear of the base. the 300 will need a LR base or scope. the magnification helps you see better, thats it, dont go over a 20x because it will have a smaller field of view and will make it hard to see at longer ranges due to mirage and heat haze. depending on how serious you are will determine this question about long range use |
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You could use a 1X at 1000 yards if you wanted too. The crosshairs would cover the target though. You need to decide on the purpose of the firearm before deciding on a scope. If your target shooting only you want as high a magnification as you can get. If your hunting a good adjustable is the ticket. Match the scope to the purpose. |
Clearly, words spoken by a man who has never shot using quality optics, has never hunted in the early mornings or twilight. I'll readily agree that $200-$300 dollars is a minimum AND perfectly adequate for the shooter that takes his safe queen to the range during the brightest parts of the day. Otherwise, everything else you have to say is pure horseshit. Quality optics and mounts make ALL THE DIFFERENCE in the world - especially in low light conditions. Brands don't matter? Dial a Leupold VX-III up to high magnification and then do the same with a Bushnell, Simmons or Tasco. The cheaper scopes will give a FUZZY magnified picture - The Leupold will yield a crisp sight picture. If you are using your rifle for serious purposes the quality of the optics DO matter. I'm not saying you need to spend 2K for European glass, but you really should be spending $600-$1000 for quality glass and mounts. No where in life have I found the axiom to be truer: "You get what you pay for." |
| What do you want to use the rifle for. For general hunting a 2-7 or 3-9 is an excellent choice. For a dedicated long range target rifle you will want more magnification, and this will cost money(more so if you want 100% repeatable adjustments). Also the higher the power the less practical it is for shorter ranges/offhand shooting. Not only do you have increased weight and bulk, but the higher the power the more difficult it is to get a steady sight picture w/o having the rifle on a rock solid rest. |
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It depends what you plan to do with the rifle. If it will be used mostly for hunting at ranges under 400 yards your needs are going to be different than if you plan on 1000 yard target shooting. With the recoil of a 300wm you need a decent quality scope or it will not hold zero. |
That's funny. I am a hunter and I find scopes in the $200 range more than adequate for early morning and late evening hunts. I've even had some $150+ scopes do very well. IMO Leupolds are way over rated. They are about $100 overpriced. I don't care about brands. I've had Bushnell (3200's), Burris, Nikon, Leupold, and even a few off brands. Dollar for dollar Leupold ranks consistantly at the bottom and why I no longer own any. |
You keep bringing up 1000 yards? How oftern are you going to be shooting at this distance? Because the few people that do are usually in competitions, and if you were a competitor you probably wouldn't be asking about scope magnification. I mean anything will work at 1000 yards, even iron sights. Hell my Mosin Nagant has adjustments to 2000 meters  A scope is just an aide for you to be able to shoot better.
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2.5-10x is possibly the most versatile of all scopes. It gives you the up close fast moving targeting, and if something is far away, you have the time to crank it up. 3-9x is an old stand by in the USA but no so popular in europe. 3x is ok, but ideally you want a scope that starts out as low as possible. Objectives: Large is nice if not cumbersome or raises your cheek off the stock. Eye relief is important when you have a rifle that has alot of recoil, or is you have a setup like a scout rifle. The scout rifle scope/Shotgun is possibly the last scope area that is behind in development, and it is a shame for the scout setup is quite possibly the best there is. Quick and natural to point, more power than that of a red dot or even an ACOG. YMMV |
Your opinion of Leupold glass and features is greatly lacking. 
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