Comments on: The Best Scope Magnification for a Hunting Rifle? It’s Probably Less Than You Think

By: tsbhoa.p.jr

tsbhoa.p.jr — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 16:48:52 +0000

In reply to uncommon_sense. yup. lately. frustrating.

By: Charles Valenzuela

Charles Valenzuela — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 00:51:35 +0000

Always carry on the lowest magnification available. There’s always time to go to a higher magnification if you need it, but a near target will demand your lowest magnification and will not allow time to do more than aim, disengage the safety, and shoot. Think about that.

By: Big Al 45LC

Big Al 45LC — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 14:46:56 +0000

So, does this also effect my Prairie Dog hunting? So really, it very much depends on the GAME as well as the Terrain.

By: uncommon_sense

uncommon_sense — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 15:01:02 +0000

In reply to tsbhoa.p.jr. My comments that disappeared and reappeared--reappeared about 24 hours later.

By: uncommon_sense

uncommon_sense — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 14:59:54 +0000

In reply to Jon Wayne Taylor.

Jon Wayne Taylor,

I think you hit the nail on the head: hunting shots of 300 to 500 yards tend to be in the Great Plains or Mountain West states. (I suppose that Texas has a bit of both.)

I have no experience shooting beyond 200 yards so I have no idea what minimum magnification is preferrable at ranges of 300 to 500 yards. What minimum magnification do you prefer at those distances?

By: tsbhoa.p.jr

tsbhoa.p.jr — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 14:57:00 +0000

In reply to uncommon_sense. looks like it showed up. they either pop right up, surface hours later or vaporise.

By: Jon Wayne Taylor

Jon Wayne Taylor — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 14:22:40 +0000

In reply to uncommon_sense. As a counterpoint, many, if not most, of my deer with a rifle are taken 300-400 yards. It used to be 400-500 yards. My pigs are probably at 200 yards, bear are all over the place, and in southern Africa my shots have ranged from 15-800 yards. I don't hunt much east of the Mississippi or the West coast. JWT

By: uncommon_sense

uncommon_sense — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 22:01:54 +0000

Okay, the automatic evaporation of my comments–even exceedingly brief comments–has gone too far. I am done commenting on this site.

By: uncommon_sense

uncommon_sense — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 22:00:33 +0000

Want my extensive and valuable practical hunting experience with various scope magnifications at various shooting distances? Read my earlier comment. Oh wait, you can’t because this site automatically deleted it for no good reason.

By: uncommon_sense

uncommon_sense — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 18:49:00 +0000

I like to think that I have ample experience (and success) hunting white-tailed deer. I have used all manner of long guns–shotguns, muzzleloaders, and rifles chambered in common centerfire-rifle as well as handgun calibers. My longest shot was about 160 yards and successful using a rifle chambered in .270 Winchester with a 3-9x variable power scope. My closest shot was 8 yards with a shotgun using a bead site only at the muzzle.

Most of my shots have been between 60 and 130 yards. I rarely have shots closer than that because deer often know that you are there and avoid you. And I rarely have shots beyond that because terrain or forest typically limits visibility. And while I have had a few occasions where deer appeared at 200 yards, I was in a jurisdiction that did not allow centerfire rifle calibers so I did not have a firearm platform with an ethical range beyond 150 yards.

Lately, my hunting has been in a jurisdiction where legal firearm platforms limit me to 150 yards. My scope is almost always set at 4x or 5x and I have had no trouble at all placing accurate shots on deer from 60 to 130 yards. The only times that I have dialed up to maximum magnification is when I am “glassing” deer at 300+ yards. In terms of keeping my scope at 3x I have not done that because it is virtually impossible for a deer to sneak up on me at close range–due to the fact that I am hunting huge and wide-open agricultural fields with an almost 270 degree field of view in front of me in the direction that the deer always travel. (In other words I will typically see them at least 200 yards away before they eventually wander into range.) On the limited occasions that I have been hunting in locations where deer could unexpectedly pop out in front of me at close range, I keep my scope dialed down to minimum magnification, which is 2x on one of my long guns and 3x on others.

At any rate, I believe that a 3-9x scope is more than adequate for close range out to 300 yards.