How effective is a straight 4 power scope?

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stokesrj
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Re: How effective is a straight 4 power scope?

Post by stokesrj »

My very first scope was a Weaver K4 with a plain old cross hair reticle. When I left home at 18 that fixed power 4X was mounted on a Sako L57 .308. That rifle and scope was not a great shooter, more of a 2MOA rig, but it went with me to Texas, Colorado, New York, Alaska, and then Arizona. I used it for everything from prairie dogs, woodchuck, and coyotes, to bear and moose at ranges of feet to 300 yards to good effect. I can’t remember ever missing or failing to cleanly kill any big game animal I shot at. I did miss prairie dogs beyond 200 yards but nothing bigger that I can recall. Still, I wanted something better and eventually sold it to buy a Steyr model M professional 30-06 as a package deal with again a fixed power scope, a Mannlicher 6X42 with a German #1 reticle. With this rifle and scope I proceeded to kill all manner of western big game. A few Coues Deer were missed with it at longer ranges but I also killed quite a few at 300 to 600 yards using guesstimated hold overs and Kentucky Windage.

Now, my scope collection is almost devoid of fixed power scopes, but these wonderful variables do not yield more game than those old fixed power scopes did. You could even argue the variable power scopes are inferior. They by design have a compromised tube as there is by necessity a slot cut in the tube to facilitate the rotation of the zoom ring and its connection to the mechanism that moves the lens element fore and aft. This greatly weakens the scope tube, making it much more easily bent out of alignment. The fact that there is a moveable lens element adds an additional failure point and weight. The additional lens element also reduces the light transmission (brightness) and introduces additional parallax.

All of this makes me wonder why not choose a lighter, more rugged, brighter, simpler aiming device. Jack O’Conner did, he used a straight 4X to make the 270 famous.
Robert J Stokes

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SPEEDY
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Re: How effective is a straight 4 power scope?

Post by SPEEDY »

I was trying to explain to someone that fixed power scopes have better clarity then variable scopes of equal build and glass.
But the point gets lost.

I have given consideration to buying a S&B classic in fixed 6x just to remind me of growing up.
My 1st ever scope was a fixed Nikko Stirling 6x40 that came as a package, I only had one cousin that hunted with a scope then so I didn't know it was junk then I just thought it was something special.
Still I killed a lot of Deer, pigs and Roos with it.

I looked through a similar vintage one not long ago and chuckled to myself, I can't believe how good I used to think that scope was. :lol:
I had a 2.5x fixed God knows what on a side mount on an ALL shortly after but it didn't matter how bad the optics were as aiming it was more like picking a number between 1-12 to figgure out where that bullet would land, but with a rest and a steady aim it usually grouped around 5-6" At 100m

But I did pick up a 6x40 Tasco world class plus with the Japanese made glass, that was something very different, so much so it want on 6 different rifles and I still have it now as a back-up as I've a lot of fond memories of the game that's fallen over the years to it's crosshairs.
I still rate the Japanese made Tasco scopes as the best value for money scopes ever made, it's a shame they switched over to Chinese glass it ruined a great cheap scope for good in name and quality.

But I'm definitely sticking with Kahles till they do something stupid like switch over to L/R only scopes or something like that.
I'm soft and I don't care. :dance:

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mchughcb
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Re: How effective is a straight 4 power scope?

Post by mchughcb »

4 power scope for 200m shots on reds is fine. Put scope and get out there hunting.

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SPEEDY
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Re: How effective is a straight 4 power scope?

Post by SPEEDY »

I was just looking at the S&B klassic scopes, they make a 6x, 8x and 10x but no 4x that's very short sighted.
I'm soft and I don't care. :dance:

Rod
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Re: How effective is a straight 4 power scope?

Post by Rod »

:D :whistle:
Gun Barrel Ecologist wrote: Tue Jul 24, 2018 4:37 am http://www.nickel-ag.com/en/products/scopes/r436.aspx
Not sure the RT reticle would be handy for general hunting :think:
I guess if someone owned a double rifle that refused to be regulated then if someone was desperate enough and had a sense of humour. Then perhaps a "running target" scope could be pressed into a secondary role.
What do you reckon Speedy.

Cheers rod

9.3x64
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Re: How effective is a straight 4 power scope?

Post by 9.3x64 »

I have actually heard of a similar thing before.
JB at Rebel told me about an old double he handled years ago which had a custom Zeiss scope made for it.
It had 2 dots, one for each barrel.
And unusually it was chambered in 11.2 x 72 Schuler.
A very rare gun indeed and likely still in Australia somewhere.
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Hunt with a German Shorthaired Pointer.

9.3x64
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Re: How effective is a straight 4 power scope?

Post by 9.3x64 »

He kicks himself for not buying it.
Life is too short to hunt with an ugly dog.
Hunt with a German Shorthaired Pointer.

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Vaughan
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Re: How effective is a straight 4 power scope?

Post by Vaughan »

When young and foolish I shot an awful lot of things with a fixed 4x scope. That scope still sits on the 22 Hornet I bought with it when I turned 16. Both were, well, inexpensive... :whistle: but still helped me top a lot of gray light-skinned game animals out to around 150m. I imagine such a scope would suit the described use very well. I flirted briefly with the idea of putting a low fixed power scope on my bb97 but gave way to my addiction for variable power scopes... :roll:
/Vaughan

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SPEEDY
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Re: How effective is a straight 4 power scope?

Post by SPEEDY »

Rod wrote: Tue Jul 24, 2018 6:14 pm :D :whistle:
Gun Barrel Ecologist wrote: Tue Jul 24, 2018 4:37 am http://www.nickel-ag.com/en/products/scopes/r436.aspx
Not sure the RT reticle would be handy for general hunting :think:
I guess if someone owned a double rifle that refused to be regulated then if someone was desperate enough and had a sense of humour. Then perhaps a "running target" scope could be pressed into a secondary role.
What do you reckon Speedy.

Cheers rod
That would be very useful, although that scope doesn't seem to have that capability.
I'm soft and I don't care. :dance:

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