When the Highest Magnification on a Rifle Scope Is Not the Best
There are thousands of rifle scopes available for purchase in our day in age. With so many options available the choice of the best rifle scope usually comes down to price. When making a choice of the rifle scope for a gun, quite a few things should be taken under consideration other than just the price.
The first consideration should be how the rifle scope is going to be used. Is it going to be for hunting? If so, what is the average range of the shot it will be used for? If the average shot will be less than 300 yards, or perhaps more like 300 to 1000 yards, then we may be talking about completely different options. When looking at new rifle scopes the description for them usually is something like 3-9×40, or perhaps 16-42×50, etc. These numbers may seem foreign to most at first glance but they will pretty much tell anyone purchasing a rifle scope all they need to know.
Most of the deer and elk hunters that I hunt with will use something similar to a 3-9×40 on their rifle because we are usually shooting less than 300 yards. The 3-9 at the beginning of this description is the variable magnification function on the scope. Meaning, the rifle scope has an adjustment knob that can be set to magnify the target anywhere from 3 times to 9 times. The main reason the magnification would be adjusted is because of the distance of the shot being taken. If a deer is 300 yards away then the 9 times magnification would definitely give the hunter a better view of the target. However, if that same deer appears at 40 yards, a 9 times magnification will increase the difficult of making the shot because all that can be seen is hair!
A good example of this happened to me a few years ago while hunting elk on opening day of hunting season. It was early in the morning and I was hunkered down in a ground blind waiting for an elk to come down one of the well used trails I was sitting below. The trails were and easy 150 yards from where I sat so I had my scope set at 9 times so that I could see them clearly when they came through. What I had not planned on however, was a nice bull suddenly walking through the brush at about 30 yards! I brought up my rifle and tried to get him to stop with a low grunt. It worked, but with the magnification set so high I could find him in my scope. Long story short, I did not bag my elk on opening morning that year.
Since this experience I make sure I have my magnification set low just in case and am prepared to adjust up if the animal is further away. If the animal is further away I have plenty of time to adjust my rifle scope without being seen, this is not the case if the animal is right on top of me. The closer the animal the lower the magnification, a good rule to use when hunting with a rifle.