Admissions of a High-Magnification Scope Fanatic

[MarksmanPete]

Then again, if you're looking for good quality — for a very good price — especially if you are a turret dialer, there is the
Arken EPL 4-16x44 FFP.

For the incredible price of $300 (till July 4).

Matthias



Link:

Product Description

Product Description | Camera Land NY

cameralandny.com

Man I wish that was in my budget range as id have to save money skip the gun I have in mind an spend all on scope but when you got like 5 guns you gotta care for all each one if you plan on usin em like I am, each has something that the other 4 cant do an I want some decent glass on every single rifle I see folks shooting monsturms an cvlife an what not I dont wanna ever look thru something like that again . The price of arken really makes it so I can tac out all my guns with the scopes and I mean they suit all my type of shooting by the end of today I will have 2, 4x16 and 3, 6x24 epl4s , target practise/plinkin/varmint work 6x24 which is mostly what I do, For hunting larger/moving targets Im getting 2 4x16s definitely want larger fov at 20 yards its zoomed in at 6x an coyotes can pop up that close an future hunts if im hunting anythin bigger than squirils 6x would be a drawback you cant aquire the target in your sights as fast it might be that split second of hesitation finding the target that could give target time to run away alltogether. Im about to click the pay now button after contemplating which ones id get Im finally settled 99% on my choice after reading forums watchin more youtubes an thinking about it from my own use standpoint an the type of shooting I do. That price is really something else its 300 flat like for a 4x16 I mean what beats that in features an glass for the money 2023 I mean technology advancing fast so folks dont wanna believe it when they spent x10$ on scope a few years back.

 

[rcs9250]

I pest hunt with Element Helix and a Element Titan scopes on my FX’s and a RAW HM1000x .22.
While waiting for a pest to show up I will occasionally use my 8x monocular. All my scopes are set at 8x and don’t move from there. Majority of shots are 25-35 yards and occasional 50 yards. 8x is entirely adequate for me, and my eyes are 68 years old and wear progressive lens glasses.

 

[JimD]

I like lower power for pesting/hunting. My "go to" is 6X. Many of my Scopes will go to 4X, one will go to 2X, but I haven't felt the need. I can get on target quickly at 6X. But my shots are short. I suspect if I get to taking 50 yard or longer shots I will want a bit more magnification but I can't imagine 9X wouldn't be enough. I like my 4-16 and 6-24 scopes but I do not like their weight. My next scope purchase is probably going to be a 3-9 or 4-12 just for hunting. If I could find a 1 lb 6-24 I'd love that but I'd prefer less top end magnification if it saves me half a pound or more on weight. Really, for all purpose airguns I think 6-24 is a good magnification range I just think they are a bit heavy. But I would only envision using 24X on target work. I shot a few sparrows with my 8-32X set on 32 but it took me a long time to find them in the scope. It was a mistake from multiple standpoints.

 

[JungleShooter]

Randy and Jim,

I respect your choices of using your variable magnification scopes as if they were fixed magnification scopes.

I'm trying to understand:
▪︎ Maybe because you're used to doing things like this for many years, maybe from the time when variable mag. was not a common feature.
▪︎ Maybe because you adjust for elevation with holdover and you chose to use SFP scopes.
▪︎ Maybe you exclusively shoot offhanded?
▪︎ I don't know.


➠ And I don't understand. I definitely want to make full use of my variable magnification and adapt it to the range, the type of shooting (hunting vs. plinking vs. paper targets), the target size/ killzone.
And to the hold: bench-rested with highest magni., field-rested with medium magni., and off-handed with low magni.


I'm pretty sure you two (and others who opted to use their variable's like fixed's) are much better shooters than I.... because I need to get all the help I can get from my scope to score a hit....


Cheers,

Matthias

 

[MarksmanPete]

I like lower power for pesting/hunting. My "go to" is 6X. Many of my Scopes will go to 4X, one will go to 2X, but I haven't felt the need. I can get on target quickly at 6X. But my shots are short. I suspect if I get to taking 50 yard or longer shots I will want a bit more magnification but I can't imagine 9X wouldn't be enough. I like my 4-16 and 6-24 scopes but I do not like their weight. My next scope purchase is probably going to be a 3-9 or 4-12 just for hunting. If I could find a 1 lb 6-24 I'd love that but I'd prefer less top end magnification if it saves me half a pound or more on weight. Really, for all purpose airguns I think 6-24 is a good magnification range I just think they are a bit heavy. But I would only envision using 24X on target work. I shot a few sparrows with my 8-32X set on 32 but it took me a long time to find them in the scope. It was a mistake from multiple standpoints.

Yea rats rabbits squirrels all those small targets 6×24 is what I use, I even turn it to higher than 10or so if its steady shot an they are still small pests like those cant run like a coyote or deer where that acquisition will matter. I tested out 6x for a good solid day an a half or so before deciding and I wanted to have some real application besides pestin like hunting so 4x is a good start you can acquire targets faster than 6x due to fov and in the woods anyway where light is cut as trees an brush start blocking out light the 24x image gets a little haze to it an eye box less forgiving turns worse an worse past 16 if your in a darker enviorment, I turned it out to 20 I remember an I had the option to use it in x24 but stayed lower as image got worse in that darker environment. The 24x on arken is usable if you got decently lit target. But I know il be needing a hunting scope if I buy all 6x24s but what other options are there in the price with this good glass, tracking , lightweight to a point that I wont look lighter to take in the field only at 24.11 oz no need I rememember I returned my hawke vantage its only 7 ounces less an fov glass tracking everything is worse. 4x12 ran me 180 with tax to door with cheap rings no bubble level no illumination average glass an I spent like 180 add 120 an thats an arken so no way im going down to that stage of glass when I got the money. I mean some good glass is pretty important rather buy once cry once than cry everytime I use it .Pyramid air states on hawke scope 17oz it's light compared to a scope weighing 23+oz when you're carrying an air rifle around all day that little bit of extra weight will wear you down. 7 ounces wont kill me though so it is what it is.

 

[JungleShooter]

Pete,

you're right with your concern about weight — if you do carry your setup for extended periods of time.


However, just an observation I have made in the years of reading forum posts about scopes and about guns:

▪︎ On the one hand, when discussing scopes there seems to be a large amount of comments about the weight of the SCOPE.
▪︎ On the other hand, when discussing guns there seem to be few comments about the weight of the GUN.

I find that curious — because the weight of the gun is much more at fault that a rig is heavy than the scope....!
6 to 7 pounds —vs.— 1 to 1.5 pounds

Then we have the accessorizing crowd — that with glee and hundreds of $$ adds another pound or two to the gun. (I am with you, acc's gang!)

And to top it off, the guys carrying springer rifles weighing 9 and 10 pounds sometimes bicker over an ounce or two of a scope....

It's what we do (well, most of us).

𖣠 But it's good to reflect on the weight proportions of gun vs. scope....
➠ Who knows?! You might have a lot more scope options available to you than you initially thought!

Matthias

 

[MarksmanPete]

Pete,

you're right with your concern about weight — if you do carry your setup for extended periods of time.


However, just an observation I have made in the years of reading forum posts about scopes and about guns:

▪︎ On the one hand, when discussing scopes there seems to be a large amount of comments about the weight of the SCOPE.
▪︎ On the other hand, when discussing guns there seem to be few comments about the weight of the GUN.

I find that curious — because the weight of the gun is much more at fault that a rig is heavy than the scope....!
6 to 7 pounds —vs.— 1 to 1.5 pounds

Then we have the accessorizing crowd — that with glee and hundreds of $$ adds another pound or two to the gun. (I am with you, acc's gang!)

And to top it off, the guys carrying springer rifles weighing 9 and 10 pounds sometimes bicker over an ounce or two of a scope....

It's what we do (well, most of us).

𖣠 But it's good to reflect on the weight proportions of gun vs. scope....
➠ Who knows?! You might have a lot more scope options available to you than you initially thought!

Matthias

Man I gotta make my posts like in your format easier to read than my paragraphs. An exactly scopes dont weight all that much unless you got like 32+ oz one, That's why I ain't find a need to go lighter as how much lighter are they gonna get than 24 oz an compete with arken on glass features and maintain a reasonable price where I can buy quantity.

 

[JimD]

One reason I like my P35s is the weight. With their OEM plastic stock they weigh 5.2 lbs. I've made wood stocks for all three which brings the weight down to 5 lbs or a little less. I've been using a low end Vector on my P35-22 for target work. It weighs a kilogram. Over 2 lbs. OK for the bench but I won't hunt with it. Glass isn't great and it gets even less clear if the light is not bright. But weight alone, it won't be on when squirrel season starts. I'm currently planning to leave my Athlon Talos 6-24 on my P35-177. About a pound and a half. I consider it's 19 fpe adequate for squirrels but they don't drop as quickly as 22s and 25s with nearly twice the power. So shot placement is more important. The glass is also noticably better than the Vector and it is OK in lower light. But on the bigger guns, I will use a 4-16 or smaller. The 25 wears a FFP Primary Arms 4-14 I like for hunting. The reticle is pretty thick for targets but it stays usable at lower powers because it's so thick. And I see it quickly.

I do change power but not usually hunting. I set the scope on 6X and rarely change it. But if the quarry is still and I think I need more magnification, I will turn it up. But I cannot remember the last time I turned it up. On the other hand, if I forget to turn a scope down after shooting targets, I almost always am grabbing for the power ring. My quarry rarely sits still for long enough for me to find them at 16x. My guns fit me, that is why I made wood stocks for them. But small game is by definition small and they often move from limb to limb or tree to tree quickly. 6X is fine for shot placement at 30 yards for me almost all the time. I might have turned the scope up on a couple squirrels with the P35-22, however. Half the head or less was visible and I wanted to be sure I hit it. It's an accurate gun and I didn't mess up too bad so they were clean one shot kills. But on a normal shot where I can see the vitals clearly, 6X is enough.

 

[Alan]

There is another way to conquer this issue. First, a fixed aperture attached to the scope's sunshield will improve the depth of focus, with a minimal amount of darkening of the image. This makes the "focus" much less critical. And obvious for this type of work, is an FFP scope.