Preferred magnification when shooting offhand.

[Squack]

I've not found any need for more than 3-9x or 4-12x. For me, it's what do you want to see. I don't need to see much to cover bullet holes. On the other hand, too much is more of a problem when you can't see anything but fur.

 

[.20calguy]

I've been able to beat some of my deer hunting buddies, with an open sights pistol, against their scoped hunting rigs, most by default. They don't practice much, maybe two shots a year to check zero. They're flustered by all the movement. I guess it's supposed to look like the scope pictures from the movies. Lol
Like those deer hunters I don't plan on being caught offhand with a scoped rifle, but it does happen, and if it did, I keep a low power setting anyway, then zoom in on targets.

 

[maxtrouble]

Four power allows me to see enough of the target out to 50 yards. I try get as close as possible to the target, 35 yards or less is better.

 

[jkingrph]

Actually I prefer aperture sights for offhand shooting, so that would be 1x. I do have a 2-7 Hawke on my FWB Sport that is fine, but at lower power the front sight shows in my sight picture and it does bother me, so I generally go with a higher power.

 

[steve123]

Like the title says when you are shooting offhand, what's your favorite magnification and up to what distance you consider yourself reasonably accurate?

It depends on the size of the target.
And the reticle shape or size.
Other factors....

Generally
If FFP and thin-ish reticle I don't like lower than 8x.
If SFP around 6x.
I used to use more magnification when I was younger but I'm more unstable now.

I enjoy the mil reticle in the Athlon Helos G2 DMR 2-12×42 FFP scope the most for offhand! At 8x it's great.

 

[jetpopt]

2 MOA reflex sight

If the rifle is light enough I've found that more magnification doesn't make me any steadier, and in fact the scope makes it heavier which probably negates most advantages.

If the gun is light enough to be shouldered and shot accurately I will then focus my efforts on dialing in that 2 MOA dot precisely.

I also suggest you use a sling and wrap it around your arm, for me right handed shooter my sling is on the left side and I can very quickly wrap it around to pull and tension the rifle. Adjust the length of sling until you have this movement dialed in and holding your aim steadily will take a lot less effort.

I do have a 4x magnifier on one of my "offhand rifle setups" now as well. I am not so sure it increases accuracy as much as just a better view.

Photos of sling use?

 

[jetpopt]

Like the title says when you are shooting offhand, what's your favorite magnification and up to what distance you consider yourself reasonably accurate?

Thanks for starting this thread. It’s useful for rifle newbies like myself, who plan to buy a scope in the not-too-distant future. I do know from using binocs that more mag can be disorienting.

 

[L.Leon]

In the rare instances I shoot offhand, it’s at the lowest magnification of whatever scope I’m using. I don’t take offhand shots at critters, just not comfortable doing it. Plinking, heck yes, target shooting? No.

 

[PumaCarl]

A long-standing myth is that higher power scopes make the rifle harder to hold steady and shoot accurately. The rifle isn't moving any more with a 40X scope on it than a 4X. The higher power scope will, however, demonstrate how lousy your hold is (speaking only for myself of course). At some point, you want to use a scope of sufficient power to tell you precisely where you are on the target, otherwise, why use it? I would suggest using the highest power scope you can tolerate, while maintaining your hold generally on target. When I shoot my air rifles or rimfires from various positions at 50 yards, I use 16X. As a woods rifle, I would dial it back, because I want a larger field of view if I'm watching something move around.

I have recently come to the same conclusion. When I started I always liked 8x for the best compromise, still kinda do, but I use fixed power scopes and recently moved from a 10x to a 16x so that I can finally shoot further at the tiny targets I am shooting at.

 

[Firewalker]

I favor the Bug Buster in 4X12 myself. I can hold steady enough to pop starlings at 30y off hand at 12 power.

 

[AirShot]

Back in my field target shooting days, offhand shots were critical so I had to learn to shoot offhand well. Spent one full year shooting at least 100 offhand shots per week and developed my stance. Had an 8-32 Burris on my TX200, range found at 32x, shot sitting at 24x and offhand at 12x mag. The following year shot an offhand match and won, yes practice does help !!! After that my offhand shooting was quite good, able to get most all of them at the field target matches. Getting the proper stance is everything, then find a mag your confortable with, once the stance is good the mag can be increased....it works !!

 

[acorneau]

I shoot Metallic Silhouette as my main hobby, so I shoot standing/off-hand every weekend. Just got back from the NRA Nationals with three days of Smallbore competition and three days of high power.

Air rifle is shot at 20 to 45 yards, Smallbore is 40m to 100m, and high power is 200m to 500m. All my rifles have 24X fixed-power scopes on them, most are Weaver T-24's with my HP gun having a Leupold M8. I've tried higher magnification in the past but settled on 24X as my preferred compromise between field-of-view and magnification.

To learn more about Silhouette check out the North American Silhouette Shooting Association.

 

[rcarlisle]

I also do much better with aperture sights when shooting offhand. If I'm going to take an offhand shot with a scoped rifle, I will set the magnification as low as it will go and still have a visible reticle (cuz I like FFP scopes).