Other Scope Power/Less = OK

[KWK]

Hmmm, nobody mentions range finding ability with AO scopes of 9x and above
As soon as you sit down in the woods range find a few objects in your perimeter. Now you have a good idea of distance when Bushytail appears.
Don't retrieve what you shoot right away. So many times another one shows up to see what that sound was. Show 'em.

 

[harrympope]

Since we are already on the subject

3-9 or 4-12 Would be plenty of mag for an all around or hunting rig for me. IF I can utilize a hasty support of some sort, I MIGHT come up off of low mag for the shot. I also can dial up a bit for the shots where I do have a solid rest.

5-25 or about is pretty useful as well I find. Lower mag so that I am not too terribly put off by my offhand wobble, and higher mag for seeing better at longer distances. Seeing better allows me to aim finer, and with a known good rifle, that allows me more precise placement. From a rested position of course.

Bench rifle only, depending on lighting conditions, 24 to 45 max mag depending on the target format.

Funny thing is, I would not even consider putting a 5-25 on a 30-06 unless I was shooting F class, but on a .22 air rifle I am all about it.....

I have a 24X Leupold my 30-06 Remington 40X 1000 yard prone gun.I took off the 14x Fecker and so far thinking it was no advantage as the glass is so good on the Fecker.(pic is with the Fecker)

 

[Triglav]

I absolutely adore the 4-16 UTG compacts w/ the etched reticle. Call em cheapo crap if you want, but those scopes work really well for me as well!

EXACTLY !!!
I have two, not one, but two UTG/Leapers scopes and both of them work flawlessly!

Here's the thing, I've had the first scope on 3 different guns and I'm currently running it on my Gamo BC-1000, it's a UTG 3-9x40 True-Strength and it's been through my ruptured Cometa 300, QB-57 and initially through my Gamo Black Bear in .22, yet it has held through ALL of these platforms and all of the guns I've had this scope on were spring-piston driven and in their full-power configuration. On Cometa 300 I've had it mounted with a two piece mount, one of which had broken upon re-mounting of the scope, when the mod. 300 was refurbished, but other than that I've always used a one-piece mount all the way, and I've never had any functional issues with the tube itself.

As for the other UTG scope, this time a 4x32mm AO one, which a friend of mine had on his rifle initially, but later on gave it to me, that scope had a serious issue at first, which you're not going to believe, but resolved itself, completely on it own... The issue was, that the lens, or the reticle in the erector tube was loose and once I mounted the scope on my Hatsan 125, the recoil of that gun shocked and beat the lens back into place and now the scope still holds zero, after some 400-500 shots with my mod. 125. I absolutely love the scope.

You can read more about the 125 and UTG combo here:

Hatsan - A Review On My Magnum Springer: The Hatsan 125 in .22 (5,5mm) Caliber

Hey there folks, I hope you've all had a great start of the week! This is going to be a brief review of an almost brand new and little used (barely tested out) Hatsan Mod. 125, that I bought some year and a half go. I have heard a lot about Hatsan airguns over the years, both good and bad and...

www.airgunnation.com

 

[Triglav]

I have a 24X Leupold my 30-06 Remington 40X 1000 yard prone gun.I took off the 14x Fecker and so far thinking it was no advantage as the glass is so good on the Fecker.(pic is with the Fecker)

View attachment 430513

Is this a short or a long action? Given it's a .30-06 I'd say it has a long-action bolt face.

 

[harrympope]

Is this a short or a long action? Given it's a .30-06 I'd say it has a long-action bolt face.

It's rather unusual but yes it is a short action 30-06 as were the 7mm Magnum. You had to take the bolt out if you were extracting an unfired round, fired cases extract fine. Later on they made a long action 40x but not initially.
They did offer 6x47,308,6mmBR etc.. with the .473 bolt face as well on the short action.

 

[Triglav]

It's rather unusual but yes it is a short action 30-06 as were the 7mm Magnum. You had to take the bolt out if you were extracting an unfired round, fired cases extract fine. Later on they made a long action 40x but not initially.
They did offer 6x47,308,6mmBR etc.. with the .473 bolt face as well on the short action.

I understand they made .308 for instance as short action, because it's a fair bit shorter round overall, but yes a thirty aught six would seem to require a longer action, though apparently it wasn't exactly necessary. By the way, I absolutely love the 30-06, some people dislike it, but I love it, because of its versatility - it can to some extent mimic the ballistic performance of a .300 WinMag, but without as much recoil and of course, from a barrel with a 1:10 twist rate of the bore and even with those really nice factory 190gr - 220gr bullets. Good stuff as back in the days, people just kept designing new rounds by simply adding more and more powder and with that lengthening the case further and further as well, but nowadays the rationale has shifted towards a much more effective method of gaining BC and that is with more efficent projectiles.

Same principle applies to airguns, we needed better projectiles, not more air through the port (more air only for shot capacity), or a larger caliber.

 

[JungleShooter]

[RE: Designing new rounds:]
Nowadays the rationale has shifted towards a much more effective method of gaining BC and that is with more efficent projectiles.

Same principle applies to airguns, we needed better projectiles, not more air through the port (more air only for shot capacity), or a larger caliber.

Well said.

We had NSA blazing the projectile trail with lowering the price of the formerly very expensive slugs.


We have Altaros blazing the projectile trail with doubling the BC for slugs.


We heard FX announce "the replacement for the airgun pellet" — that particular exaggeration was published a year and half ago.

➧ I am quite sure that we will NOT follow the advice of their misguided marketeers and "say goodbye to pellets."

However, I am convinced that a good many of us would have use for a hollow point projectile that
▪ has an amazing expansion in flesh upon impact, and that
▪ has a high enough BC in order to keep up its impact velocity at 40 or 50 or more yards — so that that amazing expansion can actually happen! ➔ I'd suggest a true (not fudged) BC of 0.050.

(Incidentially, a BC of 0.050 would also limit the range and impact of the projectile when used for angled shots into the trees — at this BC the impact energy of the projectile returning to earth is rather low, cf. chart below.)




Besides better projectiles I hear others repeatedly call for barrels that are much better adjusted to the projectiles — and that are more consistently made (one true diameter, not a "nominal" diameter/caliber).
Sounds right!


These are great times to be an airgunner!

Matthias


PS: Please, forgive me for derailing your thread. I shut up now.



Graph:
Impact energy upon return to earth — of a 18.13gr projectile with 0.050 BC — shot at various inclination angles:

 

[Deadeye Dick]

With my spring powered guns I generally shoot and hunt 50 yards an under.
My preference has always been for something 6-10 power(and often a 4x is just fine) . As long as the scope is clear and parallax adjustable I have never found myself to shoot smaller groups with higher powered scopes if the aiming point is clear. On one of my antique Schuetzen powder burners I shoot at 200 yd. recently I went from an 8 power to a 14 power and my groups were the same...( Granted it is not a .25 MOA gun but about .50- .75 moa when shooting well.

Maybe I'm the only one, but some people seem to think that You need a 36x power scope to shoot a decent group at close range.....

I think I know what you're talking about here.. I had a Mauser chambered in 308 that shot half minute with a Redfield 3-9x40 scope. That was many years ago. Later I was shooting another 308 and found I did better with the scope dialed back to between 4 and 6 power. That one is a Vortex 3 to 14 if I recall.
Lately I've been thinking about getting a straight 4 or 6 power scope.

 

[EquivalentDelta]

On a benchrest .22 I’ve gone as high as 35x. For anything else I really prefer 4-10x.

 

[Triglav]

➧ I am quite sure that we will NOT follow the advice of their misguided marketeers and "say goodbye to pellets."

Your post is very true and well written, thanks for pointing out the consecutive improvements in slugs from different manufacturers.

Also, I too don't believe that pellets will ever go out of fashion, simply because there are enough springers in circulation with twist rates in their barrels that are capable of stabilizing pellets. In my country, a company called COAL makes only pellets and hybrids, including some variations of Crosman's powershot penetrators and they'll keep on making what they're already making, so theoretically even if all other companies go on to make slugs, they'll still be making pellets and such... just an example.

 

[harrympope]

I think I know what you're talking about here.. I had a Mauser chambered in 308 that shot half minute with a Redfield 3-9x40 scope. That was many years ago. Later I was shooting another 308 and found I did better with the scope dialed back to between 4 and 6 power. That one is a Vortex 3 to 14 if I recall.
Lately I've been thinking about getting a straight 4 or 6 power scope.

I'm.a fan on fixed 6x scopes. The Burris 6x HBR and weaver T6 are two of the best 6x target scopes
I'm a fan of old weaver k6 scopes as well.

 

[KY Crusader]

I'm a less is more guy. Especially when it comes to hunting. Lower power gives you a greater field of view. When hunting critters that can pop up at unknown distances a greater field of view helps me find my target quickly. My hunting airgun, a hw50 has a straight 4x non AO scope so the there's no chance of being zoomed in too much or being out of focus.
My target and fun guns have variable AO scopes. Most of them have 3-9x40AO. I have a 2-7x32AO on two Hw30s and a 4-12x40AO on my 97K. I mostly target shoot them all out to 50 yards and plink out to hundred. I've never found I needed more than 9x with the Airmax reticle. That's just me.
I do have a 6x24 Viper on a 223 gun I shoot to 435 yards but I don't use more than 18x

One of the few low-power guys I've seen on this (or other forums). I'm new to air rifles, but always preferred a fixed 4x on my hunting rimfires. I really appreciate your input since I'm eyeing a HW 50s for my next purchase, but have been fretting about what kind of scope to put on it.

 

[tunzuf]

If I'm hunting with a airgun I prefer a fixed 4, 6 or 8 power scope. I do carry a rangefinder so no need to dial for distance. The advantages of low power at hunting distances I'm my opinion out weigh any advantages of higher magnification. Off the bench or in a controlled setting like FT higher power and adjustable make more sense. Different tools both suited for different applications.

 

[JungleShooter]

The advantages of low power [magnification] at hunting distances I'm my opinion out weigh any advantages of higher magnification.

YES! Most of my shooting allows for some kind of field rest.
But when forced to shoot offhanded, I realize that all that magnification just shows how wobbly my hold is...!

I do carry a rangefinder so no need to dial for distance.

I'm not sure if I understand.
Are you talking about "dialing" the elevation turret?
Or about "dialing" = i.e., adjusting —the parallax wheel?

Matthias

 

[KY Crusader]

If I'm hunting with a airgun I prefer a fixed 4, 6 or 8 power scope. I do carry a rangefinder so no need to dial for distance. The advantages of low power at hunting distances I'm my opinion out weigh any advantages of higher magnification. Off the bench or in a controlled setting like FT higher power and adjustable make more sense. Different tools both suited for different applications.

Question: Do you have the parallax on these fixed-power scopes reset to something like 35 yards, or do you just use them as they are? And if you do reset the parallax, do you do it yourself or do you send it off to someone who does this type of work (I don't think any of the manufacturers do it any longer)?

 

[Mycapt65]

Question: Do you have the parallax on these fixed-power scopes reset to something like 35 yards, or do you just use them as they are? And if you do reset the parallax, do you do it yourself or do you send it off to someone who does this type of work (I don't think any of the manufacturers do it any longer)?

My 4x Hawke is 100 yard parallax. I planned on changing the parallax myself but Hawke glued the objective lock ring. Luckily for me it's in focus at eleven yards out. I have no problem with accuracy at any reasonable range. That's because I keep my eye centered in the scope so that eliminates parallax error.

This is one of my favorite set ups. With a fixed parallax and magnification there's no fumbling with adjustments. It's just point and pull. Also this scope has a mildot reticle which is IMO critical for an airgun scope. Oh another great thing about fixed power scopes is the reticle hold over values are fixed. Makes them easier to remember.

Oh and simple scopes are much lighter.

 

[KY Crusader]

My 4x Hawke is 100 yard parallax. I planned on changing the parallax myself but Hawke glued the objective lock ring. Luckily for me it's in focus at eleven yards out. I have no problem with accuracy at any reasonable range. That's because I keep my eye centered in the scope so that eliminates parallax error.

This is one of my favorite set ups. With a fixed parallax and magnification there's no fumbling with adjustments. It's just point and pull. Also this scope has a mildot reticle which is IMO critical for an airgun scope. Oh another great thing about fixed power scopes is the reticle hold over values are fixed. Makes them easier to remember.

View attachment 432854
Oh and simple scopes are much lighter.

That's a nice looking setup you have there! I wish Weihrauch still had this type of stock on their current version of the HW50. And I hear what you're saying about centering your eye on the scope--that's how I was trained to shoot.

 

[Deadeye Dick]

One other benefit I read about fixed power scopes is that since they are more simple with less moving parts they are much less likely to have malfunctions or breakage occur. This equates to more dependable units.

 

[Mycapt65]

That's a nice looking setup you have there! I wish Weihrauch still had this type of stock on their current version of the HW50. And I hear what you're saying about centering your eye on the scope--that's how I was trained to shoot.

The last two groups are the first ten shots of the day out of my Hw50 with the 100 yard scope at 25 yards. Definitely MOS. Minute of squrl. The red dots are 3/4"

 

[KY Crusader]

The last two groups are the first ten shots of the day out of my Hw50 with the 100 yard scope at 25 yards. Definitely MOS. Minute of squrl. The red dots are 3/4"

View attachment 432871

I certainly be happy with that!