Greetings to all from a senior who is new to Airgun Nation! I've been a center-fire and rimfire rifle enthusiast/hunter for more than a few decades, but I've only gotten seriously into spring-piston air rifles over the last couple of months. Although I purchased a Diana 34-t05 in .177 around 19 years ago (I choose it from a Cabela's catalogue because it was German-made), I bought it strictly to try to control the tree rats that had started to invade my thistle feeders. After sighting it in with its open sights and practicing a little, I was able to dispatch three squirrels within about an hour-and-a-half (all head shots at only about 10 yards, so its was no outstanding feat of marksmanship). The downside to this success, however, was that it dawned on me that trying to keep the squirrel population down was going to be an exercise in futility. Therefore, my Diana for the most part sat dormant for about 18 years.
My interest in air rifles was recently revived after a couple of new friends starting telling me about their collections, and enlightened me about their utility and history (I had no idea that the Austrian army as well as Lewis and Clark had used them). Long story short, I tuned up my Diana with a Maccari Soft Kit and Vortek piston and breech seals, put a Bushnell 3200 Elite 4-12x40 AO scope on it, and had a blast punching holes in targets. In fact, I liked it so much that bought a Weihrauch HW95 Luxus in .22 from Krale, tuned it with a Maccari Hornet Kit, and crowned it with new Leupold 3-9x33 EFR. As much as I like the Diana, the HW95 is just shear joy to handle and shoot.
With this somewhat lengthy introduction, I do have a question after reading a lot about scope choices on this and other forums: Why is there such a preference for larger, high power scopes for air rifles intended for both target shooting and hunting? My attitude toward powder-burners has always been Old School, in that lighter and lower magnification were preferable. Lighter scopes not only reduce the carry load in the field, but also don't interfere with the rifle's balance and handling characteristics. Lower magnification make for a steadier and more sure aim by reducing the perception of jittering crosshairs that become apparent with higher magnification. Am I missing something here that is particular to air rifles?
My interest in air rifles was recently revived after a couple of new friends starting telling me about their collections, and enlightened me about their utility and history (I had no idea that the Austrian army as well as Lewis and Clark had used them). Long story short, I tuned up my Diana with a Maccari Soft Kit and Vortek piston and breech seals, put a Bushnell 3200 Elite 4-12x40 AO scope on it, and had a blast punching holes in targets. In fact, I liked it so much that bought a Weihrauch HW95 Luxus in .22 from Krale, tuned it with a Maccari Hornet Kit, and crowned it with new Leupold 3-9x33 EFR. As much as I like the Diana, the HW95 is just shear joy to handle and shoot.
With this somewhat lengthy introduction, I do have a question after reading a lot about scope choices on this and other forums: Why is there such a preference for larger, high power scopes for air rifles intended for both target shooting and hunting? My attitude toward powder-burners has always been Old School, in that lighter and lower magnification were preferable. Lighter scopes not only reduce the carry load in the field, but also don't interfere with the rifle's balance and handling characteristics. Lower magnification make for a steadier and more sure aim by reducing the perception of jittering crosshairs that become apparent with higher magnification. Am I missing something here that is particular to air rifles?
