Why is it, that everyone wants a scope with a zillion times power?

[oldsparky]

I am looking for the perfect scope for my airgun needs. I think it would be easier to find the needle in haystack. The first thing that I have discovered that makes it hard is everyones eyes are different. So I have to keep that in mind when listening to others review optics. Magnification doesn’t mean a thing if I can’t see because of low quality glass. One thing I have observed is magnification will magnify, mirage, distortion, blurriness either internal or atmospheric. Good glass has a crispness to it. Image edges will be sharp and defined. I think that’s why I can see more at 10x with quality glass than 12x lower quality glass, I see this with my 10x Swarovski vs my 12x Pentax both being great binoculars. I looked thru 10 or so firearms yesterday from my bench looking at my 55 yard airgun target and was surprised how good I could see at 10x with some scopes. But those scopes are so blurry at 10 yards they are unusable at the 10x. Looking at a few 223’s made me realize they will shoot as good or better groups at 100 than 50 with my air rifles. Please realize I am not wanting to come off as a know it all. I am frustrated at not being satisfied with optics for my air gun needs. 



Jim

 

[Eddie_E]

I can't really explain the 24~30x scopes, but my old eyes and declining eye sight is why I don't shoot open sights or even 4x any more at 20 yards. I can see the target page fine at 4x, but not a clearly defined bullseye. 6X is where I start to see a clearly defined bullsesye. Last week I was swapping guns at the range with a 70 yr old and he was shooting 18x so I dialed up the same on mine and I did shoot better off a foam rubber block front rest. Shooting off hand unsupported I'm a jittery mess at 8x or higher. The other thing thet some of our better hunters don't realize is that I buy a cheap 24x scope to shoot with a clear and bright image at 12~16X in the sweet spot because my old junk was too dark and cloudy at the max of 9X on a 3~9x scope. I'm not sure what the proper term is for that. Maybe we can call it dynamic headroom, LOL.

 

[Smok3y]

The horsepower analogy was pretty good. Once you have it, you know why you got it. It isn’t necessarily about distance, but what you are shooting and how you are supported. I have had great scopes up to 25-30x that I have scored some of my best scores with. That being said, once I tried 50,55,60x scopes, I knew I would want to shoot those a lot... but only on certain rifles for certain tasks. Different tools man. We don’t all have one screwdriver.

We play games when shooting. We did it a lot with our 22lr and I will start trying it some with my airgun. One example is this golf course I made. I can see it great with a 50x scope at 50 yards, and I know which side of the hole I’m aiming at, and I can see exactly where I miss. I tried it with a 16x and I couldn’t see where the hole was versus the surrounding area. That is on a table with bipod and rear bag. 

That being said, I’m not going hunting with 50x. Those scopes are much different and I stay at the low range mostly to see the animal and surroundings.

The person shooting plays the biggest part, but when you can see what you are shooting and where you are hitting/missing, it helps you become better. 

And yes, shooting flies is fun!! These are with a 22lr, not my FX I haven’t gotten to try it with the FX yet, and I don’t think I’ll be trying it at 50yds when I do. I believe these targets were all with my Athlon Cronus at 27x, but they were so much easier to see with my 50x and 60x scopes. Didn’t place my shots better, but I could see it better.

 

[intenseaty22]

My entry: Fly on cardboard at 30 yards Hawke 4-16x40 on .22 Compatto. 

 

[crittahitta]

intenseaty you get the red mist award.

 

[bandg]

Good that everyone is a little different. And the OP will probably eventually realize why people like those scopes.

 

[intenseaty22]

intenseaty you get the red mist award.

I am honored and humbled, thank you! 

 

[heavy-impact]

Because I worked for my money before I retired and I spend it on what I want●

 

[Keyman62421]

Los Ojos no bueno I can't see a half inch Bullseye at a hundred yards without at least 16 x

 

[Super-Shoot]

Thanks for all of the replies. Sorry to get back to this so late, but it is deer hunting season in Texas! 

I'm not young, as I'm pushing 80! But I am blessed with decent eye sight, as I don't wear glasses except for reading. I'm not into Field Trials, just field hunting! The majority of my shooting, is under 75 yards. At that distance, even a five mill-dot LED reflex sight is almost overkill when shooting pigs! 

Once upon a time, I shot bench rest using a Remington 40X in .222 caliber. The scope was a 10X Unertl. At the time, any group in the low ones (<.125 CtC) was considered a screamer group. I should scan and post some of my old groups, just to prove a point, but who cares? If I recall correctly, the BR record now stands at .007 CtC. That is nothing short of insane I think!

 

[CampFussell]

Super-Shoot

Good to hear back from you sir.

You weren't one of the lucky ones who got to shoot at the Houston Warehouse back in the late 70's early 80's?

Great reading here for any of those interested in some of the amazing 5 shot groups that were shot inside the Houston Warehouse back in the old days!

Here's an excerpt that should get your juices flowing!

"For those of us who are strangers to groups “in the zeros,”we’re talking about 5 shots at 100 yards that are, at first glance,indistinguishable from a single shot. The bullets sizzling through the same hole merely worry away the tortured edge of thetarget paper in varying degrees until the hole is enlarged less than .100" over bullet diameter. Often much less."



Here's the link to an awesome story!



http://2poqx8tjzgi65olp24je4x4n.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/secrets-of-the-houston-warehouse-by-dave-scott-precision-shooting-magazine-special-edition-1-1993.pdf