I thought that it would be fun to discuss scopes for short range hunting rifles from an analytical viewpoint.
When I think of short range hunting rifles, cartridges like the .30-30, .44 Mag and .45-70 come to mind. The realistic maximum humane hunting range of these cartridges is less than 200 yards. It may be much less, but let's take the 200 yards number.
For 200 yards, we don't need 10 power. At that range, 4x will seem like iron sights at 50 yards, and as we know, at 50 yards a decent set of iron sights works plenty good. So with that information we can set 4x to 6x at the upper end of the magnification range.
Scout scopes can be mounted forward in a convenient way. Two negatives of scout scopes are their field of view and optical quality. Scout scopes gain their necessary eye relief at the expense of field of view, but this is not a big problem since your other eye can compensate if you hold it open when you shoot.
Optical quality is a concern. Far fewer scout scopes are sold than regular scopes. Makers of scout scopes do not currently build them to the same optical standards as they build their premium conventional scopes. Their lower grade coatings and small objectives can cause scout scopes to be at a disadvantage in low light hunting conditions.
Objective size on short range rifle scopes should be neither too big for a low mount, nor too small for dawn or dusk. Based on mount and ring sizes, 32mm to 40mm objectives seem about right. I like a low mounted scope so I would lean toward the 32mm objective with high quality coatings. Not only does a low mounted scope fit me better, it looks better, too.
Illuminated scopes are tempting. There are three choices here: battery powered, tritium and luminous (Bushnell's Firefly). Battery powered scopes are usually better at adjusting to the light conditions. Running out of batteries sucks, tritium fades and the luminous remains to be proven by time.
Some short range hunting rifles have above average recoil. Common sense dictates that the scope be tough and have enough eye relief to not whack the shooter. Some brands are tougher than others and toughness is very important far away from a scope repair facility. Getting hit by your scope during recoil doesn't seem like fun, so I want 4 inches of eye relief. I know that gunwriters say 3 inches is fine but I like at least 4 inches of distance.
In a conventional scope, a well made 1.75-6x32mm or fixed 4x32mm seems to have a lot of virtues.
What would be your pick?
When I think of short range hunting rifles, cartridges like the .30-30, .44 Mag and .45-70 come to mind. The realistic maximum humane hunting range of these cartridges is less than 200 yards. It may be much less, but let's take the 200 yards number.
For 200 yards, we don't need 10 power. At that range, 4x will seem like iron sights at 50 yards, and as we know, at 50 yards a decent set of iron sights works plenty good. So with that information we can set 4x to 6x at the upper end of the magnification range.
Scout scopes can be mounted forward in a convenient way. Two negatives of scout scopes are their field of view and optical quality. Scout scopes gain their necessary eye relief at the expense of field of view, but this is not a big problem since your other eye can compensate if you hold it open when you shoot.
Optical quality is a concern. Far fewer scout scopes are sold than regular scopes. Makers of scout scopes do not currently build them to the same optical standards as they build their premium conventional scopes. Their lower grade coatings and small objectives can cause scout scopes to be at a disadvantage in low light hunting conditions.
Objective size on short range rifle scopes should be neither too big for a low mount, nor too small for dawn or dusk. Based on mount and ring sizes, 32mm to 40mm objectives seem about right. I like a low mounted scope so I would lean toward the 32mm objective with high quality coatings. Not only does a low mounted scope fit me better, it looks better, too.
Illuminated scopes are tempting. There are three choices here: battery powered, tritium and luminous (Bushnell's Firefly). Battery powered scopes are usually better at adjusting to the light conditions. Running out of batteries sucks, tritium fades and the luminous remains to be proven by time.
Some short range hunting rifles have above average recoil. Common sense dictates that the scope be tough and have enough eye relief to not whack the shooter. Some brands are tougher than others and toughness is very important far away from a scope repair facility. Getting hit by your scope during recoil doesn't seem like fun, so I want 4 inches of eye relief. I know that gunwriters say 3 inches is fine but I like at least 4 inches of distance.
In a conventional scope, a well made 1.75-6x32mm or fixed 4x32mm seems to have a lot of virtues.
What would be your pick?
