4x vs 6x for low end magnification

brusso89

brusso89

New member
I'm 95% sure my I will be purchasing a vortex viper pst first focal plane scope. I have been reading a lot on them and I have a 1-4 pst and I like it a lot. here is my issue, the 6x on the 6-24 looks great. the reticle is usable and surprisingly bigger then what I thought it would be on a ffp scope. the 4x on the 4-16 is pretty small. its not really usable (not saying anybody uses the hash marks on them at lowest mag) but its pretty fine even with the illumination on. I would like the 4-16 due to its possible to get pretty close to critters here in az weather its calling in yotes or jumping a deer unintentionally walking around the woods. due to the thin reticle on 4x I'm worried it may be to thin. the thickness of the reticle on 6x on the 6-24 looks great to me but 6x for a low end is kinda a lot. I plan on shooting/hunting out to 500 yards so either will work on the high end. I guess I'm just looking for what you guys prefer as your low end magnification and for someone to point something out that I haven't thought of to help me decide.
 
Low for close in. You need to evaluate how often your hunt is close or far. I like 2-7 or 3-9 for hunting. For long range shooting I like a bit more power. Have you looked at a vx6 leupold? Trying to do 2 things instead of 1 thing really well is the decision we all have to make. Are you hunting more, or shooting to 500 more? I'd go 4-16 if I had to do 1 scope for both. But that's maybe not the best for your personal situation. Finding a moving target up close with higher magnification is tough mostly.

Peep out this vx3 3.5-10 cds leupold scope. If you are 70% hunting I'd go lower glass maybe. The vx6 line has 2-12 and 3-18 powered scopes. Just not sure if you want to spend that much coin.

https://www.leupold.com/hunting-shooting/scopes/vx-3-riflescopes/vx-3-3-5-10x40mm-cds/

 
3x is the highest I go anymore on the low end. I really prefer a 2-10x, next in line is the 3-9x. I gave up on the 4-12x or 4-16x a few years ago. Just not low enough on the low end for what I do.
 
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I try to match the gear to my expectations. I figure if 4x is "too much," I'll go with an open-sighted Marlin levergun or something just for variety. If I can't get a dog to come in closer than .357 rifle range, I may just let him walk. This assumes, of course, that you're trying to cull the population, not preserve the pelt.....a 158g XTP at 1800fps makes a pretty big hole. :)
 
I wouldn't dare go any higher than 4x for the low end on a hunting scope.

One thing that some folks don't do is to learn to pick up the target with both eyes open. It's not as difficult as might be thought. If you aren't doing that I would strongly suggest that you learn to make it a routine when shooting through any scope. It makes target acquisition much quicker.
 
No way I'd go over 4x if you plan on needing a quick shot under 100 yds and personally I'd prefer a 2.5x. Never looked through a PST so I don't know what the crosshairs look like.
 
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