Low Powered Scopes 1x -2x are very handy

Missionary

Missionary

Well-Known Member
I have always lived in brush areas in east ILLinois, West Indiana and SW Michigan. When I did have a scope on a rifle it was Weaver 1.5. Very fast on target. I preferred the single dot. But a medium thick cross hair was also good.
If I needed to thread a round through branches on a standing target it worked great. Again all this was usually under 50 yards. I tend to like thickets and river bottoms.
But I am also a big fan of receiver sights. Just as fast and never ever got fogged.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
I'm with ya on that!

My current favorite 50-yard scopes are a pair of Japanese Weaver V3 Classic 1-3x20s I have on my 357 Mag and 357 Max Contender Carbine barrels.

1X gets a little weird with some distracting distortion at the very edges, but I know it should not distract me, because it's so far from the center of the reticle. 1.5X is beautiful for close-up work, especially finding what you're looking for and more especially if it's moving. Up to 3X for sighting in and load development and I don't get weirded-out by the visible shakes on the reticle. I know I still shake, even though I don't see it through a low-powered scope, but the psychological difference makes me actually shoot better, in most cases, than when I'm watching my cross-hairs jiggle.

I love the simplicity and low profile of receiver sights more, but I have to work out an issue of the front sights on my short-barrels (18" - 20"), because it puts the sight between different areas of my "blended bifocals" and it's fuzzy. Front sights on 3" - 5.5" revolver barrels, or 24" rifle barrels are fine with no prescription, or through the transition part of my lenses, but I messed up when ordering my Contender Carbine barrels. Never occurred to me until I glued on a receiver sight and front post to spot the holes. When I threw the gun up, I saw a fuzzy post and decided not to drill until I sorted the problem out. I've got that "fuzzy spot, right between 16" and 24" barrels.
 
CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
The very first scope I ever bought was a M8 3X Leupold followed by a 1-4 Vari-X scope. Hunting the Catskills and Adirondack mountains if NYS. It was all that was needed.

Today Ill look for a 2-12 or 3-16 ish optic for a caliber that has ability's for "range" But having a low powered begining magnification is a requirement for me.

Today the 2x7 is my all time favorite optic.

CW
 
Winelover

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
CWLONGSHOT said:
The very first scope I ever bought was a M8 3X Leupold followed by a 1-4 Vari-X scope. Hunting the Catskills and Adirondack mountains if NYS. It was all that was needed.

Today Ill look for a 2-12 or 3-16 ish optic for a caliber that has ability's for "range" But having a low powered begining magnification is a requirement for me.

Today the 2x7 is my all time favorite optic.

CW
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My 44 Marlin carbine wears a 1.25 x 5............ my go to deer getter. Keep it on low power then turn it up to max for longer shots. Usually, there is enough time. My 338W wears a 1.25 x 4 Accudot. The 270W has a Leo 4 x 14 variable. Most recent acquisitions were 2x 7's.
 
P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Americans have always suffered from the “Bigger is Better” disease.

While there are applications for high magnification scopes, those applications aren’t universal.

Low powder scopes, particularly Fixed power, low power scopes, have some real strengths. People often shy away from low power scopes due to the false belief that they are “giving up” something important. This is unfortunate because there are some strong positive attributes to low power scopes.

First and foremost, low magnification provides a large field of view. Low magnification, particularly fixed low power, provides excellent light transmission. A low power scope will give a brighter image in low light than a higher power scope. Low magnification scopes are generally lighter weight and far more compact than their high-power counterparts.
 
P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Winelover said:
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My 44 Marlin carbine wears a 1.25 x 5............ my go to deer getter. Keep it on low power then turn it up to max for longer shots. Usually, there is enough time. My 338W wears a 1.25 x 4 Accudot. The 270W has a Leo 4 x 14 variable. Most recent acquisitions were 2x 7's.
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I've always held that the best varible power combination starts at around 1.5. or 1.75 on the low end and max's out at around 5 or 6 power on the high end.

The 1.75 x 6 scopes were so expensive that I had to settle for a 2 x 7. That was a decent compromise but I could have easily given up some of that top end for a little lower power on the bottom end.

For reasons unknown, the 3 x 9 became the American standard. It's not a horrible compromise but it may be a bit tilted to the high side of magnification.

A fixed power scope of 4 power or less is surprisingly useful. Not to mention lightweight, compact, and very durable. A varible power that tops out around 5 or 6 is plenty and it gives you a very useful low end.
 
L Ross

L Ross

Well-Known Member
I was looking for a scope to stick on the CMMG .22 AR and while I was digging through various boxes I did see an El Paso Weaver 2.5 X with post and cross wire. I didn't waste it on the .22 though. That's a deer killin' scope.
 
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Rick H

Rick H

Well-Known Member
I'm a fan. If you went through the safe and checked all the variable powered scopes you would be hard pressed to find one set at higher than 4 power. I am a fan of 2-7x Leupolds (the actual magnification of 2-7x Leupolds is 2.5-6.6). I own three 2.5x Leupolds and 4 or 5 1-4's. I do have a 3-9 on a few Varmint or dual purpose rifles but even those will rarely be set above 4x unless at the range.
I am a midwestern hunter and have never shot any game animal (even on a couple of western trips) at over 350 yds. I don't need over 4x to get this done.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Rick H said:
.....I am a fan of 2-7x Leupolds (the actual magnification of 2-7x Leupolds is 2.5-6.6).........
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I had a 3-9x40 on my little 222, because that configuration seems to always be the least expensive variable available.

I recently stumbled onto a used Leupold Vari-X II in 2-7x38 and that overly large 3-9 came off that 222 really quickly. The 2-7 Leupold is so trim and sleek and just enough power, plus a little.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Rockydoc said:
To my way of thinking, the only reason for having a 1 X power scope would be because your eyes won’t permit the use of iron sights. In which case I would prefer a red dot .
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The variables I have that go down to 1X are just weird to look through at 1X. It's almost as if they REDUCE the magnification, even though they are supposedly actually 1.1X. I'm sure this is a perception, but when I use them at low power, I only go down to 1.5X.

A "dot" would work just fine, maybe better, at that power-level, but then I can crank up the variable scope to 3X when I want it. Otherwise, I'd put a "dot" on a couple of them. I think, just as you say, it makes more sense, especially with my eyesight/bifocals not playing well with real sights.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Brad said:
I own 3 Leopold 1.75-6X scopes. I really like them for hunting. I met a couple of bears that didn’t.
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I only need FIVE scopes, and five of THOSE would pretty much be perfect for all my needs. If I had all the money back I've spent on several dozen other scopes over the years, I could probably buy TEN of those right now.

I was younger and dumber then.

I am older now.:headscratch:
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
you guys know muzzle loader scopes have the parallax set to 75 yds. and not to the hundred all the regular scopes have.
might wanna look into that for a 50 yd. rifle.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
fiver said:
you guys know muzzle loader scopes have the parallax set to 75 yds. and not to the hundred all the regular scopes have.
might wanna look into that for a 50 yd. rifle.
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Yeah, thought I was outsmarting the system and bought a low-powered variable muzzle-loader/shotgun scope once - for a decent price.

It ended up having a diamond-shaped reticle (a VOID, rather than an intersection) which was supposed to turn a turkey head into a lead shot magnet. I did not adapt well to that one.

GREAT IDEA! I'm just sayin' watch out for the associated gimmicky stuff.
 
M

MW65

Wetside, Oregon
Leupold 4x and 6x, along with an older Redfield 4x wide view are on my hunting rigs... a weaver 4x and 2.5x need some seals replaced and cleaning before they are utilized on some other goodies
 
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