Fixed Power Scope Question

[Vince]

Howdy all.

I'm considering a fixed power scope for my .308 rifle and wonder what ya'all think?

This will be for a .308 used for hunting deer/antelope out to 600 Yards. Close shot will be 200 Yards. With my variable power scopes I tend to leave them turned all the way up to 10, 12, or 16 depending on the power.

Pro's, cons, and thoughts welcome and thank you in advance for your help.

 

[DrMike]

Fixed power is certainly simpler to use. So long as you can see clearly, it is all good.

 

[Guest]

If I were looking at a fixed scope for a 308 out to 600yds, I'd strongly consider a 6x. Not sure who other than Leupold makes a 6x fixed anymore, but that's the fixed power I'd strongly consider. On the other hand, you could get an excellent 3-9x40 and just leave it on 6x all the time and have far more utility if you just decided you needed to change scope power for some reason.

 

[gerry]

I put a 6x36 Leupold on my new 35 Whelen since I wanted a tough and simple scope and supposedly fixed power scopes are tougher than variables, we will see. With my old Whelen I hunted with it's variable scope set at 7 for a couple of years and had no issues with shooting game at under 50 yards. Leupold makes a great 6x42 with either the LR duplex or turrets which would fit the bill. Their 12x40 AO might work well for you as long as don't get an animal too close to you They did offer a new 8x40 AO recently which might be the best compromise for you, it was a limited edition IIRC.

http://swfa.com/Leupold-8x40-FX-II-Rifl ... 50857.aspx

Not sure how durable they would be but Weaver makes a 6x40 and 8x56, but with only a standard crosshair which wouldn't help you at all at long range.

 

[JD338]

Another vote for the 6x.
The Leupold 6x36mm would be a nice set up.

JD338

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Definitely nothing over 10x and even that is too much...I agree with the others, 6x will do just fine.

When you get over 10-12x in a scope...you really have to spend some $$$ to get the good out of it...the higher the magnification, the better the glass and internals "have to be" to get good clarity...to get that combo costs at least $500 (maybe a bit less for a fixed power, but not by much)

 

[Anonymous]

I'm a huge fan of fixed power scopes...6x would do nicely for what you describe.

I've hunted with 2.5x, 4x and 6x fixed scopes and the 6x is my favorite for open country shooting. I think higher powered scopes mostly become unusable from field positions.

 

[HOGWILD338-378]

I have a couple 6x Leupolds FXIII's on a couple of my rifles and i like them myself, they set atop a 257 Weatherby and a Winchester Model 100 in 243! i like the 6x42's a lot and great scopes for the price point! Both of mine have the wide duplex as I am not much on BDC reticles, just me

 

[TRIC]

I like fixed power scopes and have put them on my Ruger 338 WM and my Rem 375 RUM. As JD338 said, can't beat the Leupold 6x36mm...

 

[cloverleaf]

I cant count the number of folks I know who run a 6x Leupold on there deer guns, back home in SD. Thats what I'd do. Honestly I do hate dropping $300 plus for a scope so my nex new one is gonna be a 4X Weaver. For $140 its worth a shot too. CL

 

[FOTIS]

Another vote for the 6x.
The Leupold 6x36mm would be a nice set up.

JD338

Yup I prefer the LR dots on it also

 

[TRIC]

FOTIS, agree on the dot reticle, both of my 6x36's have the Leupold Dot. Love it.

 

[jason miller]

For $180 after rebate, you can get a sightron sii big sky 6x42 over at swfa.com right now. They are on closeout from $419. That series of scope supposedly has very good glass, probably up there with the newest vx3's. I think I once read someone mention that they had a hydrophobic coating, as well. If I had any use at all for a spare scope right now, I'd sure be looking to pick one up. Like you, I have also wanted to try a fixed 6 for some time now...

 

[Ridge_Runner]

If not on a tight budget a 6x42 with a custom TMR reticle would be awesome.
RR

 

[Guy Miner]

Just came across this thread. I like the 6x as a general-purpose scope and use a 6x on both my .25-06 & .30-06 rifles. Leupolds both, one with the 42mm objective, the other is the more compact 36mm obj version. Both are good scopes.

The 42mm version is an excellent low-light scope with very good glass. It sits on my .25-06, and replaced a 4.5-14x that I originally used on that rifle, years ago. I've used it on game from under 50 yards out to over 400 yards with no difficulty. Mine doesn't have a fancy reticle, just the simple duplex reticle, but some long-range dots or hashmarks would be useful.

The 36mm version came to me used, atop a 7mm Rem mag Winchester Model 70 that never shot as well as I'd hoped. The rifle went down the road, but the scope stayed! It's been atop the .30-06 for several years now and is the scope my son relied on for both his whitetail buck and his bear over the past couple of years. It's a nice, trim, match for the rifle. This one has the simple "Leupold dot" reticle - which is just a single 2 MOA dot at the intersection of the crosshairs and very easy to use.

Am very impressed with these two 6x scopes, even though the 36mm version is older and the glass is superior on the newer/larger scope.

Guy

 

[Oldtrader3]

For hunting purposes, I never shoot more than about 400 yards distance. For years, I used a FX Leupold 6x scope on one of my most used deer rifles. It was very satisfactory and I never had an issue with power or with the Leupold duplex reticles.