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garththomas · Veteran Member

When you are using you adjustable power scopes do you change the mag. very often. Do you find it changes your POI. Do you just set it too the power that is comfortable and leave it there

WhitleyStu · Veteran Member

A lot depends on what you are shooting. I’m strictly a target shooter so I set the magnification to whatever is comfortable for the distance I am shooting. I only use approximately 10x when shooting 10 meter targets, but when shooting out to 30 or 50 meters I use all the magnification the scope has (25x or 32x). I guess it is a personal preference as I see those that do not like higher magnifications. Bench shooters usually go for 35x-45x in the Weaver T36 or Leupold target scopes when shooting at 25 and 50 meters.
A good scope will not vary its POI when the magnification is changed, but lesser scopes will as the lenses will not stay perfectly aligned when the magnification is changed thus changing the scope’s zero.
Another variable is how small the target is you are trying to hit. In hunting the kill zone is usually larger than the 2mm 10 ring on some paper target. Higher magnifications will show your "wobble" where lower power will not so much. Choosing magnafications is a very personal choise.
One thing I have noticed is that as my eyes get older I like more mganification than I did a decade ago...

garththomas · Veteran Member

Well i've decided that for the springer I have now a fixed 4x will do just fine, for up to the 40yds that I can get a clear shot in the backyard. I had a 3x9x32 Tasco that would change poi if I changed power by more than 2x after sighting it in.

SureShot_ca · Member

I find that I'm not comfortable with a high magnification power. Sometimes its just too difficult to steady the scope.

Often I'll shoot at X3 mag level then zoom in to see where I hit the target.
works for me...

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Everything depends on the scope you use, something with an objective of 32mm will have a restrictive field of view at high magnification, so for hunting you may need t turn it down, but ok for target shooting. As other people have said turning the magnification up to much exaggerates any shake so you need to turn it down to what is comfortable. Myself I tend to use 10x for most things, this is with a 42 or 50mm objective scope.

Al