Fixed power scopes

[sheephunterab]

I'd like to know how you got that sheep in your Avatar off the mountain side!!!

Haha...with a lot of help!

 

[Velo Dog]

Never hunted jack rabbits as you referred to in your previous post. But about 30 years ago my SF team was camped near an abandoned WWII Army Air Field north of San Francisco about 50-60 miles. There were jack rabbits everywhere. When they would stand up and stare at you, they were hilarious!!! I always wondered what it would be like to hunt them, but was told they were terrible to eat!

Hi sierraone,

Once a person has made the basics of safe gun handling a concrete part of their personality and, has memorized the accuracy quirks of their equipment, the hunting ("walking-up") of jack rabbits is IMO, the very best way to train with rifle and handgun, including not just for hunters but, also quite excellent accuracy training for Police and Soldiers or, simply anyone who might use a rifle or handgun to defend the innocent.
And, the hunting of doves, teal, quail and grouse is IMO, likewise the best way to train with a shotgun for all the above.

Where I grew up hunting them, the farmers were plagued by jack rabbits (and ground squirrels too).
In a single night, multiple numbers of jack rabbits have been known to do very substantial damage to crops such as alfalfa clover, beans, cabbage, young grape vineyards and so forth.
Therefore, I usually had no trouble locating farmers happy to let me and my friends hunt these vermin (unfortunately, deer season generally was not such an "easy deal" for us though LOL).

Young Jack rabbits are not too bad eating, until they get about half grown.
At that point, they begin rapidly developing a very strong taste that, even cave men with granite taste buds such as I cannot abide (the word "disgusting" comes to mind).
Furthermore, they are possessed of such tendons as to be very difficult to chew, about like I would imagine a mouth full of fishing line and rubber bands might be to chew.

Cheers,
Velo Dog

 

[Hank2211]

Agree completely about the taste of jack rabbits. We have an over abundance of hares locally, but I can't bring myself to kill them - just won't eat them. Dark, gamey and stringy.

Now, cottontails, on the other hand, make excellent eating. Let the kids' rabbits have a go for a bit, and you will have an endless supply of targets and good eating. Eventually, the kids will get over the tears, though it may take a while before they eat Peter Rabbit's kids . . .

 

[nztimb]

The rabbit is one of my treat meats and I try to bring home 20-30 from the lower reaches before I head up into the high country for goats and where the deer are as well. In between these two elevation are hares and often quite a few of them. I would definately dissagree on the gaminess and toughness of the hare meat. Of course I only take the easy eating animal and test that with the tear test which is simply that if the skin tears easily the meat will be tender otherwise they are left for the hawks. I bone them out, dice the meat cook it in a casserol (long and slow) which makes for excellent eating.

 

[TallGrassHunter]

Rabbit can be quite good, but the jack rabbit is not one of them.

 

[sierraone]

Agree completely about the taste of jack rabbits. We have an over abundance of hares locally, but I can't bring myself to kill them - just won't eat them. Dark, gamey and stringy.

Now, cottontails, on the other hand, make excellent eating. Let the kids' rabbits have a go for a bit, and you will have an endless supply of targets and good eating. Eventually, the kids will get over the tears, though it may take a while before they eat Peter Rabbit's kids . . .

Agree. As a teenager in east Arkansas, took many cottontails and what we called at the time, swamp rabbits which were much larger and lived in the more swampy areas of the delta. My mother cooked them all for big dinners. No jacks in that part of the country though. First time I saw them was driving to San Diego from Little Rock many years ago, and Road Runners too! Very funny animals!!!

 

[Rob404]

I spend more time at the range than I do in the field so I use variable Magnification scopes, but when I do hunt I leave my scope at the lowest magnification. and will only change the setting if given the time

 

[enysse]

I like variable power scopes, I like sensible ranges in power like 3-9, 3.5-10 or 4.5-14 or 6.5-20 for a target- long range rifle.
A majority of the time I leave it at 6X.

 

[Velo Dog]

The rabbit is one of my treat meats and I try to bring home 20-30 from the lower reaches before I head up into the high country for goats and where the deer are as well. In between these two elevation are hares and often quite a few of them. I would definately dissagree on the gaminess and toughness of the hare meat. Of course I only take the easy eating animal and test that with the tear test which is simply that if the skin tears easily the meat will be tender otherwise they are left for the hawks. I bone them out, dice the meat cook it in a casserol (long and slow) which makes for excellent eating.

Jack rabbit meat compares to hare, as buzzard meat might compare to pheasant.

(My sincere apology for wrecking this excellent thread, and I will now stifle myself for awhile.)

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

If your variable power scope shifts POI with change in magnification, it's time to find a new brand of scope. I couldn't imagine using a fixed power scope in this day and age. With zoom ranges increasing from standard 3x all the way up to 8x these days, variables have never been more versatile or simple or reliable. I can't think of one reason to use a fixed power scope.

I'll give you two: weight & cost.

Most of my scopes are variables, but I do think fixed power scopes serve a purpose and have a place.

 

[Bren7X64]

Hi sierraone,

Once a person has made the basics of safe gun handling a concrete part of their personality and, has memorized the accuracy quirks of their equipment, the hunting ("walking-up") of jack rabbits is IMO, the very best way to train with rifle and handgun, including not just for hunters but, also quite excellent accuracy training for Police and Soldiers or, simply anyone who might use a rifle or handgun to defend the innocent.
And, the hunting of doves, teal, quail and grouse is IMO, likewise the best way to train with a shotgun for all the above.

Where I grew up hunting them, the farmers were plagued by jack rabbits (and ground squirrels too).
In a single night, multiple numbers of jack rabbits have been known to do very substantial damage to crops such as alfalfa clover, beans, cabbage, young grape vineyards and so forth.
Therefore, I usually had no trouble locating farmers happy to let me and my friends hunt these vermin (unfortunately, deer season generally was not such an "easy deal" for us though LOL).

Young Jack rabbits are not too bad eating, until they get about half grown.
At that point, they begin rapidly developing a very strong taste that, even cave men with granite taste buds such as I cannot abide (the word "disgusting" comes to mind).
Furthermore, they are possessed of such tendons as to be very difficult to chew, about like I would imagine a mouth full of fishing line and rubber bands might be to chew.

Cheers,
Velo Dog

Now, that's a description that conjures up pictures in my mind. Well done, sir.

 

[sheephunterab]

I like variable power scopes, I like sensible ranges in power like 3-9, 3.5-10 or 4.5-14 or 6.5-20 for a target- long range rifle.
A majority of the time I leave it at 6X.

Now with 4x and 5x zoom ranges common, variables are more versatile that ever. I run a 3-15x on the bulk of rifles these days but a 2-10x is a nice option on a DG scope that doubles as a plains game rifle and 5-25x is ideal for a varmint rifle. Zeiss just came out with a scope with 8x zoom range. A 1-8x seems just about perfect for a DG rifle and 2.8-20x for everything else.

 

[sheephunterab]

I'll give you two: weight & cost.

Most of my scopes are variables, but I do think fixed power scopes serve a purpose and have a place.

I doubt cost is a factor these days as the variables are common and mass produced where the fixed power scopes are somewhat of a specialty item. No doubt variables are a bit heavier and bulkier though but other than on mountain rifles the additional 8oz or so likely isn't that big of a deal and even on mountain rifles, it's nice to have higher end magnification as shots are often long.

 

[JGRaider]

I personally like variables better than fixed, but a good fixed 6 has it's place. Here are some interesting thoughts from custom rifle maker D'Arcy Echols. The full version can be seen here: http://echolsrifles.blogspot.com/2015_10_01_archive.html




For those of you that think this post was written to spot light a particular product or manufacture for ridicule you are very sadly mistaken as nothing could be further from the truth. Optical manufactures are working as rapidly as they can to bring to market the "next best" version that we the shooting public think that we should have? It's a wonder that they all haven't tossed in the towel and reverted their technology to making soda bottles or mayonnaise jars. We the public must shoulder some of the responsibility for these mechanical hiccups as we the public have requested our scopes be filled with everything under the sun and the kitchen sink. The next time you have a few spare minutes take a scope apart on your kitchen table, then reassemble it, I dare you! What I wish to illustrate is that any product can have a bad day and require technical support. Frankly I have lost count as to how many optical cave-ins I have witnessed over the years. I have mentioned this to a number of rifle makers in the past with many more years at the bench that I and they have stated emphatically that they have "never" in their careers had an issue with a rifle scope. Usually when I hear this reply my eye lids begin to twitch and hair on the back of my neck stands up.

Some of these gentlemen have been and are still very active builders and swear that they really do shoot their rifles before they are shipped. Makes me wonder what sort of trouble I've created in a past life when I hear these glowing reports for everything optical, however I do not live under that same umbrella.

So we have 2 new scopes, back to back, out of the box that have given up the ghost in a short amount of time. Neither rifle could be considered a "Heavy Caliber" neither rifle was fit with a muzzle brake or any other scope bashing devise, none of the testing was done off hand with me wearing a blindfold. Why then did this occur ? Rather than try to analyze the exact cause it might be best to accept the fact that mechanical failures do occur in the best of products no matter their price or their pedigree. Any decent manufacture will clearly stand behind their product and resolve what ever issues occasionally surface. The same anomalies can happen with your toaster, 4 wheeler or your lap top. I of course have never had a single rifle I've made develop any problems what so ever.

Sometimes I just crack myself up, OK maybe a few needed some additional tweaking.

I ask you, what ever happened to the simple fixed power scope ? Life was simpler then. Lead core bullets didn't bounce off deer, you were not required to shoot at 1100 yards to secure elk meat and everybody knew how to clean their guns and use a sling. Those were the days.


As a followup: The 7mm Magnum did make the SAAM course, being fit with a Nightforce 2.5-10x32mm Compact just before the course was to start. It has stayed zeroed, nothing has fallen off, no hydraulic leaks seen, nothing has gone south. This combination of rifle and glass were then put to good use a month later in Utah and Colorado. When you come into the possession of a good, honest, reliable scope heed my advise and treasure it.

 

[Ray B]

A Leupold FX3 6x42 is about as good as it gets in a hunting scope, IMO. I like variables too though.

I find that fixed power scopes are generally not included by the makers when they put the benefits of modern design into their scopes. One of the exceptions to this is Leupolds 6x42mm. a truly great and very useful scope for open country.

 

[Scrumbag]

Well, I have a Zeiss Dailyt 4x36 on my air rifle if that counts...

 

[CAustin]

I had a fixed power scope on the first rifle I ever owned. I was very young with outstanding eyesight at the time. Everything seemed to work very well for me. However, as I have aged and wear glasses I find the adjustable scopes to be an advantage fir me.

 

[Ray B]

Recalling fixed power scopes I've been around-At the 1985 NRA convention in Seattle I talked with the Zeiss rep. One of the items he had was a fixed power 1.5 scope that wasn't (and still isn't) available in the US. I told a hunting friend of it, who was building a 458 win Mag for a trip to Africa. My friend was from Germany and on his next trip to "the old country" he picked up one. I was transferred before he went to Africa and I haven't talked with him but I'm sure that a problem that he didn't have was the concern that he would meet up with a Cape Buffalo and have the variable knob set to 5x as is possible on the scope that Zeiss did export to the US.

 

[Jwg223]

Is anyone else a fan of fixed-power scopes? Honestly, no.Almost everyone uses variable scopes these days. Except me and a maybe a few other troglodytes.

One of the advantages of a fixed power scope is its simplicity. No dials or adjustments to make, once you've focused the ocular lens for your eye. No constant fiddling with a dial to change powers as the country you're hunting changes from near to far. If you don't want to fiddle, you don't have to. I can use my 1-4 like a fixed 4-power...but I have OPTIONS. You don't have the possibility of the reticle shifting as you change power because you're never changing power. I have honestly never observed this. Also, you zero on the highest magnification, and any shift is likely to be a fraction of a centimeter or something only lab-measurable, and if you're on 1x, or below your highest power, you're likely shooting something close, and it won't matter a bit.You don't risk the embarrassment of encountering a bull moose during rut or grizzly bear anytime, at 25 yards. . . while your scope has been left on 10 power. Ah! But you also don't run the risk of having your fixed-power set to 4x when a grizzley lunges out at 10 yards. Because that WON'T be changing. but you CAN leave your 1-4 on 1x, and only adjust if you need to for further game...or 2x, or 3x. I find that around 2x works GREAT for me shooting things rapidly past about 5 yards. Point being, you're stuck with a fixed optic, and have options with a variable.

Another advantage is that you force yourself to get used to a particular power, which will make you a better shot at that power. The guy with one rifle is often the best shot among the typical hunting crew. The same aptitude from always practicing with the same rifle and scope combination is likely to improve your shooting. Shooting a bunch of different rifle/scope combinations (which I confess I do) makes you a jack-of-all-trades, and master of none. I strongly disagree. The people most concerned with scopes regarding speed are using 1-4, 1-6, and now 1-8 variables. These would be people who shoot other people for a living (US Military) who are trying to shoot THEM for a living, as well as gamers (2 and 3 gun) who compete against a clock. I understand your theory, but it is not born out in the real world, in my observation.

Two of my modern single-shot rifles wear fixed-power scopes. For the simplicity theme of a single-shot rifle, a fixed-power scope is the perfect compliment.

Jim

My thoughts are in red. I feel that a LPV (low power variable), especially one with a near true unity on the low-end, offers exceptional capability. I believe this video will demonstrate what I am trying to convey.

 

[sestoppelman]

troglodytes............I remember that song..........caveman!

I have an old Rem 721 in 30-06 with a Weaver K4 scope with the post/crosshair.

"Her name was Bertha,,,Bertha Butt,,,one of the Butt sisters". LOL! Long time ago!