How much riflescope power to shoot at 100-200 yards ?

[subscriber]

Mil dot fixed 10X scope will reliably do all kinds of work. 200yd +
Sight in @ 200yds and dope your rifle to call your shots.
I'm partial to Leupold.

This is great, for shooting from a guaranteed steady rest, such as off sandbags on a bench. Also, when none of your targets suddenly appear at 25 yards.

If any of your shots involve a more wobbly rest, such as shooting off sticks, a fixed 10X is going to make target acquisition harder, and will tend to amplify your wobble: Grab 10X binoculars without electronic stabilization and see how steady you can hold them, while looking at objects 200 yards away. Yes, it should be easier to hold a rifle steady than binoculars, until you tire out. If all you are ever going to do is shoot off a bench with 10 minutes to prepare each shot, by all means get a fixed 25X scope...

2-7 or 3-9X scopes are commodity priced. Pick a good one by Leupold or equivalent. The OP should consider what else the scope will eventually be used for and at what ranges.

Certainly, magnification is not like cash - more is not necessarily better. Then there are matters such as the "eyebox" and eye relief to consider. These affect how quickly you can find the target with less than perfect head placement.

[Tere_Hanges]

Anything from 4x to 12x magnification. I really like 3x-9x40mm optics. As you shoot more you will realize more magnification is not really necessary. I actually prefer a bigger field of view and brighter picture.

If you want 24x magnification, get a spotting scope. A good spotting scope is really handy past 100yds, thats what I would spend my money on.

[subscriber]

As you shoot more you will realize more magnification is not really necessary. I actually prefer a bigger field of view and brighter picture.

This cannot be appreciated without looking through a bunch of scopes - before the OP buys one.

[Exdc]

Are you looking to only shoot at the range? Possibly for hunting? Do you absolutely need a variable power scope? Do you need it to be FFP? If you're only shooting at the range, get a 10 or a 12 or a 16 fixed power. I recommend SWFA SS fixed magnification, with mil-dots and mil-turrets. You'll have a rugged, reliable, repeatable scope. Attach it with Warne steel rings or an Aero Precision cantilever mount. You can't beat them for the price and quality.


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[CSTactical]

A great budget conscious option is the Vortex Strike Eagle line in 3-18 and 4-24 for under $500! https://bit.ly/2oW7oPL Give us a call if you'd like at 916-670-1103 and we'll be happy to answer any questions

[cannon]

On my 223/5.56 bolt action I run a 3X9X40 and usually have it set on 7.

My usual target at my club is clay birds on the 100 and 200 butts. Like to hit the bird and then hit the chips.

Allows me to put it on the dot.

Best of luck to you.

[EricT71]

My $.02-

never look through a scope that you cannot afford

[Air]

I shoot tiny groups with a Remington 700 SPS Tactical in .223 with a 10x fixed power SWFA SS.

[therealnickb]

With a 9 power little 22 cal bullet holes can be hard to see. A nice clear scope makes a difference.

^ Its definitely nice to skip a spotting scope.

I also never realized just how much glass matters until I dropped a Night Force on one rifle. Glass matters!

[Sutcliffe]

100-200 yards is short

If you want tiny groups then higher magnification variables are likely best. For casual shooting or hunting I'd say a good quality fixed 4X should be simple, rock solid and accurate.

[CSACANNONEER]

This is for target shooting from 100 to 200 yards with .223 bolt-action rifle.

What riflescope power range should I get ?

It's really impossible to properly answer this question without knowing your needs and goals. Obviously, irons or even a 1X optic is fine for shooting 200 yards or more but, if you are talking precision BR shooting, you should consider a 24x or even a 50x depending on your personal preference. So, without knowing more about your exact situation, the answer is somewhere between a 1x and a +50x.

[QED]

It's really impossible to properly answer this question without knowing your needs and goals. Obviously, irons or even a 1X optic is fine for shooting 200 yards or more but, if you are talking precision BR shooting, you should consider a 24x or even a 50x depending on your personal preference. So, without knowing more about your exact situation, the answer is somewhere between a 1x and a +50x.

If you also wish to use your rifle scope as a spotting scope at 200yds, then something on the order of 20x would be the lower limit.

[MrElectric03]

Their quality control may not be the best. One of mine came with a canted reticle out of the box, and I had a replacement within the week. The replacement (which went onto a 308 semi-auto) and the other one I have (on my 5.56 that is primarily designated for my wife's use on range days) both have held zero no problem.

I'm glad your experience was better than mine. Brand new rifle, lapped rings, all bolts torqued. It took me four months to determine my issue was the scope. Hard to get time at the range with work being busy and winter. My problem, not theirs. Using a high quality bore sight I determined that POI moved between 1 and 6 moa with each shot. Had to pay shipping to them for warranty. Four weeks later got a new scope. Got it installed and same issue. Paid shipping to return again, 36 days later, new scope arrived. This time I had zero confidence. Cabelas would do nothing and advised they had enough returns that they don't suggest Athlon to customers at this store and they suggest contacting Athlon. Athlon told me they refuse to refund or allow me to buy up to a higher model. My only options were to sell a scope I had zero confidence in and make it someone else's problem or try it on my .308, and I'm honest so it's on the Remington.

[CandG]

No less than 200x




Seriously though, it all depends on what it's for.

For bench shooting, I love having as much power as I can get. I use a 24x Vortex on my .308 AR bench gun, and I love it for that. It's great even shooting at 100-200 yards, where the bullseye takes up the whole sight picture But it's too big, and too hard to get a sight picture in a hurry for hunting, or even off-hand range shooting, so my hunting and plinking rifles have 7x or 9x scopes; smaller size and easier to get the medium-range target in view. Then my defensive rifles have anywhere from 1x to 4x optics, because targets would be close and getting a fast sight picture is of utmost importance.

[70runner]

3-9/40 Vortex or Nikon Prostaff, good quality, reasonable price