Which power do you prefer for a hunting scope, 2-7 or 3-9?

[M.A.T]

Which power do you prefer for a hunting scope, 2-7 or 3-9?

[FirstBubba]

The majority of my hunting can be served with a fixed 4x scope. I have 1 3x9x40 on my .270. Everything else has a fixed 4x.
Of the two scopes you mention, the 2-7 would suffice for all my applications.

[habben97]

David Petzal just wrote an article on this over on the gun nuts blog.

[jay]

Kinda depends on what your putting it on. Crossbow, pistol, shotgun or rifle?

[Sarge01]

For all of my deer rifles I have 3X9X50's on them. I use 50's to gather more light at dawn and dusk in the dense woods that I hunt in and on overcast days.

[M.A.T]

This scope would be used for 200 yards, or less, deer hunting and possibly elk hunting. And would 7x not be enough power for shooting at -/+ 300 yards?

[99explorer]

Jack O'Connor believed that a fixed 6X scope had the most magnification that a big game hunter would ever need.
He preferred 4X for all-around use in hunting big game.

[jhjimbo]

I have a savage .300 with a K2.5, .223 4X16, 45/70 4X, 22-250 6X24, 30-06 3X9, .308 6X18, .50ML 2X7, 30-30 3X9, .17WSM 4X16, 30-06 2X7, .223 1X4.5, .225 4X12, .300WbyMag 3X9

[obijohn]

The 3x9 has been the most popular scope, but as others have said, it depends on the application. I'll assume this is asked for a bolt-action rifle in a centerfire caliber suitable for deer.

If I had to hunt in thick woods, maybe with the occasional shot up to 200 yards, then a 2x7 is plenty of scope... and especially if I want to hunt elk in addition to deer. I think the 2x7 is plenty of scope for an eastern or mid-west whitetail rifle. If I had to hunt in much of the country where most of the time I could get a shot from 100 to 300 yards, then the 3x9 would be fine. I think the 3x9 is sufficient for western deer and elk hunting in open country, with the occasional coyote thrown in when the deer and elk season is closed.

I have rifles with scopes of both powers, having shot coyotes at several hundred yards' distance at 6x, and a running deer at 20 yards at 3x. To be honest, if a 2x7 isn't enough magnification, then a 3x9 won't be either... and if 3x is too much magnification to get a good shot off, then 2x will also be too much.

[chuckles]

Here are the last five scopes I have purchased:
VX-3, 2.5x8x36
Nikon P-223, 3x32
VX-R, 2x7x33
FX, 2.5x20
Nikon Prostaff, 2x7x32
I just find that the smaller scopes make for a better handling rifle and for the hunting I do are more than enough magnification. I only use the high end at the range. In the field they all stay at the lowest setting.
When I lived in Colorado I cranked up my scope once in 15 years to make a shot. Normally you don't have time or you forget when you are focused on getting a shot off.
M.A.T my advice is to buy a scope for the 99% of the shots you will take not the 1%.

[Grassroots89]

3-9.

[Sarge01]

I stated above that I use 3X9X50 scopes and the last 10 years I have killed approximately 14 deer with that scope and it has never been off 9 power. I have one scope that is a 4X12X50 and have killed 4 deer with this scope and it has never been off of 12 power. Of course I don't shoot at running deer so I don't need the lower power. My .22 rifle wears a 3Xx9X40 scope to. My thinking has always been that "you can't hit what you can't see" and in my golden years my eyes "ain't what they used to be". The reason Jack O'Conner and the early writers believed that they only need fixed power scopes was because the variable power scopes of those times were suspect at best. If they had access to the quality variable power scopes that we have today I'm sure they would have had different thoughts.

[DakotaMan]

Normally 3-9 but if it is on something slow or for very dense brush, the 2-7.

[WA Mtnhunter]

I have a 2-7x Leupold on my .308 and 3-9x, 3-10x, or 3-12x on the other big dogs. I would put a 2-7x on my .257 Roberts if I had one lying around, so in the meantime the 3-9x stays put. I keep all of them set on 3x or 4x all the time anyway unless I have a long shot and/or require use of the ballistic reticle(s) which is calibrated at a specific power setting mark.

[RES1956]

There are a lot of 2.5x10 Leupolds around my house, but when I am serious about whacking whitetails, the 7/08 m70 is my choice and wears a Leupold 2x7 with heavy duplex reticle.