Magnification for General Usage.

[Blackrider]

2-7x32 appears to be a nice spec as does the "Little Simmons" at 1.5-5x20 which we all know about as is 4x40 and 6x42 in fixed mag.

[rhyslightnin]

2-7x32 appears to be a nice spec as does the "Little Simmons" at 1.5-5x20 which we all know about as is 4x40 and 6x42 in fixed mag.

2-7 is good as is 3-9 but more importantly I find a small objective 32-40 & no more than that is good for everything. I've had a few 42's & 44's but you can't use them over 8mag as the parallax is too much. I think this is why a 2-7x32/33/35 is ideal for general use airgun.

[MartynB]

2-7x32 appears to be a nice spec

I just bought one with that spec from Gareth, very clear optics. Almost all my scopes are 4 x 32 or there abouts

I bought my Swarovski Habicht Nova 4 x 32 in 1985 and it is still going strong

[Waisted]

I have been there and done that with the bigger scopes, 6x42 German 4a ret on six of my airrifles plenty big enough for the ranges that I shoot at. I bought them of our sponsor JS Ramsbottom cheap as chips as they say.

[angrybear]

I like variable mag to scan larger areas before using the zoom to take the shot, at 30yds probably 6x-9x depending on whether its paper or prey.

All up weight is part of why the old Mamba-lite was such a perfect airgun scope, 3-12x42 in a light weight package - perfect.

[IanSea]

I usually use my zoom scopes on either 6 or 7. Sometimes I wind the mag up a bit when zeroing though.

[MarkAllen]

I used to use high magnification naively thinking that if the target is blown up to a huge size it would be easier to hit the centre. The resuld for me was that it allowed me to wander over the target. Since lowering the mag to say 6x at 30m i find that the wandering has eased and I'm more consistent.

[PhatMan]

Blackrider,

When I hunted, years ago, I used a Simmons WTC 1.5-5x20 on my 0.22" LR rimfire.

I used it almost exclusively on 3x.

Today, for general purpose air-rifle shooting, I would probably choose a scope of 4x or 6x.

Have fun & a good weekend

Best regards

Russ

[les allam]

6x42 is my favourite scope spec.
Les

[zephyr]

Within my experience (finances mean I haven’t had a lot of scopes) fixed mag scopes have better optics than variable for the same money.

10x fixed mag, no IR, fine reticle marking.

[Roundshot]

6x42 is my favourite scope spec.
Les

Yes Les, a great scope spec for air rifles, although I ain't got any! See you at the Bash.

[Rog5]

I like variable mag to scan larger areas before using the zoom to take the shot, at 30yds probably 6x-9x depending on whether its paper or prey.

All up weight is part of why the old Mamba-lite was such a perfect airgun scope, 3-12x42 in a light weight package - perfect.

Not wanting to upset you Mr Angry, but probably not best practice, you are probably fine doing this, but others might be doing it with loaded and cocked rifles, no offence intended. Rog

[angrybear]

Not wanting to upset you Mr Angry, but probably not best practice, you are probably fine doing this, but others might be doing it with loaded and cocked rifles, no offence intended. Rog

That's perfectly alright, because you're correct it's not best practice,
however due to the lay of my land there are points from which I can scan a complete field & have a safe back stop for the entire process, on the flip side some fields can only be shot from one direction.

[kat1]

I use Viper Connects 3-12X32 on both of my go to rifles. Usually set around 4x. Use higher mags to check out paper targets sometimes but prefer low mag clarity. Had a good few 2-7x32 Hawks in the past, got on with them very well. Weight and clarity are top of my list when considering scopes.

Kat

[dayglowfroggy]

OK i will buck the trend.
I use x3 or x4 in my garden.
But as high as my scooes go for hft.
I started off on 8 then up to 10 after a few months and now i stick to 12 as i don't find any real disadvantage from using 12 over 10 everything is blurred from 13 yards down you just need to know your mill dots.
But on 12 my 40, 45 and beyond yard shots are better.
I use scope maximisers on most of my hft guns and have spent ages changing scope heights and adjustable butt stocks so i don't think parallax is too much of a problem for me.