Originally Posted by
bigbulls
Don't get all wrapped up in excessively high magnification at the expense of low end magnification. 10 - 12 power is more than enough magnification for big game hunting out to several hundred yards. I personally wouldn't want to go over 4X magnification on the low end unless it were on a long range specific rifle.
With a 50mm objective lens you are going to get in increasingly darker image when you get above 10X magnification. Just because you can crank it up to 18 or 20 times magnification doesn't mean you are going to be able to see what you are looking at.
Leave the high magnification scopes for the specialized long range and varmint rifles.
Roger that. Don't forget it an AIMING device, not a spotting scope. Many a woodchuck has fallen to my 25-06 at ranges out to 350yds. That's using a fixed 6x IOR (another outstanding scope in the high end catagory). The 42mm Objective lens gathers a ton of light and still mounts low enough to give a comfortable cheek weld. Might not have as much eye relief as some, but it's more than adaquate.