Greetings! I'm in the market for buying a new hunting rifle and scope when I return from Iraq in Nov. What I'd like to know is about how magnification, obj lense size, and other features affect a scopes performance. Does a larger obj lense mean a greater field of view? allow more light in? any info pertaining to this would help me out a bunch....peace...dave

A larger objective will indeed allow more light in and provide a bigger field of view. However, a larger objective requires you to mount the scope higher. 3x9 Variable magnification is a standard for scopes these days. Depending on where you hunt, you mightmight be better off witha 1x6 or a 2x7. The lower power will be a benefit if you have to do some close hunting. And, if you can't see them at 6 or 7 power, 9 won't be much better. Don't neglect to get good solid mounts. And by the way, good luck in Iraq. Hope Nov. comes quickly for you.

When purchasing a scope you have to know what type of hunting you’ll be doing. Will it be in heavy bush or out in the open. Under heavy cover you should be looking for lower magnification such as 1-4 or 2-7 such as previously suggested. For open country the 3-9 is very popular but 3-10, 4-12 and 4.4-14 power would also work very well.

The larger the obj. lens the more light it can gather but the quality of the lens and the coating will also play a role in how clear the scope is. Just to give you an example I have two scope with the 30 mm tube. I have a Leupold Euro 3-9 x 50 mm and the Nikon Gold 1.5-6 x 42 mm and the Nikon is allot brighter. I had friend look at both to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me and they all agreed that the Nikon were much better. So it also has to do with the quality of the scope.

One more thing you might consider when getting a scope is the weight of the scope. This might play a roll depending on if you’re sitting in one spot all day like in a tree stand or moving around and having to carry your rifle. Hopefully we can help you in understanding it a little more and good luck...

Personally,I find that a scope in the 2/3 to 9/10 power range with a 40 or 42mm objective lens is the most versatile scope for most conditions.The 2x or 3x magnification is good for close range and you don't need more than 9x or 10xfor big game hunting.As stated previously,lens and coating quality can result in a 40mm scope being as bright as a 50mm scope of lesser quality,and a lower mounted scope is preferable for hunting.