Scope recommendation for full time deer gun/part time varmint gun?
 

I bought my wife a TC Encore blackpowder rifle this year to get her into deer hunting. I plan to get a .243 barrel for it for next season. I would like to use the gun myself for varmints like groundhogs and coyotes. So I think I need a scope that goes beyond 9x. Would the 4-14x scopes do well for 200-300 yd shots on varmints? I don't want to go past 4x on the wide side because we hunt deer in the woods where shots are 100 yards or less.

3-9x40 or 50

Depends on the size of varmits that you are after. For groundhogs and coyotes at the ranges you mentioned 12x would do the job very well. There are a few 4x12x40 scopes that are not much larger than a 3x9x40, but the ones woth AO are a bit longer. The 4.5x14x40 scopes are very popular now and would also fit your requirements, but with the AO feature they are longer and heavier. Read the specs for field of view at the lower power and pay particular attention to the eye relief number if you are going to use it in the woods as a deer rifle.

Red-dot scopes or 4x32 mm scope with laser sights might work for you

Leupold VXII ao 4 x12 40mm works pretty well out to 400 plus yards.

Leupold VX-3 2.5 x 8 is more the sufficent for long yardage and thick cover.

Having live in Pa. and hunting groundhogs I always wished for a more powerful scope, I used an old Weaver K10 on a bull barrel 22-250, and would take any safe shot I could see, bought that set up while I was in the army,71-73. After that the family didn't leave extra for things like that.Now living here and the kids are all gone,so sometimes I've got a few extra bucks and have my own Encore with a few barrels ,I've tried more power but find I just don't shoot that far anymore, I shake more and don't see as well, so limit myself to 300 yds max, most shots less than 100, and I've never shot a moose or bear past 100.All my Encore rifle barrels wear 3-9x scopes that only get turned up if I'm not sure and animal meets minimum legal requirements, and is in a spot that I expect it to disappear any second,If I have time I use the binos most of the time. But if I were a youngster looking at your situation I would go with a 4 x 14 as long as the eye relief and F.O.V. were adequate. On the low side there isn't that much difference between 3x and 4x but on the high end there is a huge difference between 9x and 14x.
JMHO Alex

ADV,

Here's what I use;

http://www.opticsplanet.net/burris-4...le-scopes.html

My dad shoots a 270 for both deer and varmits, he has a Bushnell Elite 6500 4.5-30x50mm SF with the DOA 600 retical. Optically it is a great scope, it is as clear if not clearer than my VXIII 6.5-20 Leupold, which is hard for me to admit. This scope is very versatile, it has enough low end power to use as a big game hunting scope while also posessing more than enough power on the high end for any long shots you might encounter while varmit hunting. It is a really great scope!

checkout the vortex diamondback 4-12x40.i use it on my 22-250 and is a great match.