What is the farthest distance a 4X fixed scope is good for?

M

MB2

New member
Yeah, I know, kind of a dumb newbie question. But I have never shot any rifle over 200 yards before. And now with my .204 and 4X scope, 200-250 yards just seems like a hail mary. Would a 3-9X really help out with 200+ shots? How about a 4-12X?
I got the scope for a christmas present, otherwise I'd have bought a variable.
But now I'm thinking of getting a variable and then putting the 4X on a 22 mag for fox.
Opinions on scope magnification?
 
Geeze Louise! A 204 with a 4X scope? You need more than that!

If all you are ever going to take is a coyote out to 150 yards or so that may be OK, but you got a lazer beam gun here, so get you some glass with some power for it.

A 4 to 12 would be OK, if not a bit more. My 204 Savage has a 6.5 - 20X Leupold on it and it seems perfect for the shooting that I do. I have taken ground squirrels out past 400 yards with this setup (OK OK, I missed a lot at this range too) and plenty of glass is the ticket.

Get something with some magnification to it, and good gosh dont buy the cheapest thing you can find either! Good guns deserve good glass. That is an always thing that will never change. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Really all depends on your target size and how far you're shooting. At the distances you mentioned a 4X would be plenty on a deer sized target but not so good on a prarie dog. I have a 4.5-14 on my calling rig but pretty much always leave it at the lower end and have shot coyotes past 200 easily. The high side helps at the range and when shooting the afore mentioned PD's. A small caliber long ranger like your 204 probably does deserve something better than a 4X fixed though.
 
All I shoot at are coyotes. No prarie dogs or anything. And here in WI, I don't get many chances at coyotes over 150 yards. But there are a few places where there's potential for 300 yard shots.
So perhaps the 4Xer will work for the time being anyway.

Oh yeah, the gun is a Handi-Rifle in .204, so it's not like I have a thousand dollar gun or anything.

So a 250 yard shot at a coyote with a 4X scope is no big deal?
 
I think a 4-12X40 Bushnell Trophy is compact enough for your Handi-Rifle, and would cover the 300 yard shots. At around a $140-$150 it won't break your budget either.
 
Against pdogs, I use scopes with a top end of 18 or 20X.

The Leupold Competition series 6-18X with 1/8 MOA Target Dot reticle is, IMO, the best scope for pdog shooting I've ever used. I greatly prefer it to my Leupold VXIII LR/SF 6-20X with Varminter reticle. As a side benefit, the 6-18X costs only about half as much as the 6-20X.

Mike
 
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All I shoot at are coyotes. No prarie dogs or anything. And here in WI, I don't get many chances at coyotes over 150 yards. But there are a few places where there's potential for 300 yard shots.



You'll likely be fine as long as you are comfortable with the scope and its abilities given the scenario your in. There is nothing wrong with a lower powered fixed scope for a calling gun since the goal is to call the coyotes to you. It is easy to get wrapped up thinking about all these hung up dogs hanging out there at the edge of the horizon that are now going to be missed but in reality how many shots are at 400 yds vs 100 yds and in.
 
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All I shoot at are coyotes. No prarie dogs or anything. And here in WI, I don't get many chances at coyotes over 150 yards. But there are a few places where there's potential for 300 yard shots.





If all you shoot at are coyotes, I think 4X is just fine. My variables are always set at 5X for coyote calling and the magnication is plenty for shots at 300 yards - I've killed several this year already at that distance on 5X. I think for a rifle that will truly never get used for anything else but coyote calling, either a fixed 4X or fixed 6X is perfect, actually.

- DAA
 
I fixed four power is a good calling scope but you might be better served with an inexpensive 3x9, gives a lower power then 4x and higher power just in case. Don't go out and buy the most expensive one on the market, a Bushnell or a Simmons will work just fine. But I think you would appreciate a little magnification with a .204, Even if it's just at the range sighting in.
 
personally I like 3x for yote calling, so thats what my 3x9 stays on, 3x gives me more options it has a wide FOV witch makes shooting with both eyes open and getting on target fast and much easier, its also not so much magnification that when I fire at a yote normally I don't loose the target and can see what happened when the shot went off. I also feel good about shooting yotes close in with this setup too, who the heck needs a shotgun that is too easy, if I ever need more power the adjustment ring is right there. IMO to use much more than 9x you need to have a very stable shooting platform, which prolly isn't easy to come by in most field conditions, even off shooting sticks I don't see why one would want more than 9x
 
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All I shoot at are coyotes. No prarie dogs or anything. And here in WI, I don't get many chances at coyotes over 150 yards. But there are a few places where there's potential for 300 yard shots.





If all you shoot at are coyotes, I think 4X is just fine. My variables are always set at 5X for coyote calling and the magnication is plenty for shots at 300 yards - I've killed several this year already at that distance on 5X. I think for a rifle that will truly never get used for anything else but coyote calling, either a fixed 4X or fixed 6X is perfect, actually.

- DAA



+1 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
I wouldn't even put a fixed 4x scope on my 22LR.(my Ruger 10/22 has a 3-9x32) On a 204, nothing less than 4-12 would be acceptable to me.

t/c223encore.
 
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All I shoot at are coyotes. No prarie dogs or anything. And here in WI, I don't get many chances at coyotes over 150 yards. But there are a few places where there's potential for 300 yard shots.





If all you shoot at are coyotes, I think 4X is just fine. My variables are always set at 5X for coyote calling and the magnication is plenty for shots at 300 yards - I've killed several this year already at that distance on 5X. I think for a rifle that will truly never get used for anything else but coyote calling, either a fixed 4X or fixed 6X is perfect, actually.

- DAA



+1 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif



Make that +2 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
I think the answer to your question is it depends how much you practice. And I dont mean shootin' groups at 300 yds. because ofcourse more magnification will be alot better there. Go to a range and set some reactive targets out there(gatorade and water bottle w. water in them work great). You should have no problem hitting them if your doing your part. If you want more magnification I would not go over 3-4 on the bottom end of the power range. Less is more sometimes;)Also if you want a good scope with a great warranty for a very reasonable price I'd look at a Sightron SI.

CZ
 
Your 4X is fine for your use. Can you hit a dog at 100 yards with iron sights? 4X just makes that same shot appearance at 400 yards.
Most folks way over-scope.
I am assuming it is a quality scope, a junk scope is that, regardless of the X's.
Carl
 
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Most folks way over-scope.


Because the only thing worse than not having enough scope, is not having enough gun. Why limit yourself to a fixed 4x when you can have a variable 4-12x? You don't have to use 12x, but it's there if/when you want it.
 
My opinion is you can only shoot as good as you can see. I prefer higher x's that I can zoom up to if needed for a long or pinpoint shot. For calling distances they are generally pretty close. If you can hold a 3" dot with every shot at 2 or 300 yds with a 4x scope every shot, should be good enough.
 
How good is your eyesight? The WW2 GI's were useing 4X scopes on 03A3 Springfields at 1000 Yards the NAzi's and Russians were doing the same with Mausers and Mosen Nagats.
Your talking about a 204? What is the effective range ?
Not so much the scope but what is the round and rfle ballisticly capible of, and what are you capible of?
 
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