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Originally Posted by TimBone
I appreciate it, man. Thats a ton of good info. This is my first hunting rifle, and I'm very limited in how much I have hunted. I would prefer a variable, but I read an article the other day that said most beginners struggle with one, and that maybe you should start with a fixed 4. I consider myself a quick learner, so I'm probably gonna go ahead and go with a variable.
Hunting here in the woods in Louisiana, a 3-9 will be more than enough from the sound of it, but if I go home and hunt with my Uncle in the flat land of Central Texas, I'll likely need more magnification, right? I would assume shots over 1000 yards could be common over there.
One of the articles I read mentioned light transfer and was giving out percentages. It stated that 98% is about the max that can be achieved and is considered perfect. Says 90% and above is acceptable, and 95% is considered great. Is there any way to know before buying what percent you're gonna get out of these scopes?
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3-9x is probably the way to go. There is nothing more difficult about using a variable power scope. Adjustable Objective requires a little bit of skill in range estimation (but the scope actually helps you do that).
The only difference between variable and fixed power is what you can get for your money. A fixed 4x scope that costs $300 is usually going to have a little bit clearer glass than a variable power scope that costs the same. I generally prefer variable power, but if the choice were a good fixed power versus a bad variable power, I would rather have a good fixed power.
Re: light transmission
The percentages are usually more about marketing than anything else. Look through the scopes and you can tell the difference. HOWEVER, make sure you adjust the scope to your eye first. Ask the person at the counter if you don't know how (most scopes it is right on the part closest to your eye, on some more expensive scopes it is on a side turret).
The size of the objective can be a good stand in for light transmission sometimes. For example, a 40mm objective will gather more light than a 32mm objective of equal lens quality. However, there are trade offs in weight, height above bore, and in some cases mounting problems. 3-9x32 is a pretty standard hunting scope.
There is a lot more that goes into it besides how big the objective is, like glass coatings, and manufacture, so there is always no substitute for looking through the scopes.
As far as 1000 yard shots go, very skilled shooters make them with iron sights. Magnification is not strictly speaking required. The limiting factor is the shooter. However, a 3-9 hunting scope is the wrong choice for that job. The crosshairs will cover everything up at that distance. If you are serious about making those shots, you will probably end up spending more money on the scope than on the rifle you end up building.
Schmidt and Bender and Nightforce come to mind (Think 3 grand).