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Lever Gun Scope Rant

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220
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Re: Lever Gun Scope Rant

Post by 220 » Mon Sep 10, 2018 1:31 am

The simplest explanation is the nut behind the butt.
Your wobble at max power is magnified 3x compare to the minimum power, the more noticeable the wobble the more inclined the shooter is to snatch at the trigger when the sight picture looks good.
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North Country Gal
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Re: Lever Gun Scope Rant

Post by North Country Gal » Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:23 am

As above, the higher the magnification, the more critical trigger technique, especially, timing of the pull, not to mention the quality of your trigger. In short, everything becomes more critical as you zoom up in magnification. Using higher magnification takes practice, same as any other skill. In my own shooting, I've often found that on a given day, I reach a max magnification that is useful. Using more than that, does nothing for group size. By the way, a great way to learn all this is to shoot offhand, no rest, with a scope and try different magnification settings.

Scope optical quality also noticeably decreases as magnification increases, unless you are shooting a high end scope. Even cheap scopes look pretty good in terms of optics at low power. It's when you crank the scopes up to the max power that you see what you are getting for the price.
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Lyman
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Re: Lever Gun Scope Rant

Post by Lyman » Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:35 am

I typically dont go above about 4x at 50 yards. I shoot better at a lower magnification. Its just a matter of finding what works best for your situation.
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henry22
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Re: Lever Gun Scope Rant

Post by henry22 » Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:05 pm

Ok guys, points taken.

220: But what explains the regular consistent accuracy with my 22 mag using the VX Freedom, at FULL power, 9X mag? And yet, at full mag power on the vortex DB, it's rarely bang on like the Leupold?

NCG: I do agree with you and 220, what's the expression, "aim small miss small"? I get it now, I just never felt comfortable squinting at something the size of a quarter or a nickel for that matter at 50 yards at 4X power, very hard to see those little brown potatoes with a dirt mound behind them. So i've grown accustomed to max power, to feel more comfortable seeing them. But that all went out the window this weekend.

Lyman: As above, I don't know what sized objects you're shooting at 50 yards, but I find it really uncomfortable to see small things like a bottle cap at that range on lowest power. Great example here — This is close to what I see with both scopes at full power: (more mag X with the DB, but less clear)
https://fjfeddersen.com/wp-content/uplo ... loseup.jpg

But this weekend with the Vortex DB at 4X power, 1" potatoes looked like this instead:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... _scope.jpg I hit them, every single one, and I noticed that there was no swaying, everything looked much more still, but very difficult to see.

Which brings me to my next segue.. — Wouldn't I be better off then with a fixed scope for shooting smaller things at 50 yards, that has a higher "fixed" mag, like 6X?

I don't really care about FOV, I only need to see about 3 inches high, left and right of a potato.

Sorry, last one, I'm trying to kill 3 birds with 1 stone... Is it expensive to have a company replace the stock reticle in a scope?

Thanks guys.
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220
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Re: Lever Gun Scope Rant

Post by 220 » Tue Sep 11, 2018 5:27 am

Given what you have reported I would say the big difference between the scopes is how well you can aim at max magnification.
If as you said for some reason the sight picture on the vortex is not as good at max magnification as the Leupold or as good as at lower magnification then I would say it is the problem. If your not seeing as well then you wont be shooting as well.
Have you tried focusing the scope at maximum magnification?
I would try shooting a few groups at minimum and maximum magnification, in theory the max mag should show a slight advantage. It would also be interesting to see if it shoots the exactly the same point of aim at both magnifications.
If the scope had issues with a wandering zero it should show up at all magnifications not just the upper end.
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henry22
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Re: Lever Gun Scope Rant

Post by henry22 » Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:13 am

Ok 220. I never thought to try that. It was so rewarding hitting the potatoes at lower mag, that I didn't bother with the paper. But, I will try that this weekend. I'll try and shoot:

3 groups of 5 at 4X power,
3 groups 5 at 6X, incrementally, to see where the POI goes, and I'll report back.

It could be that the Leupold is that much clearer, and at full power, all I have to do is adjust the focus ring slightly, it's even great at 7X. I think either way, I'm going to ditch this Vortex, it's not even comparable to the Leupold.

There's a company I found online yesterday in Calgary, and they're a Leupold dealer. The have a custom shop where they can change the reticle in your scope: 2 different kinds of Leupold dots, and I hope to god 1 of them is the 1/8 target dot:
https://fjfeddersen.com/wp-content/uplo ... loseup.jpg

The duplex is ok, at least the crosshair center is a fine line, but I want that tiny black dot too.
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ditto1958
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Re: Lever Gun Scope Rant

Post by ditto1958 » Tue Sep 11, 2018 8:43 am

Holy thread revival, Batman.
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Rifletom
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Re: Lever Gun Scope Rant

Post by Rifletom » Tue Sep 11, 2018 2:21 pm

Might have started a might old, but, I learned about the Henry Big Boy ring and base set. Provided I go the scope route.
68 year old eyes tend to get bleary after a while shooting the irons. Lo-Pro looks promising,but, it's them tired eyes that shorten shooting time. Hmm.
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Mags
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Re: Lever Gun Scope Rant

Post by Mags » Tue Sep 11, 2018 5:30 pm

Tired blurry eyes sent me down the scope route. Glad I did. I couldn't focus on the iron sights in front of me and the target. Since that was the case I didn't bother with peeps, ghost rings or any thing else not a scope.
Rifletom wrote:Might have started a might old, but, I learned about the Henry Big Boy ring and base set. Provided I go the scope route.
68 year old eyes tend to get bleary after a while shooting the irons. Lo-Pro looks promising,but, it's them tired eyes that shorten shooting time. Hmm.
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Rifletom
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Re: Lever Gun Scope Rant

Post by Rifletom » Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:00 pm

Yeah, gave it some thought this morning and will go with a scope. Just put a scope in the classified's to trade with. I'll see how this goes.
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