scope power suggestions for 50 to 200 yards .223Rem bolt rifle

[Thirties]

What is a good magnification for a rifle scope on a .223Rem bolt rifle shooting in the 50 to 200 yard range?

I am not sure if a fixed magnification is the best. I'm leaning that way, but have no centerfire rifle experience -- just a Marlin 1894 .357 with iron sights.

My theory is that you get used to the sight picture using a fixed power, and it makes you a more consistent shot.

How's my theory . . . any good advice for me?

 

[2FNSLO]

I have a 5x15x40 on mine and seems to work fine at those ranges. Really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. For varmints this is enough power, for shooting tiny groups, get the highest fixed you can afford.

 

[Thirties]

Sorry, I forgot to mention, I'll be shooting squirrels at that range: 50 to 200 yards. This will not be a bench rest rifle. Thinking of the Weatherby Vanguard Carbine .223Rem.

 

[2FNSLO]

Might want a 6x18x40 also. I have one on my .17.

.223 for squirrels? You sure that's enough gun? Just kidding! You may want to just get a .22LR if you want to eat them.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[bojack2575]

You may want to just get a .22LR if you want to eat them.

I never shoot an animal I don't plan on eating!

 

[Thirties]

I've got a couple of .22lrs. and no, I don't eat them. I'm talking about the little red squirrels.

 

[blacksky]

I have a Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24X40 on mine and it works fine.

 

[Te Anau]

The good ole 3X9X40 should work fine.

 

[Art Eatman]

I put a Leupold Vari-X II 2x7x32 on my .243 carbine, back in 1981. Still works fine; no problems ruining prairie dogs to 300 yards. My .223 bolt-action sports a Leupold Vari-X II 3x9x40, mostly because that was what was in the gunsafe. It does prairie dogs about the same way. Six of one, half-dozen of the other. No biggie.

 

[ken22250]

a good fixed power scope of arround 6x should do well for what you are saying, i think that fixed power scopes are better than varibles, they are simple, strong, have a wider FOV, are brighter, something like the 6x weaver K6 or the leupold FX-III 6x42mm or the FX-II 6x36mm leupold, a 6x will be in sharp focus at 50 yards, and also at 200 yards, if you like fixed power, i would highly recomend it.
ken

 

[BobCat2m]

Try a Bushnell Elite 4200 or 3200 in the 3-9, 3-10 rnage and you can't go wrong. This is what I use on all my walking carbines and they can't be beat. Bright, accurate, and its great not to have to worry about those humid mornings in the swamps where I hunt.
Also, you don't need all that extra weight on a big glass for much more than range shooting. Practically speaking I do most of my Prarie dog shooting (when I go west) with the scope on my HEAVY 22-250 sewt on 12X beyod that the mirage effect on hot days is pretty bad.
Whatever you choose ENJOY YOUR NEW RIG.

Good Hunting

 

[JAYBIRD78]

I second the Bushnell 4200 series.

I also enjoy my Nikon Monarch.

3-9 would do you just fine, but I bought 4-16 powers

Good luck and happy shooting

 

[kraigwy]

The USAMU put out a LE Counter Sniper guide in the 70s. It had recommendations for the rifle and glass. The rifle the recommended was a Bolt gun shooting the 223. Their reasoning was that seldom if ever would a LE sniper be required to shoot farther then 300 yards. The 223 sighted in at 250 yards would be capable of head shots up to 300 yards, without the over penetration of the 308 in the urban enviorment.

For the scope they recommended a fix power between 6 and 8X. The reasoning being it offered the best light gathering ability, clearness, and field of view for the shots listed above.

I obtained such a rifle to use in LE in 1978. Both it and I are retired now and it's being used in PD shooting. It still works great, I could see no reason for replacing the glass.

 

[jdscholer]

I'm currently deciding on this issue myself. My squirrel gun is my 222 Rem. with a 3x9 Leupold on it. It is ok but only ok. The ground squirrels we shoot are pretty small - smaller than a beer can- and after popping the easy close ones, I do a lot of banging away at 200 yds.. I've decided to up the magnification to at least 12x on the top end which will probably give about 4x on the low end. I'll definately stick with a variable, because I don't care to shoot 12x at the close shots.

I'd suggest taking an object of the size (and color) that you will be shooting, and walk it out to the ranges you expect to shoot it at, and see what it looks like to you with various powers; even binoculars. I don't think you'll regret going with a higher power. Oh yeah, one more thing I would recomend is an adjustable objective lense if you choose a higher power. I hope we both have good luck finding a scope. jd

 

[DBotkin]

I have a Weaver T-12 on my .222, and a Leupold 24x on my .22-250. I thought both of those were a bit much when I inherited them.

I've changed my mind. Neither is too much. I suspect I'd get used to a 36x if I had one.

 

[LateNightFlight]

I also prefer the higher powers. My favorite on one of my .223s is a 6-24X with 50mm objective. (That size objective creates an issue of ring height and cheek weld for some people, though.) If I'm shooting off a solid rest I like a setting around 20X.

And today I shot a 6-18X on a 17 HMR and left it on 18X. Later in the day I was sighting in a Ruger mini with a 2-7X and felt like I was suffering with a power handicap, even with it set at 7X. Plus, I notice a lot more room for parallax error with this lower power scope. Cranking up the power with a higher magnification seems to clear up parallax errors for me.

The only time I prefer a lower power is on moving game at closer range, but if it’s small game and it’s that close, I sometimes think, hmmm - should of brought a shotgun.

 

[blacksky]

I also have a Bushnell 3X9X32 on a Savage rifle that is dead on inside 100 yards, that I paid $50 for.

 

[ForneyRider]

4x or 6x fixed are great for hunting. Lee to go wrong for reliability.

3-9x40 is very popular as well.

However, it is handy to dial up the power for sighting the rifle in, then scale back for FOV(Field of View). My 4.5-14x42, I dial it all the way up to sight in at 100 yards.

I've had one close coyote shot where I wished I wasn't at 14x at the time. I usually leave my scope at 6x when hunting at ~100-150 yards.

 

[HiBC]

I personally do not care to bulk up a rifle with a larger scope than I need.

I have a fixed 6x 42 mm leupold on my .257 that is a sweet scope.

The fixed 6 is somehow a formula scope for Hunter Bench rest.You might look at some HBR scopes.

For 200 yds,I personally would not go pst a fixed 10 x or a 3-9.Oh,OK,maybe a 12x Leupold fixed power if you made me!! (that would be nice!)

 

[phil mcwilliam]

I don't like ultra high power variable scopes for hunting. I find issues with field of view, excessive movement, heat haze, critical eye relief, and need to re-focus (if changing from a lower setting in a vairiable)- are all associated with these ultra high power variables. Both my hunting rifles have Leupold 3-9 x 40 scopes & 90% of the time they are set on 4x. One thing with hunting is you never know what the minimum distance is that you may need to shoot at, & when it is short distance you generally don't have time to re-focus or change power on a scope. So to have the versatility of carrying your hunting rifle with the scope set on 3x or 4x is worth it in my opinion.
I also have done my share of varmit shooting with my Sako 22-250 heavy barrel, having just had it rebarreled after 20 years of shooting, & I have no problem nailing varmits at 300 yards with the scope set on 9x.