Min Scope Magnification for 500 yard shot

[Chukar Hunter]

Like to hear what everyone thinks on:

What is the absolute minimum scope magnification to be able to see deer size game vitals at 500 yards.

I have had 4-14x40 power but would like to switch to Ultralight 3-9x33.

Yours in good hunt'n,

CH

[Bound2Fish]

My 4-12x40 works fine for getting out to 500 yards.

[elkhunter11]

I killed a pronghorn at 480 yards with a 3-9x42, with no issues at all.

[wally338]

A fixed 10X was used by the US military for decades for shots out to 1200 yds so a 5x should be plenty on large game

[Gunslinger257]

Minimum? Peep sights.

As far as for what you need to see that far depends on how good your eyesight is and how well you shoot.

Personally I use a 4x12 40mm to shoot targets that far but I'm no silhouette shooter either.

[LongBomber]

I used the exact same scope for targets at 500 yards. I never used it on game at more than 350 yards. For my eyes the animal would need to be against a background with good contrast, like skylined to see it well. In grass or against a brushy background I am not sure I could pick the deer out well enough to be confident with the shot. 300 - 350 yards no problem. That is my eye's, however everyone sees a bit different.

[rem338win]

I can do minute of pie plate consistently to 500m with a 4x. I took a pronghorn at 546yds with a 2.5-8.
Mule deer at 485yds with a straight 6x.
It is all about you not so much the scope.

[catnthehat]

6X is my favourite, but I have been know to use a 4X as well. as the big stuff.

Cat

[Jordan Smith]

If the target is 12", and your reticle covers up 0.5MOA where the crosshairs intersect, then you can still see the target well enough to hit it at 1100-1200 yards, without the crosshair eclipsing the target, regardless of magnification. The magnification that you require to hit the target depends on your eyesight and resolution. I have little trouble using a 6x scope to hit MOA-sized targets out to over 1100 yards. A 3-9x40 is plenty for 500 yards, on deer vitals.

[Chukar Hunter]

Thanks to all.

Matter of fact, I went out yesterday, put up an 8 1/2" x11" orange target at 400 & 500 yards and used my 4-12x40 Mrk 2 scope to look at it at both magnifications. To my surprise, there was no noticable difference at 500 yards with 9x versus 12x and I could easily see the target at 9x. In fact, the reticle did not even cover half the target and deer size vitals are larger than 8 1/2" x11" anyways.

For those interested, I have uploaded pictures of the target at both magnifications at 500 yards.

Decision is made; Ultralight 3-9x33 with LRD.

Yours in good hunt'n,

CH

[Rackmastr]

Pretty significant difference in the images shown from 9 power vs 12 power. That being said, I shoot a 2.5-8x36 and have zero concerns about stretching my LR capabilities with this scope.

[Chukar Hunter]

In "relative" terms, the size increase is not substantial in my opinion.