what power on scope

[chip-don]

what power is best on dog town shooting  ,,higher power for for better shooting or lower power for locating the target..

[stimpylu32]

chip-don

That will depend on the rifle cal. and the distances that you will be shooting at , most of mine run in the 3-9 or 4-12 range for shots out to 300 yards , if I plan to shoot past that I go with a 6-36 or a 8-40 .

I use a set of 10x binoc's to find my targets and then adjust the scope power to the distance then . other factors are the size of the town and the type of terrain were your shooting in .

More importantly is the clarity of the glass and weather it will hold zero from shot to shot .

stimpy

[Graybeard]

I like as a minimum about 14X on the upper end. If the weather is hot and it often is when shooting prairie dogs mirage begins to come into play and can be so bad at the higher power magnifications that it is actually a handicap not a help in shooting.

At the first GBO PD shoot I took with me a 7-21 and a 6-24 and in both cases found myself using 16X to 18X most often as the days heated up. At that shoot I became convinced that 14X to 16X was really all I'd need for shots to about 400 yards and when the temps climb past 90 that was about all the magnification I could use effectively due to mirage.

My .223 a Remington Model 700 SPS Varmint wears a Mueller APV 4.5-14x40, my .17 Remington Fireball a Remington Model Seven Predator wears the Bushnell Elite 3200 7-21x40 and my .22-250 a Remington 700 SPS Varmint wears a Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24x40.

Two of the three have mil dot reticles which I find to be a big help in determing hold off and windage hold off at long range. The Mueller doesn't offer that option and I plan to be discussing that with Rich to see what the possibility is of him offering mil dots as an option on the APV. If it had the mid dot reticle I think he'd have about the perfect low cost scope for prairie dog shooting. The scope is bright and clear and repeatable but the reticle is the single weakest point about it for target use to me. It's OK and works well but it's just that the mil dot is my preferred reticle for such shooting.

[thayer]

Hi--for my money the most important thing is the glass. I've been out twice now, and after the second trip I made some changes. My 2 rimfires now have 6-24 magnification with adjustable objectives. Previously they were 4-16x40. One is a 44 objective and the other is a 50. You need lots of light coming in the scope to keep them from dimming out at the higher magnifications. I put an 8-32x44 AO on my 222. Previously had an 8-32x40. Note I don't plan to use more than the 20x because of dimming and mirage. The 204 and 22-250 now both have fixed 20x glass with a 42mm adjustable objective with 30mm tubes instead of 1 inch tubes and better glass than the cheaper scopes. They previously had the 8-32x44 glass. I found that I only needed 20x but that I really needed better glass for the long shots, so the BSA glass went onto the 222. I've also decided that a really good rangefinder is important. You can't really range the PDs but you can range the bigger PD mounds to nearby  posts or brush. Also a good high x viewing scope or high x binocs will really help in finding the targets before your fellow hunters eliminate them.
good luck to all PD shooters
Thayer

[Shooter 250]

I have to pretty much agree with GB and Thayer. The glass is number 1.
I like the Bushnell on my .17 HMR (honestly I can’t remember if it is the Elite 3200 or the 4200, But the glass is good)
I have two Burris’s one Black Diamond on a Rem 700 22-250 with a Holland&Holland break and the other is a Signature on a Rem 700 .243 with a Holland break also (I can’t say enough good things about the barrel breaks though). I am not totally happy with the Burris, quite spendy for what you get.
Both Burris’s are 8x32 and I seem to have then on the 18 to 20 magnification 90 percent of the time.
As the other two stated before me, mirage can be terrible on hot days and you don’t want to shoot a none target critter. The heat off of your barrel can cause havoc also.
I have a couple of other configuration and AR with a Tasco 10X40 (cheap scope bad glass) and an Encore with a Burris Signature 4x16. the two Rem’s are my favorite though. If you can’t tell I really like shooting PD’s, those shots out past 400 are the best. I don’t really look at the one under 200 yards.

[chip-don]

i will reduce the power till i can see the hits with the rig i an using

[gofish]

For me i shoot mostly at 10 or 14 power for prairie dogs. Early in the morning higher power is OK, later in the day i have trouble with mirage coming off the rifle barrel. Have burris and pentax scopes and bothe have really good glass. The pentax are some what cheaper. We shoot 204 and 223 with great results.

gofish for prairie dogs ,coyotes ,ETC.
 

[Wingman26]

I'm using 6-18X variables, Bushnell and Nikon, and for scanning I sometimes use the scope but carry binoculars as well, they let you sit upright while you are scanning.