If you have taken big game over 300 yds please vote.

[SeaBass]

How about it?  I'd like to hear from the people that take the long shots.  What's your preference?

[jamie]

10x really is plenty but some prefer to have that extra just because they can.  In theory a 10x scope will make your 300 yrd target appear 30 yrds away.  My longest shot taken on a deer was 345 yrds.  When I shot that one I was using my Rem Classic in 300WM with a Leupold 3.5x10x50 Tactical.  It was more than enough magnification.

[safari]

For me, anything over 10X on a big game rifle is just added weight and unneeded. I went with a Burris 4-14X50, adjustable objective on my .300WSM when I bought it several years ago, because I thought the 3-9 or 3-10 scopes weren't enough. Well after l hunted a few seasons, lugging that big piece of glass around, and taking several whitetails at distances of 200-400 yds, I realized I never used that scope past 9-10X unless I was punching paper, and that AO was a pain in the neck when you're hunting. So this summer I put a Leupold VXII 3x9X40 on that rifle, and a VXII 2X7 on my .308. Both rifles had previously had big, clumsy AO scopes on them, that will now be used in the Prarie dog fields, where the AO isn't so heavy and clumsy. I have yet to take any game with the new scopes, but I think I'll do just fine out to 300yds without the 12X or 14X scopes.

[GRIMJIM]

caribou at 310 yards, with a 7mm rum. 14x may be a little overkill, but rather have it and not need it.

[Dirt Nap]

     Really not trying to brag...or to sound stupid for that matter....but I have taken two big game animals at a little over 400 measured yards. Both were killed by my pet 30-06 Browning A Bolt topped by a very simple VX II 3X9-40. I actually have two of these guns with the same scope...one sighted in for 180 gr premiums...one sighted in for 165 gr standard bullets. 9 power was more than enough for both animals.

     It is best to know your rifle when you shoot over 300 yards. In saying that my last 5 bucks I have killed have been shot at less than 75 yards usually on 5 power.

[azmike]

Black Bear at 350 w/7mm Rem mag and a 3-9x variable at 9.  But, I had plenty of time and a tree stump for a rest.  9 power was plenty in this scenario.  If I hadn't had the time or a rest, I would not have considered the shot at all.

[TheOpticZone]

Whitetail, 450 yards, .243, 2.5-8x

[Sourdough]

I do a lot of shooting over 300 yards.  I often shoot at 500 to 700 yards.  I have two scopes that are over 15 power, but I never use them at that power.  10 power seems to be a reasoniable setting that works well.  Anything over 15 my heartbeat seems to be too noticiable.  While sheep hunting, I cranked the power up to 30 to see if the sheep is legal, only to be frustrated when the crosshairs keep jumping completately off the animal every time my heart beats.  I just put a Bushnell 10X on my 30-06 that I usually carry for long shots at cayotes and wolves.  My real long shot rifle for big game, a .338-378Wthby, has a 6.5X15X50 Night Force on it.  At any setting over 10 power I start to notice my heart beat.

[nomosendero]

Deer size & bigger, 10X, Antelope 12-14X at times, Varmits 14-20X depending on mirage.

[captzapp]

white tail at 450 yrd, with a 3x9x50mm. used 9x and a barbed wire fence for a rest. 150gr 30.06. thats the only time I have shot a deer using anything put 3x.

[Redhawk1]

Deer and up size game at over 300 yards 10 power is plenty. I scored on a caribou at a little over 300 yards with my 300 Win Mag and a Leupold 3.5X10X50 VaraXIII.

[poncaguy]

Have a lot of 3x9's, but starting to prefer 2x7 and 6x fixed................have taken several deer 300-450 yards with 270 and 270 WSM.

[WmRoy]

Most of the long shots I've taken were with a 4x weaver scope circa 1975.......... still works great.....

[31 bertram]

If it's too far for 9x, it's too far for anything you can shoot from your shoulder.
 31 bertram

[31 bertram]

If it's too far for 9x, it's too far for anything you can shoot from your shoulder. A good quality 3x9 works for me.
 31 bertram

[Karl Haemmerlein]

Other.  It depends on so many variables there is no answer to such a general question.

[sparkyc2]

270 Winchester, 2x7 Redfield Widefield, always goes deer and elk hunting with me, 3 mulies and one 4point bull met their fate in the last 12 years with the combo at 300 yds or better.   "Beware a man with just one rifle".......he has learned to shoot it folks.

[Ahab]

Have a lot of 3x9's, but starting to prefer 2x7 and 6x fixed................have taken several deer 300-450 yards with 270 and 270 WSM.

Yup, good old 6X, it's bright and gives a better field of view than a variable.

[gdolby]

mulie-376 yards .243-4x leupold. 10x should be plenty for anything

[RaySendero]

In addition to hunting bottoms, I also hunt highlines and beanfields where my average shots figure 278 yards. Here I use a Remington M700 in 270 win. with a mil-dot target scope. I have only used the scope set to 8X hunting. On the scope I've placed a piece of masking tape with:

• the bullet trajectory at 100, 200, 300 and 400 yards
  
• the dot count for 14" (using 8X) at the same yardages

I use a front and rear sandbag on the stand with this rifle and set my personal imposed limit is 350 yards - Have been tempted but have NOT exceeded it yet. Even so, shooting at 200 to 400 yards takes a lot of practice! Here's a look at one of the longer range targets where I was checking trajectory of my 270 reload:



PS: I pulled that one to the right!