6x42 realistic use

sir-lamp-alot

Well-Known Member
as a few would have seen a couple of weeks ago i bought myself a .22 hornet and all is going well but i would like to change the scope i have on it for somthing a little simpler but ultimatly as good a low light prefomance as i can afford, i have on top of it at the moment a falcon menace 4.5-18x56 which yes is ok and certainly does its job but at some point when funds allow i would like to replace it. i was originaly loking at a 8x56 or maybe even a 8x50 by one of the top 3 but have recently been thinking about maybe saving a bit of money and going for a 6x42 but i was wondering what others thought especialy as im wanting to continue to use on general vermin, crows magpies ect which obviously are a smaller target than a fox and may well need a little more mag to see whats going on. ranges will be the usual out ton 200yrds or there abouts, or maybe what ever i can manage on the day:oops:
 
I'm not sure you are going to hit too many 200 yd crows with a 6*42. I would be wanting the option to go 12 times at least, but I do like a bit of magnification.
 
A 6x42 scope is a great scope,I've had a Swarovski 6x42 habicht now for more years than I care to remember it's been from rifle to rifle and never let me down,it's lighter than an 8x56 although doesn't gather as much light,looking at what you have written above the 6x42 would suit you fine,especially one in the higher price bracket,I just find it a great all rounder comfortably shoot out to 200yds with it,and great for woodland work too
 
Look at the Meopta 6x42 - it has a fine centre cross hair. I had it on my 243 and was shooting hairs and rabbits quite easily out to 150 / 200 yards. It's now on the 22 and many rabbits wish it wasn't. I would have thought it would be ideal on a lightweight 22 hornet.
 
Same here, Swarovski 6x42 on both my rimfires 22 & Hmr, granted I stay within 100yds with either, I can't see why one wouldn't be suitable for 150 Yds plus ... Give It a go
 
A 6x42 is about as large as you would want a scope on a .22 Hornet, for matching its size and balance.
As Heym SR20 says, something with a thin and sharp crosshair at the center will let you aim better than a .22 Hornet can reach. A crosshair that only covers 1/4 inch at 100 yards permits some precise aiming.

I run matching 6x42mm duplex scopes on a .22 LR, .223 Rem, and .308 Win. My scopes are not as good, and the duplex is not as fine as the Meopta, but I can easily shoot crows and pigeons at 150 yards with the .22 LR. My first scope was a 6x20mm on that same .22 LR, when I was about 12 years old, so what I am saying is that if you practice, and become very accustomed to a 4x or 6x scope, you will be pleasingly surprised by how precisely and how far you can shoot well.
 
My .22LR carries iron tangent sights, no issues on bunnies out to 125yds with complete confidence, so 6x42 should be plenty! don't go for S&B, thick crosshairs!

the varmint gun carries a 4x32 these days, never lacked light or magnification.
 
I used a S&B 6 x 42 on my .222 for several years, did think about changing/selling it but it only has a 1" tube so didn't think I'd get a lot for it to make it worth while me changing/selling it.
 
My .22LR carries iron tangent sights, no issues on bunnies out to 125yds with complete confidence, so 6x42 should be plenty! don't go for S&B, thick crosshairs!

the varmint gun carries a 4x32 these days, never lacked light or magnification.

Have to agree about the S&B great scopes but compared to the Swarovski thicker crosshairs,which is ok for lower light work not so good on targets further out as tends to cover a bit of target area.
 
I have a Swarovski and a leopold in 6x42 both great scopes, have shot 300mtrs at targets/ deer /fox no problem, can,t say about rabbits as the 270 is a bit hard on them
 
What I think JDT means is that S&B have a thick reticle which is good for deer but limiting for other things (it's coverage is actually 0.6" at 100 yards). The Swarovski has a thinner reticle. I can't find the figures for it but I would estimate the coverage at about 0.3".

Interestingly (to me anyway) I stuck my S&B 6x42 back on my rifle after a year of using a Swarovski 1.7-10, also a very good scope; I'm going to stick with the 6x42 for a while as the 2 scopes give the rifle quite different handling. The 1.7-10 has the weight in the ocular lenses & made the rifle a bit light at the front whereas the 6x42 has the weight in the objective lens making the whole package ever-so -slightly front heavy which felt nice & stable.

It took 4 or 5 shots to get it shooting predictably as the rifle was recovering from a deep clean but I surprised myself by shooting a group of 3 touching shots at 100m. Unusually good for me or my rifle!

It was really good to be able to get my head right down on the stock again after using a 30mm tube & yes, PKL, you're right, a gloss scope does look better on a classic rifle! The Swarovski has longer eye relief & I could never comfortably get far enough away from it to get a really good sight picture without straining my neck. Also interesting to note that it's not the 10x end of the scope I miss, rather the 1.7 end.
 
Last edited:
I use a s&b scope on a hornet, 6x42 - it's absolutely perfect for the hornets capabilities and accuracy potential. Bullet impact is within the thickness of the horizontal post out to 250y, just learn the picture and the drop and you'll be fine.
 
I'm not sure you are going to hit too many 200 yd crows with a 6*42. I would be wanting the option to go 12 times at least, but I do like a bit of magnification.


ha ha
it does make me laugh that the scope manufacturers have us believing that crap!

I use a 6x42 on my .270 among other things, my .22 lr have a 3-9x40 which sits around 6-7x

this is my 200yd zero target with an approximate 1 1/2" x 2" strip of tape......lot smaller than a crow




you can hit anything you want with a 6x42, same way you can shoot a small group if you have a decent repeatable point of aim
look at the FT/R guys shooting at 1000yds with open sights and then think about what you can shoot with a
 
theres a huge difference in size between a deer and fox compared to a rabbit at 200 yards


a 6x42 s+b or Swarovski is a quality optic and works very well on deer and fox but it's not a varmint scope for 200 yards rabbits


for what you want I'd want a little more magnification so a variable in eigher of the two makes would do the job
min the smaller objective range


put out a rabbit out to 200 yards and see how it looks thru the scope for good shot placement regards the thin / thick cross hairs
 
My hornet used to wear a Swaro 6x42, very nice but if your wanting to head shoot rabbits at 200 yards very limiting.
I also tried a 6-42 S&B, worse in everyday, followed by a Zeiss Divari 2.5-10x50, did all I needed with ease, but horribly out of balance with the rifle.
Hornet now wears a Swaro 3-9x36 and has done for a few years now, no plans to change it.

Neil. :)
 
I have a Docter 6x42 on top of my 22 Hornet and i find it good out to 150m on most small targets.

had a large mag on it a few years ago but always found myself cranking it back to 6x.
 
The heart of a deer, the chest of a fox, the head of a bunnie are all about the same size, and that is your target. If you can hit one, you can hit them all.
 
I use an 8 x 56 on my HMR for shots out to 200yds and it's fine. I struggle a bit with the 4 x 42 at that distance, but that's fine at 100 yds for bunnies, so I'd say a 6 x 42, sitting somewhere in the middle, would get the job done OK. Assuming most shots would be well within 200yds, then it would seem an ideal choice. Optically, the Falcon Menace you have is a great scope but I can see why you'd want something lower profile and lighter, as the Falcon is a bit of a beast, better suited I think to range work. I have one myself, and optically, it gathers more light than just about any other scope I have, and remains pin sharp even on max mag, but I wouldn't want it on a lightweight hunting rifle.
 
Back
Top