American tendency towards low-powered scopes

[Uncas]

And if I could find a brand new S&B 4x36 I would have it on my rifle tomorrow.

 

[Rory]

Yeah I wish S&B would do a 6x42 with mil/mil mildot and 30mm tube

 

[alberta boy]

Pursuing basspro and carbelas web site I see a distinct lack of both illuminated reticle and 56mm objective scopes. Is this a legal thing or just lack of demand

They're legal , there just isn't much demand for them . As Heym SR20 pointed out , we get half an hour before and half an hour after sunset . We just don't shoot in low light conditions . The biggest selling point here is durability . I've personally been out and experienced a 30 degree drop in temp in one day , if there's a chance your scope will fog , it will under those conditions . Most here use quads or horses to get into the back country , they also beat the crap out your scope . To be honest , big belled scopes don't do well in a saddle scabbard or strapped on a quad ,regardless of make . The better brands have excellent warranties , but they don't do you much good when your in the middle of nowhere with a broken scope .
Aimpoint , Eotech and Vortex red dot sights are becoming very popular out here lately . I have a Vortex SPARC 2 on my 45/70 , they're about the only illuminated sighting system you run into out here ........... probably because of all the old guys like me who can't see iron sights to well anymore . All of the above only applies to where I am of course , south of the border is a different world .

AB

 

[A Guy Out West]

If you hunt over here, the majority of hunters are mostly hunting public grounds, the game is spookey and will usually run at any indication that they are being stalked. If you have a variable power scope, you really need to have it set at it's lowest setting, not higher than 4 X so you can pick up the game and make a shot at a running animal if need be. On my variable power scopes, they are all set lower than 4 X , if a shot presents it's self where I need higher power, then I can just dial up. Because I seldom need to dial up for a shot, I am perfectly happy with a fixed 4X. As mentioned above, we cannot shoot when it's dark so the higher magnification for shooting in the dark is not needed. Most hunters I know and hunters I see in the field usually have something like a 3x9, once in a while I see someone with a honking huge scope on there rifle. When I see that, I think to myself, what a pain in the rear it must be to carry that thing around. Another thing is that if you shoot with a 5 x, or lower powered scope, you don't have to have the hairiest of hair triggers in order to be able to hit something. I think the desire for a super hair trigger is a factor of high scope magnification. Also, East of the Mississippi river, there generally is not a need for more than 4 x anyway.

 

[John Gryphon]

American tendency towards low-powered scopes


That applies to African hunting too,proper hunting out in the bushveld etc not in a ranch/pen.
You dont want 12x walking through scrub on a Buff spoor.

 

[Southern]

.... it goes to prove that with a little practice, there's little doubt that open sights to 100 yds on a naked hunting rifle might make a welcome change...something lightweight with a 20 inch barrel and lowish recoil. That or an aimpoint sight with bright red dot.

Get your hands on a vintage Steyr Model M Mannlicher in something like 7x57, or a CZ 550 FS in .308 or 6.5x55 - 20 inch barrel, open sights, and you will be hooked.

Look at something like a Vortex or Primary Arms 1-6x, with 3/4 donut and dot, illuminated, horizontal ranging stadia, vertical drop hashes. Drop it on one of your slick barrel rifles, or a lever action.

 

[John Gryphon]

I see that no matter how classic open sights are that they reduce ones ability to more precisely hit the intended target in comparison to a scope chosen for that particular pursuit.