I noticed a growing trend in the past couple of years, too much scope on rifles of various calibers. Not coincidentally, powered optics from all manufacturers have come leaps and bounds from what was once standard military issue or available at the local gun shop. To the laymen, more magnification should make shooting easier, but, it’s not that simple.

First, let’s look at the problems with too much magnification on targets;

1.Unless you’re a bench rest shooter, or in a perfect prone position the reticle will move a tremendous amount when over magnified. So much so that it will lead to trigger slap, because you have to “time” when the reticle is on target.

2.When over magnified, the target will completely disappear from the reticle on recoil. This even happens on light rifles like M4s.

3.After the recoil, the shooter struggles to find the target quickly. This leads to the possibility of completely losing sight of the target or engaging the wrong target when too much magnification is used.

Next, does magnification help that much at distances where irons or red dots can be used, or at distances where the target can be seen clearly and identified by the shooter naked eye? I shot 3 sighting systems off the same rifle with the same ammo 3 times. I did 10 round groups. Target was a 5.5” NRA pistol bull at 100yds. Prone position, no sandbag or bench rest. Check it-

Iron Sights – best group size – 3.7”

EoTech – best group size – 3.3”

USO 4X- best group size- 3.3”

In my experience, the benefit of magnification comes into play on targets that are outside the naked eye range of target identification. With that, keeping a rifle from becoming over magnified will not only keep your groups tighter, but will also keep your rifle lighter. Also important to note is that the recent trend of military scope users having 12 and 15 power scopes on MK12s is for nothing more than target ID in areas where it is important. They know not to shoot on that max power for that gun.

Here’s my breakdown of my most used calibers and the scope power I would use on each to achieve a shot on a man size target;

1. 5.56mm M4 16” barrel. Max shot 400 yds. 6X

2. 5.56mm M4 10.5” barrel. Max shot 200 yds. 4X

3. 7.62mm 18-22” barrel Max shot 800 yds. 10X

4. 7.62mm 16” barrel Max shot 600 yds 8X

5. .300WSM 18-22” barrel Max shot 1200 yds 15X

Even with this, some will still over magnify on small targets at close distances. It’s important to train with your scope at all distances in your effective range AND do it at all powers to see your own results. Write it down and compare to find out what works best for you.