1.) JimP - 03/31/2013

Buying a scope for my 15" T/C Encore 243 pistol. The more I look at the field of view of a 2.5x fixed, the more I think it's a better choice than a variable power scope. Any thoughts or experiences?

2.) Deerminator - 03/31/2013

Kinda depends on how steady ya can hold it on 9X

3.) JimP - 03/31/2013

9x? Sheesh, I can't hold a rifle steady at 9x.

4.) Deerminator - 03/31/2013

Neither can I and it's dang difficult on a rest.

5.) DParker - 03/31/2013

I assume this is/will be a hunting pistol (please correct that assumption if it's wrong). What do you anticipate being the max range you're going to be shooting at?

6.) JimP - 03/31/2013

Yup, hunting DP, and prolly 100 yards.

7.) CHRIS - 03/31/2013

Jim, on my TC I have a Leupold VXIII 2.5-8x32 and it works great for the area I hunt. Most of my shots are between 50-70 yards. I find for the most part i keep it set at 4x and it covers most ofthe shots I need. I went with the vari only because i wanted the ability to shoot greater distances (100+ yards)

8.) Go Bucks - 03/31/2013

you will have a faster target aquisition with the 2.5 fixed. i had a TC Contender 7-30 Waters with a variable and had a hard time finding the target at the higher magnifications, particularly in a tree stand. I only used the higher settings when sighting in.

9.) DParker - 03/31/2013

[QUOTE=JimP;4568]Yup, hunting DP, and prolly 100 yards.[/QUOTE]

At 100 yds or less I'd say the less magnification the better. In fact I'd be tempted to go with either a red dot or an unmagnified scope. If you must go magnified I'd stick to fixed-power of 2x-3x at the most, for the same reason that's already been cited.



If your primary use was target shooting from a bench, or shooting at longer distances, a higher powered variable optic would make sense. But for hunting at 100 yds or less the ability to acquire the target quickly outweighs the need for competition-level accuracy.