I've killed deer 500yds with a fixed Kahles the darker it gets the lower the power you need to be able to see the more lenses and more magnification the worse your light gathering capabilities are.

Yep

This has nothing to do with hunting but I started out shooting 1k with a fixed 10x Super Sniper scope they are SWFA now but I had no problem hitting targets at that range

I prefer 4x16.

Keep it on 7 in the open but will crank to 12 for further shot.
I’ve cranked it further to check antlers, but I think I get too much float past x12
Most of my shots are from shooting sticks and not a solid rest. If I had a solid platform in a shoot house or bipod, I could see myself using a higher magnification.

The reason you hear that a lot on Aldeer is because a lot of people on here are cheap! They want to tell everyone how great their Simmons or Tasco 3x9x40 scope is! When we all know it is crap! I am like you and want the best I can afford and Love a high powered scope as long as a low power is still available. My favorite scope has become my 4-20x52 Leupold just for that reason. However, for hunting, I rarely dial it past 12-16x just because there is less forgiveness in the scope on eye relief and light gathering. But if at the range shooting at 600+ yards, I dial it up to 20x.

no need to waste money if it does the job . way they have legal shooting hours don't need much scope, those Simmons 3x9x50 pro staff aint that bad for a cheap budget scope . i prefer some thing else but they do work . at least the ones I've used in the past . i agree with the tasco ones i used early in my life just fell apart on the inside .

I’ve gone right the opposite direction. My favorite rifle now is a short 7mm08 with a 1.25x4 VXR Leupold. 95% of the time I hunt on 1.25x. I’ve shot 4inch steel out to 250 yards with it on 4x.

Imo field of view and quick target acquisition is way more important than counting the hairs on the shoulder before I shoot.

Big Bama boy
Are you saying you’d rather shoot steel at 250 with 4 power or are you saying “you can do it”?
Just curious why you would unless it’s a challenge?
I can’t imagine being on a shooting range with a bag and shooting on 4 on purpose.
I don’t have a problem personally with target float, I use Leupold 4.5-14 mainly and I always zoom to 14.
I don’t think I’ve ever even looked through a fixed power scope

You should look through a top quality , good glass fixed 6X . Careful though, you may ditch that variable .

Part of the reason I keep my scopes off the higher power settings are that I find all scope lose eye box forgiveness, and some of them quality of image, at the very highest end of their range. It’s distracting to me to have the image blacking out or darkening as I slightly shift around under field conditions. So, if the scope is 3-9x, I keep it at 7-8 for longer shots. For a 3-15x, I keep it at maybe 10-12x for longer shots.

In the woods I keep the magnification way down, like around 3x or so. I want the widest field of view possible so I can find a deer quickly in a fast developing situation. When I first started I kept the scope on very high power and then I missed opportunities on deer due to inability to even find them and put cross hairs on them when under pressure.

All that said, I’ve never owned a truly high magnification scope like some of these up to 24x. I would think those would be too physically big on a hunting rifle. But, I can always learn something new. Might be fun to have on a power line gun if the eye box issue was tolerable.

I’m saying that this happens to be on my woods gun. I take it where I might get a 50 yard shot. No it’s not the best tool for shooting at distance, neither is the 18” barreled rifle it’s on, but it’s capable if need be.

I’d feel perfectly fine taking a shot at a deer at 150 yards with this set up in an open field. I was shooting at 250 yards just for the fun of it and to see if I could. I could get pretty consistent hits with it on 4x.

If I knew I was planning on sitting the edge of a field, I have other rifles I’d take. One has a 3x9x50 and the other has a 4.5x14x50. Either would be a better tool for that job.

I can also hit a 4inch steel at 100 yards with my 22 that has a fixed 4x Leupold… probably 8 out of 10 times on a regular basis.

I just appreciate compact, lightweight rifles and scopes, and wide open field of view in the woods.

Gotcha.
I’m still in the market for a good high powered used scope but NOW I’m gonna have to at least look through a fixed scope.

I hunt with a 2x7 that I feel comfortable out to 350 with. I do have a 4-14 on a 300 win mag that I have never hunted with. But, the 14 power is capable to shoot farther than I ever will. My ling range friends that shoot 1000 yards only use 14 power and I dont plan to ever shoot at an animal that far away.

I hunt mostly between 2-4 power. If I think my shots will be 100+ I leave it on 4 power.

The conventional wisdom is that for quick shots it is best to keep it on a low power for wider field of view. I have not found that to be the case. When the target appears smaller it takes longer to get everything lined up. When running dogs I will usually keep it on about 7 or 8. It makes it easier to know where the crosshairs are on the deer and easier to pick the holes in brush to shoot through.

I may be repeating a lot of the above but "too much magnification" in my mind the concept is the opposite of what you would think. It negatively impacts the bottom end of the magnification range and it's usability for hunting.

I would really be concerned with what the low magnification setting are and how the scope performs at close range. That's where the wheels come off. It's not the top end powers where I think most would be saying you have too much magnification.

I can shoot 1,000 yards with fixed 10x it's not a big deal. It's easier with 20x. But if you have more than 4-5x on the lowest setting that's maybe going to be an issue. A lot of times I carry 2 rifles hunting one is a lever gun or carbine of some kind I can shoot one at 20 yards with if I have one come up close and that does happen quite often especially when hunting powerlines, etc. I have one stand I can see 1k yds but I have had many deer and some really good bucks run right under the window of the shooting house.

On the flip side of that, I found that on my .22 squirrel rifle when I switched from a 3-9x to a fixed 4x my hit ratios went way up. No more fumbling with the scope settings.

Their 6x scopes have been out of stock for forever, but SWFA fixed 6x in mil is a good one. They have their 10x mil scopes in stock, last time I checked. They’re a great scope, as well. A couple nylon washers will turn it into a zero stop, as well.

I don’t think you will be disappointed in SWFA scopes.

I was taught to shot on 5x when I was little and, many years later with a lot of optics riding rifles, I still shoot more often than not on 4-5x. That’s for anything from 100-400 yards. Most of my first optics were 3-9x. I’d use 9 to judge a deer and crank back down to shoot. About the only time I vary my choice is for long range target shooting or when hunting thick, close brush with a 1-4, or 1-6 set to 1x so I can shoot both eyes open.