If you hunt cover/heavy cover 100 yards will be fine.
If you are going to get 200+ yard shots than a longer sight in may be in order.
The old rule of thumb was a hit in the vitals figuring a 9 inch circle.
The .308 shoots flat enough to figure how far you can go with out a lot of hold over.

In NY the average shot was under 100 yds but a head shot resulted in a gut or ass hit 90% of the time for the once a year Gunners.
Just an observation.

Edit:
A 4X scope is fine from 20 out to about 100 yds or so. If you choose a Variable (3x9 or what ever) Remember to set to the lowest when in cover.

 

My eyes kind of suck so I'd agree with SGT John SWF said(not that I'm any authority on the topic).

 

I don't see a need for a scope at 100 yards unless you have vision problems.
Greg

 

+1, old eye's need glass.

GI3

 

Good points on all ends. My eyes aren't horrible but deer always seem to have a habit of staying in or near thick brush lol. Zooming in on the brush may not be the best lol 4x might be good.

 

I have blown more shots screwing around with a 3X9 scope.
Having it on "9" when the Buck stands up close by and all I see is a hair that looks like a pencil.
Or trying to precisely focus the scope to place the shot exactly.
Twice on Nice Bucks I just should have pulled my 1911 and shot the darn things.

 

For some, the rear peep might not draw in enough light during the dawn and dusk hours(especially if you're under a canopy). That is the one thing I've noticed with my eyes. The sights my socom has overcomes this. On my scout, I put a red dot. That is just me though. You're mileage will vary.

 

Got a lever action 30-30? No scope (unnecessary). That's ideal for deer hunting in the woods up where my brother lives (Dawson County). He's got a high velocity scoped bolt gun for varmints, but he shoots them closer to the ground and nails 'em crossing a cleared trail like we call a sendero over here in TX.

 

Nothing wrong with glass at 100yds......you are being responsible and ethical. Hunting deer you mostly likely see them moving in low light situations. Even my brush guns have some sort of optic....except for one 30-30 I have XS sights....but that is for "still hunting" in very thick dense areas.

 

See that is what I am worried about... the low light and my iron sights. I wonder if a scope will be any better though? I don't know a lot about how scopes work but are they designed to be better in low light? Do they "take in" light or something? hahahaha I'm so dumb I know.

 

...to add onto this, I DO have a 45-70 with a decent bushnell scope on it (belongs to my dad)...however I don't want to use his rifle if I can help it.

 

that is a great sledge hammer for deer in brush, works well.
is a 1 shot kill even in Heavy brush..


if you get a decent scope it will help in low light a little.
also if you have a scope it helps to make sure deer has horns.
if you do get like a 3x9 set it at lowest power while hunting.
then if deer is far off you can zoom up. but zoom back down
after you look if not taking a shot. good luck
Lruss

 

96% of the time you will be fine with the iron sights. But there will be a few minutes at dusk where you might have a legal shot but just can't quite see it well enough.

I had that in NV two years ago. Granted, it was 178 yards, but we were in the shadow of the mountain at the last few minutes of legal hunting hours. Only after raising the rifle and looking through the scope could I confirm it was a buck, the only legal sex for my tag.

They "take in" more light than your eye because the objective lens is much bigger than your eye. The bigger the objective lens, the more light it gathers, all else being equal. This is especially important on scopes because you lose light in the scope's lenses, though the more expensive the scope, the higher quality the lenses and transition coatings are to minimize this.

I used a Trijicon ACOG Reflex last year in Texas for one of my deer. It was taken at only 50 yards or so, but the 1x magnification of the Reflex combined with having to look through a coated lens, with five minutes left of legal hunting, 25 minutes after sundown, meant for LESS light than the naked eye. I had to sight the animal with the rifle down and then raise the rifle to use to dot, though not able to see the animal anymore. I just popped the rifle up and down several times quickly, like a cartoon, and took the shot. That's the last time I hunt with that kind of optic.

 

Yes sir, a lot of people say the 45-70 is the way to go for brush hunting so I may resort to it. I'm just a little worried about missing a shot with a round that big and messing up the meat lol

I'll be scouting out the area in a couple of weeks to see if brush will be a problem and this will determine my rifle choice. Thanks for the advice guys! It really helps.

 

I want to add some words of warning regarding the 45-70. I had one a lever action marlin for a while from 2000 till 2006. In the fall of 2005 I used it for deer season. I shot a doe on the run went through one shoulder and out the other side at about 100 yards. She went down instantly. So as I'm walking up to her I hear her thrashing and gasping for air, when I got close enough to see her it was bad. I finished her with a head shot. I sold the 45-70 shortly after.
My point is I have had deer run up to 100 yards using .270 win, .300 win mag, and 30-30 after a shot but they all expanded and provided a clean kill. The 45/70 I had never expanded was a straight .45 hole and left that poor thing in agony I think that the mass of the bullet was to heavy and solid to do what I thought it would do. I'll never do that again. 45/70 is for buffalo and bear not deer.
However maybe it was a one in a thousand and your result could be different.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

i like a 4X 30mm scope for hunting game, does really draw in the light.

 

this season i will use my m14 for hunting for the first time. I will run it with a 4-12 Leupold. That's in NY.

Although i am practicing at the range with open sights, i am not where i want to be to trust myself for a clean kill if distances are more than 60-70 yards...

 

Aimpoints 0-100 (even a little further) are dynamite. Bullet goes where ever the red dot is, so simple, no sights to line up, ultra quick.

 

I guess the way I feel about it is; if I'm going to put something on top of my rifle, I'd rather have a scope vs an optic because irons do fine for me any day. Never thought about a red dot before though... maybe I'm missing something here GI3DISHOUT

 

The problem with a scope at shorter ranges, esp in heavy brush is that the scope will diffuse any obstructions between you and the the woodland creature. Just an opinion, but under a hundred yards I don't think any optic would be needed.

 

Its already been said, 4x or less.

I like my MKIV Leupold because I can crank it down to 3.5

 

If I decide on a scope, I will be asking for opinions on what to get. Thanks guy I really appreciate the help.

 

Scopes rule! Especially for old eyes.

From 0 to 100 yards look at a 2-7x32 or 1-4x24. No sense in a 6.5-20x50.

One thing about diameter of the objective lens and "gathering light" is the "exit pupil". There is only so much of the light gathered that the eye can use because the pupil can only dilate open about 5mm to 8mm to maybe depending on age etc. Exit pupil is objective diameter divided by the magnification.

From 0 to 100 yards you don't need much magnification so you don't need a large diameter objective on the scope. Another benefit of a scope with a smaller diameter objective lens is you mount it lower and maintain good cheekweld on the rifle.

 

The Leupold VX-R Patrol 1.25 - 4 makes an excellent optic to top off an M14 for hunting or targets. This one is set up for steel out to 200. Whether you are an old fart, like me, or a young buck, the sight picture in varying light conditions can make the difference in a clean kill , or that other thing which we don't like to admit happens. Maggie's Drawers.

[URL=http://s1180.photobucket.com/user/nf1e/media/M25withoptics007.jpg.html][/URL]

Semper Fi
Art

 

Most all of my deer hunting has been in Northern Wisconsin and central Ohio, . . . and very little of it gave me the opportunity of shooting over 130 or 150 yards.

Many times in the surrounding vegetation, one needs to "see" that deer there, . . . or "see" that movement that's going on in that vegetation over there about 80 yards out. Sometimes that "movement" is something other than a deer, . . . and I REALLY want to know what it is.

That is the reasoning, . . . more than anything else, . . . as to why I prefer a scope on my deer rifle.

Last two were taken at 130 yards and 80 yards, . . . scope, . . . full heart shots.

Your choice, . . . but it gives you an edge, . . . and I believe I'm a better hunter with it.

May God bless,
Dwight

 

while you dont need a scope to shoot those distances, the time may come when you kick yourself in the butt for not having one. i learned my lesson the hard way. was hunting with my M1 one year, and about 10minutes into legal shooting light 60 yds out steps the single biggest whitetailed deer ive ever seen in my life. plenty light out to see the deer with perfect clarity, but a little hazy out yet. guess what, i could not find my front sight, and the deer stood there long enough i could have put all 8 into him. ill only ever make that mistake once. had i taken any one of my scoped rifles that morning, that big buck would be hangin on the wall today, instead of having walked away. peep sights work just fine, but give up light in those first critical minutes of the morning when deer are moving and being pushed by other hunters. the sights work well enough that a couple hours later i dropped the hammer on a smaller buck on a dead run at 175yds. do you need a scope, no, can it make a difference......you bet!

 

I didn't even think about not being able to see my front sight amongst all of the brush....that is a very valid point. I suppose I should consider the scope option a bit more.

 

I don't know what happened to you. I've killed quite a few deer with my "86" Browning 45-70 through the years with my load and a 350 grain SNFP . It kills them dead from any angle as long as it eventually goes through the boiler room.And it will, I've never recovered a bullet . I also use a .308 with a 3x9 scope but I do most of my hunting from the ground,still hunting , things happen fast so it's on 3 power almost 99% of the time.

 

Heck ya!