Thread: Nx8 2.5-20 first thoughts

This is an interesting topic - "over-scope".

Let me be the first to agree that we all want less weight and less bulk with our scopes. not only it is lighter to carry, it is also aesthtically more pleasing to have a small and low profile scope.

"Over-scoping" would be definition mean it is more scope than one needs and having it is detrimental. So lets talk about these two aspects.

Is 24 power more than you need? If you only ever shoot deer sized animal within 300m, and hitting chest area is good enough, and only every shoot prone and supported, I would agree. maybe 16x or even 9x will do.

But if you want to -
* shoot further; or
* shoot without support;
* shoot sitting, kneeling, or standing;
* shoot rabbit, magpie, hare, or other small games.
Then 9 or 16 just wont do it.

The standard scope in 100m metalic silhouette shooting is 20x. People tend to use 6.5-20, but clearly 6.5 at the low end is not ideal for hunting, hence you have night force making 2.5-20, March making 2.5-25. My conclusion is simple, extra reach is always useful. It is never pointless. I agree that beyond a pointyou face deminishing of returns. Image quality starts to drop, weight is out of control, eye box is razer think, exit pupil is too small and image is too dim for hunting. This point may be around 30x on a 50mm scope.

The next point is about detriment. Apart from weight, people often complain about balance. I honestly do not get this problem. I own quite a few guns (just like everyone else here), in all shapes, barrel profiles, stock materials, steel or alu rings, large and small scopes. While they all feel different, I have never found "balance" to be a problem. Sure, some guns are heavier on the front end and some are lighter, but even shooting standing free hand none have ever bothered me. My most forward heavy gun is an Anschutz MS 54 with 22in bull barrel. This big boy is about 4kg without scope and is designed specifically for Metallic Silhouette shooting (hence the name), i.e. to be used standing without support, with scope. I thus do not understand when people complain about guns with 20 inch sport barrels with a mid-large scope of having bad balance.