Thread: Who loves magnification?

My NZ hunting rigs are:
223 = 3-10
308 = 3-9
7WSM = 2-12
7RUM = 3-18

Last year I had the chance to do some prairie dog shooting in Sth Dakota, using a variety of rifles/calibers/optics, with shooting ranging from ~50-500 yards. Despite most of the scopes having top end magnification of x18 or more, I found myself using no more than x12 for most of the two days of shooting - combination of FoV and mirage meant I didn't use more magnification much (often I was using <x10). Given the size of the targets, and my lack of varminting background, I was surprised by how little amount of magnification I could get away with and still shoot accurately.

I've been toying with the idea of putting a higher magnification (up to ~x20) scope on the WSM, but have decided its good enough for now (out to ~600).