I know that a 4x scope means that an object at any distance when viewed through the scope will appear 4 times larger. Does this relate exactly to distance? Does an animal at 40 yards viwed through a 4x scope appear to be at 10yards?

Yes.

Bye
Jack

Can I get the short answer on that?

Thanks Jack.

Can I get the short answer on that?

Thanks Jack.

Ok...Yes...the size seems about the same, but nothing can make up for the fact thaty your are looking though 4X more air. Can magnify the few to be equal in size, but the resolution is going tob e a bit less simply becasue there is so much more air between you and the critter...given a crystal clear day, no wind to stir up dust or other particulates, then it's pretty close.

The higher the magnification, the harder it is to make the lens suystem represent true colors from edge to edge, and the harder it is to get a perfect distortion free lens.

Also don't forget that your shaking and flinching throws your bullet off path 4x more.

Bill

"Also don't forget that your shaking and flinching throws your bullet off path 4x more."
Actually, you're shaking and flinching just like always, but the magnification lets you see it, where, before magnification, you were (we all were) blissfully unaware of the shaking and flinching

"Also don't forget that your shaking and flinching throws your bullet off path 4x more."
Actually, you're shaking and flinching just like always, but the magnification lets you see it, where, before magnification, you were (we all were) blissfully unaware of the shaking and flinching

HArd to convence people of that...looking throuhg a 30X scope shile shooting off hand (at least at first) makes you think that the scope is making you shake. Isn't...you shake like that all the time, just that you can't see it.

Eye is an odd organ...they have built true 1X scopes in the past...looking through one, you'd swear they shrink the image...takes something between 1.2 and 1.4X to make it look "normal sized".

Just like in photography, can nearly always tell a long-lens telephoto shot....does thing sto the depth of field, field of view, and tends to magnify the things behind the subject disproportionally.

So...yep, a 25X scope at 100yards makes the target about as big as one standing there in front of bare-eyes at 4yards...but you'd nver confuse the two images.
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Watching TV, where they seem obsessed with using the elevation knob as a focus...can't help but wonder what power scope they depict. Those things must be about 500X...no shakes or bobbles, that crosshair just stayes glued to the target...gotta get me one of those.