Hey all,

I'm sure this is a fairly obvious question, but i've never owned/used a Variable scope.
i was wondering if a (say) 6-14x52 switches between only 4x magnification and 14x, or does it go all the way through 7x, 8x, 9x etc?

Thanks a lot,
_Kar.

The variable scope adjusts in 1X increments from the lowest to the highest rating. That is what makes them so attractive. You can adjust it to whatever need you have.

The zoom range gives you the powers the scope is capable of being used it. For instance a 4.5 to 14 power scope starts at 4.5 power and then simply zooms to 14 or any power in between.

One thing to keep in mind is field of view. Usually the higher power a scope the smaller the field of view (how much you see thru the scope) Most lower power zooms such as the popular 3 by 9's used on big game hunting rifles have between a 30 and 40 foot field of view on low power (this means you see a 40 foot wide section at a hundred yards when dialed on the low power setting and usually a 10 to 14 foot wide section at 9 power).

A wide field of view is very desirable for game that you may have a close shot at. If you jump a deer at 25 yards and have a scope that has a 12 foot field of view and is on high power you may not get a shot at it as all your going to see is a ball of fur if you do get on it. Moving shots in that situation are almost impossible.

For big game hunting I always recommend scopes with at least a 40 foot field of view on low power and many of the 2 by 7 power scopes offer between 60 and a hundred foot field of view on low power.

If your shooting small varmints at longer ranges then the higher power zooms are really great. I shoot a 3 by 9 or 2 by 7 zoom on my coyote rifle in the fall and winter and put an 8 by 32 power zoom on in the spring for ground squirrel and rock chuck shooting.

Well Kar I shure hope I didn't confuse you more with all this.

nah, thanks a lot. made everything clearer.
it'll be fairly small (fox size) things i'll be aiming at, hopefully along the barrel of a Swift, if and when i can order it .

_Kar.

I have 3-9X scopes on my deer and varmint rifles. I don't get many real long shots, but from time to time I might have toi go 200-250 yards.Typically, I leave them set at about 4 or 5 power. If the target is up close or moving, I'm ready, and if it's far enough away to require more I generally have the time to crank it up.

Just to be a pain in the rear...there was one old Lyman, a very early try at a variable, that was either a 2 1/2X or a 5X, nothing in between (was basically a scew-capped "switch" that made it one or the other).

Everything I can think of made in the last 40-45years varies the way you think it should...a smooth increase from teh bottom to the top power, letting you stop any place along the way.
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So long as i'm rambling...Litchert (spell?) which later becasue Davis made some conversion "doublets". Basically ti was a lens system that screwed into the tube at the objective which doubled your scope power...was cheaper than a new scope (and people either didn't have the $ or were reluctant to spend what they did have).

By definition, a variable scope (or camera lens, or binocular) is continuously variable from it's lowest to highest power. In other words, the 6-14 you used as an example can be set at 6x, or anywhere in between. The ring that changes the power is marked in 1 power increments, generally, but that's just a point of reference. You can set it in between the markings if you wish.
Technically, if you have a choice of just 2 powers, it's not a variable, it's a switch power optic (whether it's a scope, camera lens, or binocular).

Remember the Litchert objective lens, ribbonstone - had a Lyman 6x on a pre '64 M70 in .300 H&H with the "Litchert Varmitmaster" system on the front end. Came with the used rifle when bought in '62 and never questioned why it was there. Worked pretty good, though.