Smyth Busters: More Magnification is Better

Our intrepid debunkers of false assumptions and firearm misinformation, Brownells Gun Techs Caleb Savant and Steve Ostrem, tackle an old adage about firearm optics: More magnification is always better. But is it really? Steve says that despite the temptation to get the biggest, baddest, highest-magnification scope you can afford.... that's not always the way to go. An optic needs to be matched to the capabilities of the gun AND the kind of shooting you're going to do with it. If you put a high-magnification scope on a short-range gun, you won't be able to "find" the target with the scope. The lower end of a variable-power scope's magnification range may be TOO HIGH for your rifle. If you're shooting fast-moving game at short range, you really need a low power scope with a wide field of view. Real-world example: the longest shot Caleb ever took at a deer was 210 yards, and his 6x scope was totally up to the job. So the "more magnification is always better" myth is BUSTED.