I am curious to see which is more popular here atvSteel Chickens.

So who shoots with a variable power and who shoots with a fixed power.

I am currently using a Leupold fixed 12x.

I have two fixed-power 24X scopes and three variable 6-24X scopes on my silhouette rifles.

A Weaver T-24 and a Leupold Premier Boosted 18x40

One of each. A leupold 25 fxIII and a premier boosted 18-40 Leupold

One fixed, one variable, both Weavers...

T16 on my smallbore (CZ 452)

V16 on my air rifle (TX200)

Jason wrote:I have two fixed-power 24X scopes and three variable 6-24X scopes on my silhouette rifles.

That are a lot of silhouette rifles.

Since you have both kinds of scopes it begs the question: which do you prefer? Fixed or variable?

It seems everyone so far who has responded have both types of scopes.

You people cannot make up your mind and switch scopes as the mood moves you?

I am firmly of the fixed power preference, I do have some variable powered scopes but on my favorite rifles I am switching over, as I can afford it, to fixed power scopes.

Hi ,
The fixed power vs. variable power question has reared its head over the history of silhouette ...
I personally prefer a fixed 24X or greater ; at 100 meters it is very difficult to see bullet holes in
Paper targets ( white paper ) with less than 24X. I prefer even 30X or 36X. An 18 - 40X Seems to be
A great advantage - yet mounting and extra weight cancel out the Seeming advantage !
With a variable , we select the power we are comfortable with - and Leave it there !
On the bench , testing , might be nice to crank to 40 X , but is it better than a fixed 36X ?
I hope this will be considered by those asking ...
GSL.

It depends.

For a dedicated silhouette rifle, I like a fixed power for the simplicity and lower weight. On rifles that are set up for silhouette, but may also go hunting, it makes more sense to use a variable power scope. More recently, my sons have gotten into hunting and frequently need to "borrow" a scope for their rifles, so the variable power are handy. And somehow, they've come to expect good glass and adjustable objectives on their scopes, so it's hard to substitute a less expensive unit.

I have fixed power scopes on my silhouette rifles. I have used variables in the past, but never changed the magnification. So I swapped over to fixed power scopes for the simplicity of them. Less moving parts to break.

DavidABQ wrote: ....who shoots with a variable power and who shoots with a fixed power...

Both. However I haven't changed the power a half dozen times (including practice) of my variables. I shoot only smallbore so my experience may not be relevant to everyone.

Thank you everyone, I found the replies interesting. More individuals have fixed power scopes than I would have thought.

I got the variable one for my high power thinking I could crank it down to alleviate mirage, crank it up when I was shooting better. Truth is I might replace it with a 25 fixed since I rarely move it.

Old Ranger,

What is your opinion of my avatar?

I have been told I resemble old Elmer Fudd when I am at a silhouette match.

The missing details here are availability of the features for scopes at various times and the variety of rifle silhouette matches and equipment. I would only have one type of scope on all of my silhouette rifles if someone made one with these attributes.

• The reliability and precision of the Sightron adjustment mechanism
• The glass quality of the S&B/Nightforce/U.S. Optics long range scopes
• Huge adjustment range, 60MOA at the very least (Leupold/Weaver have 40MOA, Sightron SIL has 60, some higher-end scopes have 100)
• 12-36X Magnification (I never go below 12, even in the worst weather/light/mirage, but I'd like to go higher than 24x sometimes)
• 3/8 or 0.4 MOA dot reticle
• Very crisp 1/4 MOA adjustment clicks, at least 15 minutes per revolution of the knob
• The very low weight of the Leupold FXIII scopes
• Focus from <10yds to infinity without an adapter
• The no-tools-required zero reset from the Weaver T-series
• Markings on the objective for smallbore (like Weaver T-series) and highpower silhouette distances that are actually correct
• Street price less than $1000

Of course no one makes such a scope. There have been a few that had a reasonable amount of the features there and attractive price points for those features, like the Sightron SII Big Sky SIL model, the Weaver T24 with 1/2 minute dot and 1/4 minute clicks, and the Leupold FXIII 25X silhouette scopes. Of those three, only the Leupold is still made. There were also the Premier boosts to the Leupold scopes, but those aren't made anymore and the glass quality that was fine for 20X magnification is a bit iffy for 40X magnification. To make matters worse, Premier won't service them and Leupold will only service them if they remove the Premier boost while doing so, which of course removes a big chunk of the value.