Can you see

penguin1

17 caliber holes in a white target at 200 yards with a 60 x scope?

US Military Guy

Depending on the size of the target - I might not be able to see the TARGET at 200 yards.

Just noticed this was the ATE forum and did not want to short you on available posts, but I will add this that I deleted from an additional post -

We are talking about Spotting Scopes - and not Rifle Scopes, correct?

I have never seen a 60x Rifle Scope or a Spotting Scope with a 30mm tube.

Knifecollector

Depends on the quality of the scope. I think I could see the holes with a high quality 20X.

nononsense

penguin1,

This answer is based on the quality of the glass and the attention to the assembly of the elements.

Lesser quality glass is principally used in the manufacture of low quality scopes selling for low prices. While often touted as being sufficient to view most subjects, the resolution of the glass and elements is so low that the image is basically unusable. But it's cheap.

Smaller objects or holes, require much high resolution in order to perceive those small details in the image. Higher resolution costs more money because of the higher quality glass necessary for that resolution. And no matter what the cheaper manufacturers promise, they cannot deliver the resolution necessary without charging more money for higher quality glass so they are essentially misleading you.

The longer answer then is yes and no. It depends upon the quality of the glass the and the quality of the assembly. Top quality glass? Absolutely. But the cost can be quite high. Inexpensive glass, most likely not and not worth the expenditure in the first place. If bargain glass is your goal, you will not see those holes.

Best.

buschmaster

absolutely what nononsense said. clarity of optics and good light transmission trumps cheap magnification almost every time. those should be your top priority when selecting a scope.

also for this sort of fine detail, to facilitate light transmission, you probably want the largest aperature you can find. they make some huge ones nowadays I think up to 60mm. along those lines, next, prefer a larger tube. 30mm is about right.

assuming you have that, can you see .17 caliber holes on a white target at 200 yards. with a 60X scope, it should be like seeing them at 10 feet away. so yes. with a 20X scope it should be like 30 feet away. can you do that? maybe. so now it becomes a question of what power of scope do you need. put some .17 caliber holes in a target, see how far away you can discern them with the naked eye, and calculate what you need. give yourself some leeway for comfort and to account for loss due to inefficiency of optics.

all this is going to add up to a lot of money. you have to juggle your priorities with what's available and what you can afford.

cheap:
Bushnell Banner series, 6-24x40 with 1" tube. $160.

midrange:
Bushnell Nitro series, 6-24x50 with 30mm tube. $550-$700 depending on reticle.

expensive:
Bushnell Elite Tactical XRS II, 4.5-30x50 with 34mm tube. $2250-$2350 depending on reticle.

smack yo mama:
Schmidt & Bender Police Marksman II, 5-45x56 with 34mm tube. $5260-$5780 depending on reticle.

charliemeyer007

Depends on what you are doing but I like destructive targets such as clay birds. If I can see them to shoot'em, I can see they are gone when I hit them.

+1 for getting the best optics you can afford for longer range work. Much harder to hit stuff you can't see.

iceracerx

YES, I can.

The question remains, can you?

TRAP55

I'm lucky if I can see them at 100yrds with a 60X. Quit trying and use Shoot-N-C targets.