Hunting Zero ?

[Rickhem]

I’ve come to appreciate FFP scopes since the reticle subtensions remain the same regardless of magnification.

I have a 6.8SPC that I just got set up over the summer and took it out one afternoon for deer hunting.  Now my disclaimer is that it's set up more as a target rifle, and has a 6-24x50 FFP scope with a fairly busy reticle.  The center dot is about ½MOA and works really well at full magnification on the targets.  It does NOT have an illuminated reticle.  It's my first (and only) FFP riflescope.  I honestly never change from 24X when target shooting with this rifle, and I have a load that shoots the 120SST into <MOA at 100, so I figured it might make a good option for the woods. 

I took it out one afternoon for a sit in a ground blind, and cranked the magnification down to 6x.  I like the lower magnification for hunting as it yields a greater field of view, faster target acquisition, gathers more light for a brighter view through the scope, and is much more forgiving with eye relief.  All the optics I use get set down near the low end for hunting, and I'll crank them up if a change for a longer, more deliberate shot presents itself.  I found the reticle was much harder to see, since all those little dots got way, way smaller at the lower setting.  Once I got to within 20 minutes of sunset, I couldn't see it well enough to use.  We're allowed to hunt until ½ hour after sunset, and that's a very very productive time, which I lost on that day.  

With all the above, I'm sure that my FFP scope is not appropriate for the hunting that I do here in central NY.  I have fields that can offer shots of up to 300 yards, and on rare occasions up to 400.  But the majority of the hunting is in the woods where a 100 yard shot is a rarity.  Shots in the woods aren't far, but you typically don't have a lot of time to make any fine-tuning adjustments like a deer in a field would allow.  Once you see a deer that you decide to take a shot at, it's usually moving, and you have to find a lane for your shot, then send it when he gets there.  The sunrise and sunset timeframes are where a bolder reticle helps, or maybe one that is illuminated, but I'm not experienced with illuminated in actual practice.  

I'm not specifically addressing this to you @300BLK, since your comment makes it clear you aren't new at this, and you probably already have experienced what I did.  I'm not really new at this myself, and this caught me off guard.  But for someone that wants to hear some real-life DOs and DON'Ts for hunting optics, my advice is to make sure your reticle is easily visible at the lower settings of your magnification range, and don't get too caught up in high power magnification.  Hitting a softball size target is all you really need to do to effectively harvest a deer, and they're not always standing broadside waiting for you to get your shot off.