Target size at 100 yards? I shoot a 1" (open center) black square at 100 yards with 9 power scopes, and a standard Leupold Duplex is perfect for centering in that target.
Your variable scope should be used as necessary. Bench or target shooting should perhaps be always done at the highest power available. When hunting with a 3x-9x, I almost always carry it set at 5x power. This setting serves for nearly all shots one might encounter at all reasonable hunting ranges, and target aquisition is fast. 9x is only utililzed for a very long shot which grants unlimited time to complete. 3x is utilized when heavy cover is the surroundings, or when stalking up to an area where the game might come out fast and on the run.
I would not doubt that all or nearly all of a 10" solid black round bull might be obscured by the crosshairs of a standard 3x-9x Leupold Duplex at 500 yards. Finer reticles are available, and Leupold can install them for a reasonable fee. You might also try a different configuration of target, such as a open-centered black square. A 10" one might lend itself to its corners being visible around your crosshair point at 500 yards.
As for "how in the world could anyone hit 600 yards with this pos", Two things: you have discovered the fly in the ointment when regarding any stories saying "I shoot deer and elk all the time at 600 yards, blah blah blah...", and the venerable 3x-9x Leupold just might be the very best hunting scope ever made (if one considers total sales and reputation over the years). Certainly NOT a pos.
However, one does not need ANY optics to hit at 600 yards. Military gun competitions and Blackpowder Cartridge competitions prove this can be done reliably and repeatedly. All that is necessary is that the shooter can see the target. Make your target visible and referenceable to your aiming point, and with intensive practice over a long period of time with a good gun, you will be very pleasantly surprised with the result.
Wouldn't this also have something to do with the application? Are you doing something where the goal is to make one ragged hole with multiple shots or are you trying to hit something larger than the diameter of your bullet?
I don't have a dog in this hunt but am curious about the answers that follow.
Are you trying to understandhow the POA and POI changes with different magnification?
Nikon had a a program for their scope that would show the chages in distance for each magnification.
I playe with it with a BDC scope - was amazed how much things change.
WHy they say to use highest mag for all the bells and whistles to work,
You can get estimates liek this
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