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| About
Rifle Scopes
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A quality rifle scope is the key to a successful day at the range or in the field.
Rifle scopes bring distant targets and surrounding objects up close and personal allowing safer, more accurate shooting. They gather and utilize available light making it possible to shoot in lower light conditions and allowing the hunter to hunt from dawn to dusk.
Pairing just the right rifle scope with your gun and ammunition will help you get the most out of each and every shot. Selecting the correct scope to fit your needs involves a number of considerations from mechanics and construction, to image quality and magnification. Keep in mind when and where you shoot most often and choose a
rifle scope with features that best fit the requirements of your particular sport.
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| Rifle
Scope
Terminology |
- Magnification or Power
Rifle scopes are referred to by two numbers
such as 4x40. These numbers is imprinted on the rifle scope body. The first number
is the magnification or power of the rifle scope. With a 4x40 rifle scope, a 4x power means
that you are magnifying something 4 times larger than you would see it
with the unaided eye. Please remember that as magnification increases,
brightness and field of view tend to decrease.
- Objective Lens Size
Rifle scopes are referred to by two numbers
such as 4x40. These numbers is
imprinted on the rifle scope body. The second number refers to the diameter of
the objective or front lens. The larger the objective lens size, the more
light it gathers, and the brighter the image.
- Exit Pupil
Refers to the size of the circle of
light visible at the eyepiece of a rifle scope. The larger the exit pupil, the
brighter the image, and the better they
are for low light situations. The exit
pupil is calculated by dividing the diameter of the objective lens by the magnification
power (a 4x40 model has an exit pupil of 10mm). An exit pupil size of 2 or 3 mm
is enough for viewing objects in daylight, an exit pupil size 5 or 6
mm is for dawn to dusk lighting, and 7 mm for nighttime viewing.
- Field of View (F.O.V.)
Refers to the
width of the viewing area seen through the rifle scopes. This number is
imprinted on the rifle scope body. It is defined by the width in feet or
meters of the area visible at 100 yards or meters. Wider field of view make
it easier to find and track a moving subject. Generally, F.O.V. decreases as
magnification increases.
- Eye Relief
Refers to the maximum
distance a rifle scope can be held away from the eye and still present the full
field of view. For eyeglass wearers, extended or long eye relief can
reduce eyestrain. Generally, a rifle scope with 13 mm or more of eye relief is
considered long eye relief.
- Parallax
A condition that occurs when the image of the target is not focused precisely on the reticle plane. Parallax is visible as an apparent movement between the reticle and the target when the shooter moves his head or, in extreme cases, as an out-of-focus image.
- Precision Adjustments
The windage and elevation adjustments affect accuracy. Windage is the horizontal (left-to-right) adjustment, usually the side turret of the scope. Elevation is the vertical (up-and-down) adjustment, usually the top turret of the scope.
- Reticle
A reticle is the crosshair or pattern placed in the eyepiece of the scope which establishes the gun's position on the target.
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| Types
of Reticles |
| Each
vendor has their own types of reticles, but the basic styles are
similar-crosshair. The following types of reticles are from Bushnell.
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| Types
of Coatings |
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Coatings are applied to lenses to
reduce glare and reflection, and to reduce light loss.
- Coated
A single layer on at least one lens
surface.
- Fully Coated
A single layer on all air-to-glass
surfaces.
- Multi-Coated
Multiple layers on at least
one lens surface.
- Fully Multi-Coated
Multiple layers on all air-to-glass
surfaces.
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Selecting
Guide
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Uses |
Recommendations |
All-Purpose Big
Game
(Deer, Antelope, Elk, etc.) |
3-9X40 Variable,
2.5-10X40, 4-12X40 with adjustable
objective |
| Shot guns (Deer &
Turkey) |
Low power variables
such as 1-4X32, 1.75-5X32 & 1.5-6X32 |
Varmint
Hunting
(Wood Chucks, Prairie Dogs, Coyotes) |
Higher magnification
scopes with adjustable objectives like 6-24X40, 6-18X40,
4-12X40, 5-15X50) |
| Extreme
Low-light Hunting |
Large objective lens
scope (40mm or greater objective lenses), Scopes with
large exit pupils |
| Muzzleloaders |
Low power variables
such as 1.75-5X32, 1.5-6X32 |
| Handguns |
Long, constant eye
relief scopes like 2-6x32, 2x32 |
| Airguns |
Airgun scope or scope
with adjustable objective (recoil pattern of spring piston
airguns requires special design) |
| Small Game (Squirrels,
Rabbits, etc.) |
Compact .22
scopes |
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