How To Buy A Rifle Scope
Tips on Selecting the Right Rifle Scope
Ask yourself, what am I using the scope for? A scope for varmint would be different than one used to hunt Cape buffalo. What type or reticle do I like? Is it illuminated, how heavy is the scope, do you want a quick mount/release or a more permanent mount? Magnification, durability and warranty need to be considered. To top it off, do I want a scope that has a laser sight?
Reticle: So what’s a reticle? In today’s rifle scopes, the reticle (or eye piece) is a thin piece of glass with lines etched into its surface that’s been multi-coated to reduce glare. Patterns such as MOA, Mil-Dot, Duplex, Crosshair, Rangefinding,etc. are available. Some work better than others depending on your shooting style and intended target.
One thing that’s really cool is an illuminated reticle. In overcast or low light conditions, it’s much easier to acquire your target with an illuminated reticle. Red and green and are the most common colors for illumination, but I have also seen blue. All scopes with illuminated reticles should have adjustable brightness settings and easily switch between red and green. Most illuminated reticles use a standard, easily found, flat lithium battery which usually lasts one or two seasons. A reticle scope is sometimes also called a sight/site scope.
Lasers are not just for hand guns. Having a laser helps you quickly acquire a target and when paired with a scope, it improves your chances for hitting the target exactly where you want. Lasers are usually mounted to the side of and as close to the scope as possible. This helps compensate for the bullet drop, especially when shooting over a long distance.
Most scopes use red or green lasers and the laser color comes down to personal preference. Green is easier for most humans to see which is why some folks claim it’s brighter. Personally, I do not use a laser when shooting during the day so I stick with red solely because is less expensive than green.
Magnification: Although it sounds a bit strange, some of the best rifle scopes do not magnify much, if at all. When purchasing a scope, you see numbers such as 5×32. The first number is the magnification power. In other words, it makes the target 5 times bigger. Although it sounds like the more magnification the better, there are some disadvantages. The higher the magnification, the less you see of the surrounding area, plus you need more light passing through the scope to see the image.
To compensate for the light issue, the objective lens (the front of the scope towards the gun barrel) is bigger. The larger size allows more light into the scope and is identified using the second number associated with the scope. Its number 32 in the 5 x 32 mentioned above which means the objective lens is 32 millimeters in size.