Riflescopes and Scope Accessories

It’s typical for rifles and shotguns to look like something is missing when no hunting scope or other kind of sighting device is connected. It is becoming increasingly popular for handguns to have them, too. The main reason is that even though the weapons may have built-in iron sights, hunting scopes make it easier to hit a distant target. It is easier to identify your target and shoot off a more accurate shot when you aim through a magnifying sight or use a red dot laser sighting set up.

Many hunting optics have a sizing set up that is known as a number range, which refers to the magnification ranges and the objective lens diameter. The first numbers of a 3-9x 40 rifle scope, for example, show it is a variable scope capable of showing objects 3 times closer than they appear to the naked eye, but it is also capable of going up to 9 times the naked eye. The critical factor here is how low the magnification is rather than how large it is, because as the magnification increases, you willl get less light through the eyepiece.

The last number is the objective lens diameter, measured in millimeters, and normally they are 40 to 45 millimeters, although some of the extreme models reach up to 75 millimeters, even though it is not needed. The bigger the objective lens number, the more light you will get going through the optic. A skillful balance of magnification and objective lens diameter provides the largest amount of detail, which is needed for accurate shots.

The magnification size you want depends on how much enlargement you need. If you keep in mind that the lower the magnification, the better detail, you also have to keep in mind if you will be hitting small targets from faraway. For example, you may choose a 3-9x 40 hunting scope for deer hunting, but you might want a 6-20x or an 8-25x variable weapon optic for game bird or squirrel hunting because your targets will be further away.

The objectives can be adjustable or variable, also. Outer parallax adjustments can alter the diameter of variable objective hunting scopes, which can make a difference on scopes that go over 10X magnification. You won’t generally get this selection on optics with lower magnifications.

Lenses are normally waterproof, fog-resistant and are coated with single or multiple-layered coatings that help lower glare and loss of light. As a general rule, the more layers of coating, the clearer the contrast and the clearer the image will be. Fully multi-coated hunting scope lenses generally are thought of as the best because they will allow exceptional light transmission and sharper contrast.

Another term you will hear while you are looking at hunting scope optics is Field Of View, or FOV. This term refers to how many feet left to right you will see when you are peering through the scope. Generally your Field of View will be about 30 feet at a 100 yard distance at 3x magnification. As the magnification you use goes down, the Field of View increases. At 9 times magnification, the Field of View would only be about 14 feet.

Knowing the measurements of a rifle scope is essential when picking the best overall scope for the kind of hunting you want to be doing. Its specifications will make a major difference in the precision of your shots.

Filed under: Rifles and Shotguns on February 15th, 2010