When shopping for your rifle scope you may come across a scope with the name:
"Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40mm"
In the above example, "Leupold" is the manufacturer. The letters and/or words that follow the manufacturer name represent the model. The set of numbers after the model is the magnification; in this case it is "3.5-10x". Adjustments will enable you to see 3.5 times to 10 times further than the naked eye. The last set of numbers, in this case 40mm, is the diameter of the objective lens. The larger the lens; the more light it will transmit, you should also take note of this number when buying rings to mount your scope
One factor in deciding which rifle scope to buy is what you will be primarily using it for. If you are varmint hunting, a 4-12x scope is recommended. If you are hunting in dense woods, you won't need more than 2-7x magnification. In open country, you can use a 3-9x scope or a 2.5-10x scope to shoot targets up to 200 yards away. Anything beyond 200 yards in open country, a 4-12x scope or 6-18x rifle scope is recommended. Magnification and objective lens size are very important to accuracy; however, many people overlook other details that will improve your marksmanship and maximize your scopes potential.
2. Eye Relief
The larger the exit pupil; the more eye relief you will have. Eye relief is the allowable distance your eye is from the ocular lens. Eye relief can be up to 5 inches but it usually averages 3-4 inches. For eyeglass wearers, rifle scopes with longer eye relief is recommended.
3. Scope Lenses and Coatings
Good coatings on a lens surface reduce light loss and glare due to reflection. Lens coating is not cheap and can mean the price difference between a cheaper rifle scope and a quality one. Many brands will have different names for the following four categories of coating. Do not be confused, the quality of the coating will be the only difference.
- Coated: a single layer on at least one lens surface.
- Fully Coated: A single layer on all air to glass surfaces.
- Multicoated: Multiple layers on at least one lens surface.
- Fully Multicoated: Multiple layers on all air to glass surfaces.
Field of View is measured at 100 yards or meters.
For example:
Magnification: 3-10x
FOV (ft/100yd): 29.8/11
This means that you can expect to have horizontal vision of 29.8 feet at 3x magnification and 11 feet at 10x magnification.
5. Turret Adjustments MOA (minute of angle)
Adjustments typically range anywhere from 60 to 120 clicks. This is the range the turrets can be "clicked" in order for the point of impact to be adjusted vertically and horizontally.
Adjustments are made in Minutes of Angle AKA MOA. Most scopes are adjusted in ¼ inch increments, and some are made at ½ increments. On a ¼ adjustment turret, each click of the windage or elevation turret will move your point of impact a ¼ inch at 100 yards, or ½ inch at 200 yards, or 1/8 inch at 50 yards.
An example would be an elevation turret with an ¼ elevation and adjustment range of MOA 60. The point of impact can move up or down 15 inches at 100 yards, 30 inches at 200 yards, and 7.5 inches at 50 yards. A windage turret with a MOA of 60 will be able to move the same distance vertically. This is useful information when sighting in your scope.
6. Reticles
Numerous crosshairs, more commonly known as reticles, are available to shooters. They vary from scope to scope and from brand to brand. Reticles give you a solid placement point on your target by using different colors and designs. Traditional black reticles are the most common while green, red and blue illuminated reticles are gaining popularity. Some reticles have target dots, some have posts; the style of reticle is purely personal preference.
7. Sealed, Waterproof, and Fogproof
Waterproof scopes are sealed with O-rings to prevent moisture, dust, and debris from compromising the inside of the rifle scope. Fogproofing is done by filling the scope with nitrogen or argon gas to prevent internal fogging when the humidity is high. Waterproof and fogproof scopes are recommended for all hunting situations, especially when they are put into use in high humidity areas or areas around water.
8. Price
If your main intention is to shoot a.22 caliber rifle 40 yards at the shooting range; consider buying a cheaper rifle scope. Anything more than that, then an investment in a solid scope will pay dividends. Starting at the $150 price point, you can expect better constructed parts, better lenses, parallax adjustments, non-plastic turrets, so forth and so on. In this price range you can expect to get what you pay for. Through our experience, returns begin to diminish after $800 as we get into more specialized scopes.
If you want to learn more about rifle scopes, visit our website's resource section