Rifle Scope Basics: Must Read Guide For Beginners

Rifle Scope Basics

As I have mentioned before, my personal opinion is that if I would invest $500 in a rifle, I would invest $500 in a scope too. I cannot state enough the importance of invest in a quality scope for you gun. If your plan is to buy a $5000 rifle, then of course I’m not advising you to buy a $5000 scope on that rifle.

The general rule that most people are comfortable with is that the scope should cost about the half of the price of your gun. By having this rule in mind, you should be on the right path to get a quality scope in the same quality category as your firearm. There are a lot of things to bear in mind, and most importantly, you need to think for yourself about how far you plan on shooting.

There are so many factors to consider because magnification and Field of View needs vary significantly.

Field of View: What gives you the Field of View is the front lens as it gathers the light for you.

Tube Size: 1 inch (30mm) is the standard size for tube size and the rings must fit diameter of the body of the scope.

In order to change elevation and windage, you need adjustment knobs, these can be turrets, screwdriver (flat tip) or even your own finger for pressure.

Standard scope makes just one single click that changes impact 1/4 inches for every 100 yards. Many larger magnification scopes also have parallax adjustments too.

Rear we have the magnification adjustment and most likely a knob for focus.

Reticle: It can be just a simple cross-hair, mildots or even a cross-hair that includes a set of smaller lines to make up for Bullet-Drop-Compensators

Eye relief: Terms that describes the distance between your eye and the rear lens of the scope that will give you crystal clear view without the black ring around the edges when you look through the scope. You need to be aware of the eye relief to avoid getting Scope-Eye with high recoil calibers.

Numbers: Some scopes are fixed which means that these scopes need no adjustments at all. Example of fixed single power scopes are: 3×32 and 4×30 to name a few. If we look at the standard 3-9×40, those number mean that the image you see through your scope will be 3 times larger than without the scope, and 9 times larger.

So basically it is the range from 3-9 times more than you can see with the naked eye. that last number (40) states that the objective lens is 40 millimeter wide. The larger the objective size, the more your scope will cost and also it will affect the sizes of rings that are needed to clear the barrel.

Lens Coatings: Lens coatings will prevent water from staying on your scope. If you need information about what kind of coatings your scope has, please refer to the scope’s specifications manual for details

Final Thoughts

You don’t need to buys the most expensive scope out there to get top quality product. What you need to do is to do your own research thoroughly, do your homework properly and try to figure out your needs. How far do you need to see, how big do you want your target to appear and the area around it?

Where you live (North/South) is also an important factor because dark areas in the north part of the states have heavy woods and therefore you need more light to get the crystal clear image. Great standard size that fits most environment and hunting situations is without the doubt 3-9×40.

Be extremely selective when you investigate your scope, brag with your friends when you finally get your perfect one, the important thing is to buy a scope that fits your needs perfectly! The Vortex is a good options, lifetime warranty and extremely cost effective. The options are endless and you can find any scope you need, from low budget to professional scope.

Keep in mind the rule of thumb I mentioned earlier for beginners, $500 scope on $500 rifle or go for scope that costs the half of what your rifle did. Just don’t fall into the trap of buying a $200 scope on your $1000 rifle! The scope is the brain and heart of your rifle!

Also, do not go for the cheapest rings available. You will get way better results with $40 rings than you ever will with $5 rings. Cheap low quality rings will just end up making you waste more precious time and ammo to get accurate shot. New quality rings are essential!