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Welcome to the ScopesN'More Education Center. Here you will find all kinds of helpful tips and information to aid you in your optics purchase.
How To Buy A Scope?
Scope Buying Guide
How To Buy A Scope?
Magnification:
One of the first things to decide is how much power or magnification do you need or want. A common mistake is to buy too much power and then end up with a scope that doesn't have a low enough setting for close in targets. Choose a power range that has a low enough setting that allows for efficient shooting at the closest targets you will encounter. For an example, when Whitetail hunting you often encounter moving deer at fairly close ranges so if your lowest power setting is 5x or 6x you will find it very difficult to find and aim at the target when it's in close. In most situations like this a low power setting of 3x is ideal and 4x would be the most you would want. Another thing to remember about magnification is the higher the power the less light you will have so if you need a high power scope it is even more important to buy quality glass that will give you better light transmission.
*Tip* As your eyes get older it can be beneficial to go up a little in magnification, say from a 3-9x40 that you may have used for years to a 4-16x44. Another thing that can really help older eyes is an upgrade in glass quality. Brighter, crisper, clearer images from higher quality optics will help you focus easier and quicker as well as reduce strain and fatigue.
Objective Size:
This is the diameter of the lens on the opposite end from the eyepiece that you look through. The job of the objective lens is to gather light and the bigger the lens is the more light it will gather. The trade off for larger lens size is a bulkier and heavier scope. For rimfire rifle and pistol scopes a 32mm objective keeps the scope light weight and compact but still gathers good light for short to mid range distances. For a good balance of size and weight to light gathering ability 40mm to 44mm objectives are a good choice for shotguns, muzzleloaders, and centerfire rifles. For long ranges and low light shooting 50mm is the way to go and in most cases is worth the trade off of extra size and weight. One more thing to remember with objective size is that larger objectives will require taller rings and raise your scope up higher off the rifle. See our how to select scope rings for more info.
Reticle Type:
Today's modern scopes offer a very wide variety of different reticles. The reticle is the aiming mechanism that you see when you look through the scope, often referred to as crosshairs. Their are different types of reticles such as mil-dot, illuminated, bullet compensating, range estimating, and heavy to fine crosshair. There are different styles with in these types of reticles and manufacturers will often have their own name for their style of reticle. Here is an overview of the different styles of reticles you will encounter.
Hunting or Target Turrets:
The turrets on a scope are the knobs on the top and side of the scope that allow you to adjust the elevation (up & Down) and windage (left & right) of the aiming reticle. There are two main styles of turrets. Hunting turrets are the more traditional style and have a lower profile and usually have covers on them for protection that you remove to make adjustments. Hunting turrets offer good protection to the adjustment mechanism from snags and bumps but making adjustments is slower and usually requires a coin or screwdriver to turn the mechanism. Target turrets are taller and have built in knobs for quick easy in the field adjustments. A shooter can quickly compensate for bullet drop with target turrets based on the distance of the shoot.Most target turrets will give an audible "click" when making adjustments so the shooter does not even have to take their eyes off the target to make adjustments. The disadvantage of target turrets is they stick out more and are easier to damage.Your turret decision should be based on what situations and conditions you will be shooting in the most.
Lens Coatings:
This one may seem really uninteresting or boring but the lens coatings on a scope can make a huge difference in the performance of the scope. You will see in the manufacturers specs terms like coated, fully coated, multi-coated, and fully multi-coated lenses. The best coating process is fully multi-coated, in which all surfaces of all lenses both inside and out are coated. This yields the best optical performance giving you better light transmission, less glare, and better overall image clarity. Look for additional coatings like anti-fogging and moisture repelling coatings that many of the better scopes know have. These extra coatings can have a big impact on keeping your scope clear and fog free which is often difference between making the shot or missing by a mile. Remember you get what you pay for so look for high quality lens coatings so you will get the best performance from your new scope.
Brand:
Which brand should I buy? Some people will swear by and stick with the same brand that they have been using for years. I'd rather push my Ford than drive a Chevy kind of folks. Often times they are right, however there are many good brands to choose from nowadays and some brands are better at certain types of optics than others and viceversa. Take time to read the summaries of the brands on the category brand pages. You will get a good idea of what to expect from each brand as you navigate through our website.
How Much to Spend?
The goal is to match the capability of the scope to the capability of the rifle. Too often we see people with great rifles that have fantastic accuracy capability with cheap scopes sitting on top that could never equal the precision that their rifle is capable of. It's like taking a Corvette and putting a lawn mower engine in it - it's just a big mismatch and waste.
How To Buy A Scope?
Magnification:
One of the first things to decide is how much power or magnification do you need or want. A common mistake is to buy too much power and then end up with a scope that doesn't have a low enough setting for close in targets. Choose a power range that has a low enough setting that allows for efficient shooting at the closest targets you will encounter. For an example, when Whitetail hunting you often encounter moving deer at fairly close ranges so if your lowest power setting is 5x or 6x you will find it very difficult to find and aim at the target when it's in close. In most situations like this a low power setting of 3x is ideal and 4x would be the most you would want. Another thing to remember about magnification is the higher the power the less light you will have so if you need a high power scope it is even more important to buy quality glass that will give you better light transmission.
*Tip* As your eyes get older it can be beneficial to go up a little in magnification, say from a 3-9x40 that you may have used for years to a 4-16x44. Another thing that can really help older eyes is an upgrade in glass quality. Brighter, crisper, clearer images from higher quality optics will help you focus easier and quicker as well as reduce strain and fatigue.
Objective Size:
This is the diameter of the lens on the opposite end from the eyepiece that you look through. The job of the objective lens is to gather light and the bigger the lens is the more light it will gather. The trade off for larger lens size is a bulkier and heavier scope. For rimfire rifle and pistol scopes a 32mm objective keeps the scope light weight and compact but still gathers good light for short to mid range distances. For a good balance of size and weight to light gathering ability 40mm to 44mm objectives are a good choice for shotguns, muzzleloaders, and centerfire rifles. For long ranges and low light shooting 50mm is the way to go and in most cases is worth the trade off of extra size and weight. One more thing to remember with objective size is that larger objectives will require taller rings and raise your scope up higher off the rifle. See our how to select scope rings for more info.
Reticle Type:
Today's modern scopes offer a very wide variety of different reticles. The reticle is the aiming mechanism that you see when you look through the scope, often referred to as crosshairs. Their are different types of reticles such as mil-dot, illuminated, bullet compensating, range estimating, and heavy to fine crosshair. There are different styles with in these types of reticles and manufacturers will often have their own name for their style of reticle. Here is an overview of the different styles of reticles you will encounter.
Hunting or Target Turrets:
The turrets on a scope are the knobs on the top and side of the scope that allow you to adjust the elevation (up & Down) and windage (left & right) of the aiming reticle. There are two main styles of turrets. Hunting turrets are the more traditional style and have a lower profile and usually have covers on them for protection that you remove to make adjustments. Hunting turrets offer good protection to the adjustment mechanism from snags and bumps but making adjustments is slower and usually requires a coin or screwdriver to turn the mechanism. Target turrets are taller and have built in knobs for quick easy in the field adjustments. A shooter can quickly compensate for bullet drop with target turrets based on the distance of the shoot.Most target turrets will give an audible "click" when making adjustments so the shooter does not even have to take their eyes off the target to make adjustments. The disadvantage of target turrets is they stick out more and are easier to damage.Your turret decision should be based on what situations and conditions you will be shooting in the most.
Lens Coatings:
This one may seem really uninteresting or boring but the lens coatings on a scope can make a huge difference in the performance of the scope. You will see in the manufacturers specs terms like coated, fully coated, multi-coated, and fully multi-coated lenses. The best coating process is fully multi-coated, in which all surfaces of all lenses both inside and out are coated. This yields the best optical performance giving you better light transmission, less glare, and better overall image clarity. Look for additional coatings like anti-fogging and moisture repelling coatings that many of the better scopes know have. These extra coatings can have a big impact on keeping your scope clear and fog free which is often difference between making the shot or missing by a mile. Remember you get what you pay for so look for high quality lens coatings so you will get the best performance from your new scope.
Brand:
Which brand should I buy? Some people will swear by and stick with the same brand that they have been using for years. I'd rather push my Ford than drive a Chevy kind of folks. Often times they are right, however there are many good brands to choose from nowadays and some brands are better at certain types of optics than others and viceversa. Take time to read the summaries of the brands on the category brand pages. You will get a good idea of what to expect from each brand as you navigate through our website.
How Much to Spend?
The goal is to match the capability of the scope to the capability of the rifle. Too often we see people with great rifles that have fantastic accuracy capability with cheap scopes sitting on top that could never equal the precision that their rifle is capable of. It's like taking a Corvette and putting a lawn mower engine in it - it's just a big mismatch and waste.
