How to Choose a Rifle Scope: 7 Easy Steps

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Purchasing the right rifle scope can be a challenging experience, especially for new rifle users with no prior experience with using it. A range of factors should be considered to procure the right rifle.

How to Choose a Rifle Scope
Examples of such factors include the rifle scope’s magnification size, scope construction, objective lens power, eye-relief, and Reticle/focal plane. The scope user can also consider the lens’ parallax, turrets, as well as adjustment capabilities before making a purchase decision.

How to Choose a Rifle Scope: 7 Easy Steps & Ultimate Guide


7 essential steps should be considered, to procure the high-end rifle scope under $300.

1.Reasons for the rifle: it is important to determine whether the rifle will primarily be used for hunting, self-defense, or target shooting. In this case, the strength of the rifle scope procured may vary depending on the primary purpose of the rifle.

2.Determine the size of magnification required: most rifle scope under $300 and  come in a range of magnifications. As such, before purchasing a rifle scope, it would be imperative to know the size of the target like to focus on, I.e., small targets would require a high scale magnification scope and vice versa.

3.Know the budget available to procure a rifle scope: an individual must understand that procuring high range, variable rifle scopes would require more funds compared to purchasing fixed scopes.

4.Read or Determine the Objective Lens Diameter (OLD) to ascertain how much light a lens lets into the rifle scope. In this case, the lens in a rifle scope with a sizeable diameter lets more light into the rifle scope. Subsequently, this enhances the clarity of the shot.

5.Determine the eye-relief in a rifle scope. An individual should determine how far the rifle scope lens can focus. His/her eye should be able to see everything clearly. Procuring a rifle scope lens with a high eye-relief will also enhance the safety of the rifle users, by preventing “scope eye,” which might occur after a rifle’s recoil.

6.Check whether the riflescope has a parallax correction knob: the parallax correction scope knob is important to improve the consistency as well as the regularity of shots.

7. Check the coating system available for a rifle scope. Coatings are important in providing water and fog-proofing aspects in a rifle scope, which also increases the durability of the rifle scope even after being exposed to the environmental elements.

FAQs


1. What is the best brand of rifle scopes?

There are several high-quality brands and high-end rifle scopes under $300. The brands range from the Sig Sauer Whiskey (Illuminated), Carl Zeiss Terra, Millett, and Vortex Optics Diamondback HP, among others. However, different users have different preferences regarding the stated types of rifle scopes.

2. What is the best hunting scope for the money?

The Sig Sauer Whiskey 3 4-12x50mm is the best rifle scope under $300 . The scope has a low dispersion glass (LD) that increases the accuracy of the rifle scope when in use.

3. What scope should I use for 1000 yards?

Any rifle scope with a 3-9×40 scope scale can be used for shooting at targets positioned about 1000 yards away. As such, rifle scope buyers must check whether a rifle scope has the right magnification as well as objective lens diameter before making a purchase decision.

4. What kind of scope do snipers use?

Military snipers use enhanced high precision rifles with a large rifle scope lens. Examples of such rifle scopes include the March X-series (8-80 x 56 mm) 80x magnification, which can shoot targets situated more than a 1000 yards away with high precision.

5. What caliber did Chris Kyle use as a sniper?

Kyle used a McMillan TAC-338, a long-range rifle, as one of his rifles. The weapon was part of a 300 Winchester Magnum rifle collection that Kyle used. Also, the stated weapon is a 308 caliber sniper rifle M24.

6. What scopes do Marine snipers use?

Marine soldiers use rifle scopes with the night vision feature, which can enable them to see targets in the water or dark environments. For instance, U.S. marines have, in the past, used the Mark 13 Mod 7 military scope rifle, which was designed with a Night-force ATACR technology and with a Horus Tremor 3 Reticle for easier visibility.

Final Verdict


The knowledge of the 7 stated steps of selecting the right type of rifle scope is imperative. Also, that is because the quality and performance capabilities of a rifle vary in brands produced by different manufacturers in the market.

Specifically, the 7 stated steps of rifle selection include awareness of the reason for shooting a rifle, size of magnification, budget available, OLD size, eye relief, parallax relief knob, and coatings on the scope.

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