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Many people make the same errors repeatedly when purchasing scopes. As a result, we have compiled this list of the top ten mistakes made when buying optics for a rifle. They are arranged in no particular order, because any one of them is grave enough to botch an otherwise good scope purchase.
A scope with huge magnification and a oversized lense from eBay is a bad idea…
Buying the wrong scope
Inherent in the decision to buy a scope is the main Question: What are you going to use it for? Some shooters know very little about scopes, but there is one thing that every shooter absolutely needs to know before any money is laid out for the purchase of new optics: For what purpose will the scope be used?
Outwardly, most scopes look more or less the same: they are metal tubes with lenses. The shooter looks through one end and sees out of the other. Because of this, scopes tend to fool the uninitiated into thinking that they are all the same, which could not be further from the truth. Additionally, the manufacturer is often culpable in labelling the scope as a unit that is “good for target shooting or hunting”, or some other ambiguous statement. There are relatively few scopes that are good multi-taskers – most are made to do one thing and one thing only. Broadly speaking, there are three main categories of rifle scopes; target scopes, tactical scopes and hunting scopes.
From there, each of these categories can be broken down further into more specialized optics. If nothing else, the shooter should select one of these categories to begin their search and subsequently begin to narrow down the choices significantly.
Buying an overly complex scope
A deer hunter who shoots at distances of 150 yards or less does not need a scope with target turrets, a mil dot reticle, a bullet drop compensator, a focus or parallax adjustment lever and a 65mm objective. This is definitely too much scope for the job.
A shooter or hunter should be wary of maxing out on features when the intended use does not match; buying more options on a scope winds up being a needless distraction to the intended purpose and may result in not putting rounds on target.
Buying an overly simple scope:
By the same token a long range target shooter on a 1000 yard range with a scope that has a duplex reticle and turrets that are capped with screw on covers will be met with the same dilemma. Regardless of the specifications of the scope and the magnification thereof, it is too simple a scope for the job. If it does not have the needed features, the shooter will not be able to put rounds on target.
Too much magnification:
More magnification is not always better. Usually, cheaper scopes tend to have high magnification numbers, but this comes at the expense of using cheap glass. Even if the glass is of excellent quality, as the magnification increases, the field of view decreases, making the scope narrowly focused on a rather small field of view. This is a detriment when it comes to short range shooting, and the shooter will spend more time zooming in and out, trying to put the glass on target while the target escapes. For this reason, a deer hunter equipped with a 25 power scope is making a big mistake in selecting the optic, as the higher power settings will be almost useless to him and he will not be able to rapidly acquire the target at high magnifications.
Wrong reticle
The crosshairs represent an important feature and getting the wrong reticle in a scope, regardless of how good the scope is could render it useless. If a scope’s reticle is needed for range finding; a mil dot reticle or a Horus reticle is what is needed. If the scope is to be used for hunting inside of 500 yards a standard duplex reticle or classic crosshairs is called for.
Ranging reticles are mainly used for two reasons: the reticle is to be used to calculate the range to the target or when a degree of bullet drop is anticipated, so that the shooter can use the reticle to “hold” for windage and elevation.
By contrast, the vast majority of hunting happens at ranges inside of 500 yards, and usually, far less than that. At between 100-300 yards, most hunting caliber rifles shoot a flat trajectory and are for the most part unaffected by wind, so the hunter will not need to compensate for these factors. A duplex reticle is therefore recommended.
Wrong turrets
Turrets are a function of the reticle, and for the most part, a ranging reticle needs to have adjustable turrets that are easily accessed. Access is the key here –all turrets can be adjusted, but not all turrets can be adjusted easily. If a target or tactical shooter needs to unscrew a turret cap and use a screwdriver to change the windage or elevation; he is using the wrong scope. Similarly, for a hunter, large target style turrets are a distraction and can be accidentally turned by brush or errant movements, which could throw off the trajectory of the shot.
Too large an objective lens
A large objective lens will let more light into the scope for a clearer picture. Large objective lenses tend to reduce aberrations, mirage, and produce a larger field of view than smaller lenses. By this metric, a telescope would trump a rifle scope in terms of clarity, but of course, a telescope cannot be easily mounted on a rifle. Large objective lenses cause significant problems on some rifles, requiring taller rings, a taller mounting block, and thus turning the cheek weld into a chin weld.
A large objective lens scope requires the shooter to increase the height of the comb so he can see through the scope as well. When selecting a scope with a large objective it is paramount to make sure that the rifle can accommodate such a scope without too much alteration.
Cheap glass
Cheap glass is the bane of any scope, and comes disguised as great value. This is usually found in high magnification scopes that are offered at a budget price. Cheap glass manifests itself as hazy or warped images and mirage that is so bad that the higher magnifications become virtually useless. A quality scope with low magnification and superior glass will always beat a high magnification scope of lesser quality. Good glass costs money and the bulk of the price of a scope is comprised of the glass used within.
Not thinking about mounts
Rings and scope bases should not be afterthoughts, and wherever possible they need to be purchased with the scope for proper fitting. Usually, “budget conscious” shoppers will purchase a scope and not buy the rings right away or buy a cheap set of “generic” rings. What they usually end up getting is a set of rings that are the incorrect diameter, or rings that do not correctly mount to the rifle.
There are two main considerations here, rings, and scope bases. With regard to rings, the tube diameter of the scope must be matched to the rings. The most common measurements are 30mm and 1” tubes, and they are clearly not interchangeable, but there are other diameters out there.
With regard to bases, there are two choices: rings that mount directly to the rifle’s receiver or those that utilize a scope base and rings that are mounted to the scope base. Most hunting setups mount rings directly to the receiver, but that means that taking the scope off is a bit of a process, and the scope cannot be shared between other rifles. Most tactical setups use a scope base, which usually looks like a Picatinny or Weaver style setup. The advantage here is that the scope can be removed from the rifle easily, and the base can be had in flat or canted setups so that the shooter can dial in elevation with the base as well as the scope turrets, which is an important consideration for long range shooting. We have a full breakdown here on selecting scope rings and bases.
Forgetting about accessories
Most quality scopes do not come with flip up caps or sun shades. Simply using the rubber plugs that come with the scope for shipping is no substitute for proper flip up caps, which can be opened with one hand and protect the scope’s lenses from damage. Additionally, if a tactical shooter will want a sun shade or a kill-flash device to disguise the scope’s lens glare from the target.
Like rings and bases, these accessories need to be made with the initial purchase of the scope to avoid errors later.
Conclusion
A quality scope is a piece of gear that should last a long time and can span multiple rifles. Therefore, it saves in the long term by selecting the right scope the first time. Selecting a scope is an important decision and sometimes can be more important than the rifle itself.
