Idiots guide to scopes required

[ME]

Idiots guide to scopes required.

 

As it says on the tin please. I need to get a scope for a .22.

 

I have read a few reviews but some help would be appreciated. What do all the magnification numbers mean ?

 

What is a nice, middle of the road, decent scope :yp:

Edited December 1, 2009 by ME

[Ali-C]

The Nikko Sterling range are good, and the MTC range are highly reccommended by a helluva lot of people.

 

The numbers are simple when you understand them, for example, a 3-9x40 is 3 to 9 times magnification (variable magnification), with a 40mm objective lens, a 6x42 is 6 times magnification (fixed mag) with a 42mm objective lens etc.

It's up to you whether you go for fixed or variable mag, bear in mind that a fixed mag scope usually gives a brighter picture than a similarly priced variable mag scope as there are less lenses for the light to pass through.

As for objective lens sizes, bigger is not always better, (it gets complicated, exit pupil sizes, calculations to work out exit pupil size etc.) but my advice would be to not go for a scope with anything bigger then a 50mm lens for hunting, partly because you don't need huge lenses, partly because you don't see any real advantage in low to medium priced scopes, and because the smaller the objective lens, the better the depth of field.

[MC]

The first numbers are the magnification and the second is the diameter of the objective lens (the one furthest away from you) the magnification is 3x 4x 5x etc what you see with your eyes.

 

You don't want to go too high with these as you will find holding the rifle steady a nightmare if you go much above 14x, unless you use a bipod.

 

On my Ruger I have a Hawke 3-9 x 50 Sport HD with a mil dot reticule, I find the mildots the easiest way of holding over for a long shot. And a bit of homework on the range and you can very quickly work out your hold positions for different distances.

 

As I said to you on the phone, for about a year I had a Tasco 3-9 x 40 that I bought from wikki wikki land off e bay. It served me well enough.

 

How many bells and whistles you want on it is personal preference but driving round in a 4 x 4 lamping you won't get much chance to use them. You need to be able to point and shoot.

 

If you want to spend a bit more then a S & B 8 x 56 would be ideal. You don't need high magnification on a .22 but you really do need a large objective lens to gather plenty of light at night.

 

My 4-14 x 56 Hawke scope on my .17 can almost be used without a lamp on a full moon.

[MC]

Here you go, in a bit more detail.

 

Try Uttings.com they have all you need to know and loads you don't

 

 

What do the numbers mean? eg: 3-9x40

The first number is the magnification power of the scope, in this case it will magnify an object by a factor of 3. If the number is followed by an x this indicates that the scope is a fixed power scope. If the number is followed by an a - and a number, -9 in this case, then the scope has adjustable power. In this instance up to a factor of 9. The number after the x is the size in millimetres of the diameter of the light gathering objective lens.

 

Adjustable Objective (AO)

Adjustable focus from a set distance to infinity. Often referred to as PA (parallax adjustable) objective. Can also be found in the form of a sidewheel (sw) located on the saddle of the scope.

 

Bullet Drop Compensation (BDC)

The trajectory of all projects is in an arc, therfore the further from your target you are, the lower the point of impact will be, compared to the rifles muzzle. BDC compensates for this drop when you dial in the distance to the target.

 

Elevation

Vertical scope adjustment up and down, usually the top turret of the scope.

 

Eye Relief

The distance from the ocular lens that your eye needs to be, to see a full sight image.

 

Lens Coatings

Lenses and prisms may be described as coated, fully coated, multi coated or fully multi coated.

 

Coated - means that some lens surfaces have been covered with a thin layer of magnesium fluoride that reduces unwanted reflections and glare, increasing light transmission and contrast.

 

Fully Coated - means that all air to glass lens surfaces and usually the long side of the prism have been coated.

 

Multi Coated - means that multiple layers have been applied to one or more surfaces to further reduce reflections.

 

Fully Multi Coated - means all air to glass surfaces and sometimes the long side of the prism, have multiple layers of coatings.

 

Minutes of Adjustment (MOA)

The sensitivity of the controls on a scope is measured in MOA's. A scope with 1/4" MOA means that for every click of the adjustment the centre point of the scope moves a 1/4" when measured at 100 yards.

 

Parallax

When the shooter moves his head, parallax, a distortion of the image, can occur. This happens when the image is not focused exactly on the reticle plane. More advanced scopes have parallax adjustment (PA) to eradicate the problem.

 

Reticle (or Reticule)

This is the aiming device or cross hairs within the scope. These come in a wide variety of designs and patterns, with some even being illuminated so they are visible against dark backgrounds.

 

 

Windage

Horizontal scope adjustment left or right. Usually the side turret of the scope.

[Ali-C]

If you want to spend a bit more then a S & B 8 x 56 would be ideal. You don't need high magnification on a .22 but you really do need a large objective lens to gather plenty of light at night.

 

Exit pupil size and quality of glass is more important than objective size every time.

Your pupil can dilate to a maximum on 7mm iirc, less as you get older, a 3-9x40 scope, set on 3 mag will give an exit pupil of 13mm (mag divided by objective diameter), so it gives out far more light than your eye can take in, a 3-9x50 on 3 mag will give out a 16mm exit pupil, but you won't see the difference as they are both too large for your pupil to take in all the light. (For example, I can use my old 4x32 for lamping and I get a lovely bright sight picture, because the glass is good quality and it gives an 8mm exit pupil, which is more than my eye can take in.)

Also, on cheaper scopes, the larger the objective lens is, the thicker the glass is (lower quality glass is used so it needs to be thicker to prevent it breaking), this means less light is transmitted to your eye, so it cancels out the advantage of having a large objective lens in the first place.

[flytie]

Lots of info here; http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2i.scopes_optics.htm

 

ft

[Paddy Galore!]

hi there, an S+B scope is a bit much for a .22 unless you're loaded of course.

one good point to check is to see how much light transferance the scope will give, most good scopes will have some info about this in the destructions. the higher the percentage, the better quality.

I've had several scopes from S+B to leupold and back again, and to be honest unless you really like designer labels then a cheap old hawke 3-9x50 will suffice quite adequately. but i'm sure lots of people think differently.