Varmint

What Qualifies as the Best Varmint Scope?

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varmint scope

Intelligent, cunning, wary, and stealthy, varmint animals are some of the most challenging prey to shoot down when hunting. To hunt these predators successfully, you’ll need to step up your hunting skills. One way of doing that is getting the best varmint scope. The type of scope you use during varmint hunting can make the difference between missing a clear short-range shot and making an impossible shot from a long distance off. So, to ensure you are armed with the best varmint scope, here are the three most crucial scope qualities you should look for.

Magnification
Magnification level is by far the most important factor to consider when looking for a scope for varmint hunting. Varmints are cautious and sly in nature. As such, these animals are always on their guard. Getting close without arousing them to your presence is very difficult and therefore, the only option you’re left with is hunting from a distance. To do this well, you’ll need a scope with a high level of magnification. The appropriate level of magnification helps to make aiming at targets easier and also increases your chances of making opportunistic shots from a distance.

Remember that high magnification on a scope is not always the best. In fact, high power scopes will limit your field of view when focusing on a target at the highest level of magnification. To avoid over-scoping your rifle, ensure to choose the preferred level of magnification while taking into account distances you intend to be shooting from.

Flexibility is also an important quality to look for in a varmint scope as it enables you to adjust scope’s magnification to your specific distance range. Generally, the best magnification range for varmint hunting would be 3-12X.

Favorable Light Transmission
The most opportune time to hunt varmint is during low light conditions such as dusk or dawn. Low light impairs a varmint’s defenses and reflexes thus rendering it vulnerable and easier to hunt. Unfortunately, dark conditions also impair our sight, making it difficult for us to see as clearly as we would during daytime. This then necessitates the need for a riflescope with a good amount of light transmission. Multi-coated riflescopes come with a wide range of light transmission with some offering as high as 98% light transmission. Anything above 95% is considered great for varmint hunting. An illuminated reticle is also a bonus feature to have when hunting varmint in low light conditions.

Quality Objective Lens
When you adjust the magnification on a scope, you also alter the exit pupil’s size, which regulates the amount of light passing through the scope to your eye. Generally, when magnification is increased, the exit pupil decreases. This makes it difficult for you to get a clear picture of your target especially when hunting under low light. Therefore, it’s imperative that you go for a quality lens with an exit pupil diameter that adjusts to the surrounding.

Normally, the human eye dilates to a diameter of 5mm in low light. Ideally, the exit pupil of the scope should exceed the dilation of the eye for your eye to receive as much light as possible. A 50 mm (or higher) objective riflescope will make a nice fit. Such objective lenses have a wide enough range to ensure ideal exit pupil in a variety of magnification settings. Thick lens coating is also a good feature to go for as it improves your scope’s light gathering capabilities and improves target picture in low light conditions.

On the subject of lenses, you should pay close attention to type of reticle and available field of view provided by a scope’s lens. The wider the field of view, the better it is as varmint hunting usually involves shooting at rapidly moving targets. As for the reticle, finer variations provide the fine aiming point needed for longer ranges.

So, to recap, a good varmint riflescope should be able to zoom in on targets from a variety of distances, prevent light glare, provide a wide field of view, and adjust to poor lighting. Having these qualities in your scope will help even out the odds when it comes to varmint hunting.

Tasco Target/Varmint 6-24x42mm Rifle Scope Mil Dot Reticle Review

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Tasco Target Varmint 6-24x42mm

TheTasco Target/Varmint 6-24x42mm Rifle Scope with Mil Dot Reticle is the perfect accessory for use on the range, in the prairie, or while out in the woods. With this scope, you can expect long range accuracy that will allow you to hit your mark each and every time you use it. One of the reasons the Tasco Target/Varmint rifle scope is so popular is due to its incredibly affordable price tag. Additionally, the scope offers high-quality and multi-coated optics, a magnification of 6x24x42mm, and the field of view (FOV) of 13” at 6x and 3.7” at 24x. The rifle scope is also designed for use at 100 yards.

Each lens in this Tasco rifle scope is coated with Super-Con, Multi-Layered (SC/ML) material for durability and clarity. With a 42mm objective lens, you can expect clear, bright images any time you use it.

In addition to the great features mentioned above, this scope has a minute of angle (MOA) windage of 1/4-inch and easy to use elevation adjustments. It will fit nicely on many 16” rifles and won’t weigh you down because it only weighs 19 oz.

Pros
This Tasco Target/Varmint Rifle Scope offers great value-for-money when you consider its asking price in return for the features it offers. When used solely for target or varmint shooting, you’d be hard-pressed to find any other comparable shooting accessory at the same price.

The strengths of this scope include:

  • Fine tuning accuracy
  • Limited Lifetime Warranty
  • Easy to mount
  • Waterproof and fog-proof
  • Shockproof construction
  • Mil Dot reticle
  • Perfect for use with rifles that have little recoil
  • Large and adjustable objective lensesthat allow you to see at great distances
  • Finger adjustable turrets
  • Holds zero well
  • 3” eye relief
  • Adjustable objective
  • 1” tube diameter
  • Big knobs that make adjustments easy
  • Perfect for coyote hunting
  • Lightweight
  • Adjustable parallax
  • Settings are repeatable
  • Crisp cross hairs

Cons
Like any rifle scope on the market, this Tasco product is not ideal for everyone. It’s advertised as a varmint/target scope and stands up to those claims, but has a few downfalls that must be disclosed in order to ensure that no one is left disappointed with their purchase.

That being said, it’s important to keep in mind that even with the cons listed below, this rifle scope is still a very affordable option that performs well at its job.

Some of the rifle scope’s weaknesses include:

  • Clarity has a tendency to blur over 100 yards
  • Doesn’t come with scope rings
  • Requires redialing (usually between 200 to 300 rounds)
  • Mils are calibrated at 8x magnification
  • Magnification and mils must match for mils to work
  • Sunshade is not available for 42mm
  • Not ideal for rifles that deliver a great deal of recoil

Summary
Just like the name implies, the Tasco Target/Varmint 6-24x42mm Rifle Scope with Mil Dot Reticle is ideal for target and varmint shooting. Despite some of its cons, it will do a good job if you’re using it on a target or varmint rifle. It will be challenging to find anything else that does a better job at this price range. So, if this is a scope that you’ve been keeping an eye on, go ahead and pick it up – you’ll be glad you took the plunge. The scope offers all the features you’ll ever need to target shoot or get rid of varmints, and you don’t have to go broke to get it.

While no one is going to argue that this Tasco scope doesn’t offer some of the finer features of a Leupold scope or other elite brands out on the market, no one is denying that it’s the perfect scope for target shooters on a budget.

BARSKA 10-40×50 AO Varmint Mil-Dot Riflescope Review

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BARSKA 10-40X50 AO Varmint

If you are a versatile shooter and instead of having to carry several rifle scopes for different shooting purposes, you perhaps prefer to have just one that can take care of most of your needs, well, the BARSKA 10-40×50 AO Varmint Mil-Dot Riflescope could be the way. This riflescope has rushed up the charts of popularity since its introduction. But how good is it really? Read on the following review to find out more.

BARSKA 10-40×50 AO Varmint Mil-Dot Riflescope: Features

This particular rifle scope has a plethora of features that truly sets it apart as a must have option. This particular rifle scope can be found in a variety of sizes with a variety of reticle types. It has a large objective lens, along with multicoated optics. You will get elevation turrets and also an extra grip windage. With this rifle scope you also get a mechanism of parallax correction in the form of extra objective. This unit has an amazing zooming capacity – up to 40x. The build of the rifle scope is quite standard – and for its price range we can say it is quite durable too.

The good and bad of the BARSKA 10-40×50 AO Varmint Mil-Dot Riflescope

This particular rifle scope is one of the most versatile you can find in this range. Whether you want to go varmint hunting or target shooting, this particular unit would suffice. And the good news is that this scope is excellent for long distance shooting too. The features of this rifle scope make it a great option to pick. The multi coated optics provide the kind of brightness and clarity you might be looking for. The elevation turrets provide an added level of precision to the task and the parallax correction feature helps in achieving an amazing level of accuracy. All the adjustments are quite easy to make and it has a decent range of visibility. On buying this, you might have to buy quality scope covers separately – so this is a point to remember. Otherwise, the entire rifle scope works quite well.

Conclusion

Considering the highly versatile shooting ranges and the bouquet of features this rifle scope has to offer, the BARSKA 10-40×50 AO Varmint Mil-Dot Riflescope is a very decent option. For the money you pay for it, you will get a very good value. Right from clarity to overall durability – it covers all important points. Highly recommended.