No matter how good your shot is, you can get even better at it when you add the right scope. Whether you’re looking for a safari, mid-range, varmint or tactical scope for hunting, the process of choosing one is pretty straightforward. However, the type of scope that best meets your needs will depend on what you plan to hunt. To help you make the best decision for your situation, we’ll go over a few important things to look out for in a hunting rifle scope.
Windage and Elevation Adjustment Dials
The best hunting scopes are those equipped with a windage adjustment dial, which is also known as a turret. On hunting scopes, this turret should be covered with a cap and adjusting the windage dial will allow a shooter to move the bullet right or left. In the same vein, an elevation dial is similar to a windage adjustment dial except that it allows a shooter to move the bullet impact up or down.
Eye Relief
No one wants their scope to smack them in the eyebrow when taking a shot. Therefore, it’s important to choose a rifle scope that provides ample eye relief. Choosing the proper eye relief is also increasingly important with larger caliber rifles because they often have harder recoils. In general, you should choose a rifle scope with an eye relief of at least 3”.
Understanding Hunting Scope Reticles
In the old days, reticles were called cross hairs. However, they’ve evolved a great deal over the years and today, some of the most popular types of reticles used on scopes include the duplex, dot, illuminated, and bullet drop compensated.
The type of reticle you choose will depend greatly on personal preference. Each of the type mentioned above will do a great job, but certain hunters will prefer one over the other. No matter what type of reticle you go with eventually, you should choose one with parallax error adjustments.
Parallax Error Features Will Make Shots More Accurate
In addition to choosing a scope with a reticle, it’s important to choose a hunting rifle scope with parallax error adjustments. Parallax error occurs when you’re looking through the scope with a good rest and the reticle moves with simple eye movements. When this happens, you might miss your shot – even if you’re lined up directly on the target. Parallax error adjustments don’t allow this to happen and will therefore help you be a more accurate shooter.
Safari Rifle Scopes
If you’re looking for a rifle scope for safari hunting, you should choose a low-power, variable unit. This will allow you to zone in on big game without getting too close.
Varmint Shooting
As you would imagine, you shouldn’t use the same scope or gun while varmint shooting that you would on a safari. For varmint hunting, you’ll want to choose a scope somewhere around 6 1/2 to 20. For even better results, choose a scope with side focus. This type of scope allows for higher magnification that will allow you to hold steady on smaller targets with accuracy.
Big Game Rifle Scopes
The most popular rifle scope is a mid-range unit, which is perfect for big game hunting such as elk or deer. For these types of hunts, you should opt for a variable scope that delivers a power of at least 3 1/2-10.
The addition of any scope to your hunting rifle will increase your accuracy because you won’t have to worry about lining up front and rear sights before you take your shot. When you follow the tips above when choosing your next hunting rifle scope, you’ll become a better hunter because you’ll now be able to shoot faster, easier, and more accurately than you could before.