The posts of the reticle have a large part to play in how your eye sees the image through the scope. Now that you know what types of reticles are out there, let's go over how reticle subtensions can affect your hunt. Subtension refers to the amount of space the cross hairs cover on the target. Subtension is affected by both cross hair density and placement of the reticle inside the erector tube.
Thinner cross hairs equals minimal subtension. These are excellent for precise target shooting but can easily get lost in a cluttered background. Thicker cross hairs equals increased subtension which are easily seen but can distract or cover important features of your target. But as mentioned, not only does cross hair density affect subtension, placement of the reticle inside the erector tube applies here too.
When you see a rifle scope marketed with FFP and SFP, it is a direct indication of what to expect in relation to cross hair subtensions. FFP means first or front focal plane. The reticle is located in front of the magnifying lens assembly. When magnification is increased or decreased, the cross hairs increase and decrease in size relative to the target and subtension remains constant.
For example, the cross hairs and center point of the reticle increases in size as you increase magnification and your target gets larger. The amount of space your cross hairs cover on the target remains the same.
This allows for ballistic reticles to be used at any magnification because MOA or Mrad measurement increments will be accurate. SFP means second or rear focal plane. This is the most common design that most hunters and shooters will recognize. The reticle is located behind the magnifying lens assembly. When magnification is increased or decreased, the cross hairs stay the same size despite the fact that the target changes in size.
As a result, subtension is constantly changing. For example, the cross hairs don't get larger as the magnification and the target size is increased, they stay the same size. If you turn up your magnification, the target will get bigger and subtension will decrease. The amount of space your cross hairs cover on the target will be constantly changing throughout the zooming process to cover less surface area of the target at high magnifications.
We've Covered a Lot So Far If you're still with me, you must really be as passionate about shooting or optics as I am - I commend you. Although we've covered the basics of what a reticle is, the different types, what they look like, and how they're going to look on your target out in the field, we still need to put all this information together to make it usable.
Here's a simple how-to to get you from amateur to expert the next time you're shopping for your lifetime scope purchase. Think about what firearm the scope is going to be mounted on. Scopes can be made to be versatile optics or they can be made for specific types of firearms.
A scope for a rifle will be mounted differently, have a different reticle, and added features than a scope made for a hand gun. Think about who is going to be using the firearm and scope. Do you want something that's practical and user-friendly or something a little more advanced with some neat bells and whistles thrown in? Set a budget. Quickly piling on the illuminated reticles, the BDC features, and the extra hash marks here and there can cost you an arm and a leg. Know how much you want to spend, or more realistically, know what you can't afford to spend on a reticle.
If it's for long range hunting, you're going to want to look at the ballistic reticles. Check out this line-up of the best long range rifle scopes for some great options. Or perhaps you prefer practical, uncomplicated, and straightforward, then a simple duplex reticle will get 'er done.
When buying a rifle scope, you next have to decide what magnification range is right for you. Fixed or variable are your options and it has a large part to do with the function of your reticle subtensions. Once you've decided this, you can move on to the next step. Consider added bells and whistles that you can throw into the mix to improve your shooting skills this hunt. Optional features such as parallax adjustment and illuminated control affects reticle function and effectiveness.
If you zero your rifle at yards, it means if the target is yards out the bullseye will be at the center of your reticle. You will need to adjust for targets that are further away or closer than the yards. As you are learning about scopes, you are bound to come across first focal plane, or FFP and second focal plane, or SFP.
The focal plane refers to how the reticle works inside the scope. Really, they are built for two different things.
FFP scopes are newer to the reticle options for scopes. They are more specifically designed for tactical shooters and hunters. These shooters are often in conditions where the distance to the target changes and are unknown. The reticle is being magnified to match the magnification of the target. The scale always stays the same. First focal plane scopes do have a few drawbacks. With higher magnification, the crosshairs can be so big they cover the target.
The flip side is with lower magnification the crosshairs may be so small that they are hard to see, especially in low light situations. Both of these companies make high quality first focal plane scopes.
When you change your magnification to the higher range of your scope, you lose field of view with first and second focal range. With second focal range you will not lose part of the reticle like you do with first focal range. Second focal plane scopes are the standard. They are more common, especially with American made scopes. They are usually more affordable than first focal plane scopes, and are accurate at all magnification levels.
There are a lot of things to consider when purchasing a rifle scope, as you can tell. What should your first thoughts be as you consider what scope to purchase? It depends on the rifle you use and how you plan on using it. After you know what rifle you are using and how you want to use it, you can ask yourself a few questions. Generally, you want to spend about half as much on a scope and mount as you do on a rifle. Another option is to look at used scopes.
It is actually a good way to get a scope that may be out of your budget if you purchased it brand new. This is probably the most common use, that most of you reading this, needs a scope for. It contains features that are on higher priced scopes. This scope has plenty of high quality features and is great for any shooter. Competition shooting and 3 gun shooting is growing in popularity. Versatility is important in a scope for these events. Vortex has a transferable warranty that lasts a lifetime.
They are a reputable company and will stand behind their product. This scope is made for speed and versatility. Quickly engage close objects or take precision aim out for yards. If long range precision shooting is what you are going to be using your new rifle and scope for, consider looking at scopes with greater magnification and a large objective to let in the most amount of light. Choosing a hunting scope will depend on what type of hunting you do. A 2x scope is the most common for a handgun in a magnified scope.
The more magnification you have, the harder it is to find your sight picture and target, and the more critical and closer your eye relief becomes. Shooting a handgun with a scope requires lots of practice, especially with anything over 2x. Higher powered variable scopes are really for the experienced shooter and are used almost exclusively from a rested position. Shotgun scopes and muzzle loaders often have lower power scopes for short-range deer hunting with slugs, and for turkey. Again, a fixed 2x is fairly standard, but the trend is for variable power or even scopes.
Sabot slugs for shotguns and muzzleloaders fly much faster and flatter than the Foster-type slugs and Maxi Balls they replaced not too long ago. These new projectile types make shots that were way out of range just two decades ago now very possible.
Parallax is often factory set at 50, 60, or 75 yards. Shotgun and muzzleloader scopes generally have maximum available eye relief to prevent "scope eye. Let's talk about objective lens sizes. It's trendy these days to have large objective lenses of 50, 56, or even 75mm and more in some cases. In most cases, these are unwarranted, and the largest ones are laughable. Large objective lenses will only transmit more useable light than smaller ones if they are set at their highest power in the dimmest conditions.
The detriment is comfort and ease of eye alignment. With a properly mounted scope, you should be able to close your eyes, shoulder your gun with a proper, repeatable stock weld the stock weld is firm but comfortable and repeatable position of your face on the gun stock , open your eyes, and look directly through the center of your scope every time. Large objective lenses prevent this from happening because of the ring height required to keep such a large lens off your gun barrel.
Some scopes require such high mounting that only your chin touches the stock. These scopes are also heavier, clumsier, unwieldy, unbalanced to carry, slower and less comfortable to shoot. Some of these scopes weigh up to an unbelievable 3. Kind of like towing a motorcycle trailer or taping a bowling ball to your head. Leupold has their excellent VX-L line of scopes that combine a large objective lens with a contoured bottom that doesn't interfere with your gun barrel, and lets you mount up to a 56mm lens with low rings!
The larger 30mm main tubes on some scopes are most useful for allowing for a greater range of elevation adjustments, not greater light transmission, although resolution can improve. In fact, most 30mm scopes have the same size lenses that are in 1in tubes. Again, a larger tube does not mean more light. Most scopes, especially in America, have main tubes that are 1 inch in diameter. That means that they use 1in rings.
Some scopes have 30mm main tubes. Those scopes will use 30mm rings. There are several main types of bases that are used to connect the rings to your firearm. You need to know what kind of base you have to find out the exact type of the 1in or 30mm rings you will use for your specific scope.
The height of the rings is determined mainly by the objective lens diameter, but also the barrel thickness, action size and type, ocular bell diameter, and bolt lift. Here is my article on Choosing Mounts, Rings, and bases. Most scopes are fogproof and waterproof. Most scopes have coated lenses. The coatings are expensive and vary in type, number, and quality.
It is very possible to have a scope with single-coated lenses to greatly outperform a scope with multicoated lenses. It all depends on the quality of the glass and the coatings. Good quality does not come cheap. Coatings reduce glare, and loss of light due to reflection. More coatings normally lead to better light transmission and sharper contrast.
Many coatings are also scratch resistant. Field of view FOV is measured in feet at yards. This is the amount of view you see through your scope from right to left at that distance. As magnification is increased, FOV goes down. As magnification is decreased, FOV goes up. For instance, a typical 3x variable scope might have a FOV at yards of a bit over 30 feet, and at 9x, the FOV would be around 14 feet.
A larger objective lens diameter will not change these figures. Field of view is directly related to the construction of the eyepiece. Another trend today is the sale of anything called "tactical.
Real military snipers use top-quality fixed 10x scopes most often. These have mil-dot reticles that, in the hands of a practiced individual or team of two, often with calculators and knowing the approximate size of their target, can estimate distance and hold-over or elevation clicks.
Almost all mil-dot calculations must be made with scopes at their highest power. Fixed power scopes eliminate miscalculations by having a scope set at less than its highest power.
The "mil" in mil-dot does not mean military. It means milliradian , a unit of measurement, and is about 3. Stateside law enforcement agencies most often use variable scopes of the highest quality, and mil-dot type reticles are not often used.
They clutter the field of view, and the longest shots almost ever taken are across a street, well under yards. Range estimation with a reticle is never required. Mil-dot reticles in most people's scopes are nothing but a gimmick and an added expense. They will never use them the way they were designed, which is fine. You can still use them in the field to more accurately estimate hold-over at distances, especially for prairie dogs or plinking, or just because you want it.
The reticles in a mil-dot do subtend cover more of your target than necessary, though. But buy what you like for any reason. You don't have to buy or not buy something because of someone else's opinion, or use it as designed. High-quality scopes are repeatable. That is, if you adjust your windage and elevation dials for point of impact at one setting, then move them around and shoot in different places, then back to the original place, the point of impact will be the same as it was when you started.
Good quality scopes will also move the point of impact when you adjust your dials, without having to "settle in. Sadly, more often than not, lesser quality scopes won't do this without shooting a few times first, to "settle in" the scope's internal adjustments.
Multicoated: Multiple layers on at least one surface. Fully Multi-coated: Multiple layers on all air-to-glass surfaces. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic coatings are meant to shed water from the glass on you lens. It depends on your use, though. If you're varmint hunting, the. You may have to go up to a variable power scope. Yes No. Not Helpful 1 Helpful 4. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube.
Always test out a scope on your gun before buying. Ensure that it can be properly mounted. Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0. Do not put your eye on the scope unless if your gun is a gas blow back: The recoil system used to reload the gun can make your scope hit your eye. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Choose a magnification range that is suitable for you. If you are shooting from medium range, don't choose a x sniper's scope. If you are shooting from feet The recoil system can make the scope hit your eye.
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 3. Any gun can be dangerous. Focus more on shooting the right thing, not adjusting and playing with the scope. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 2. Related wikiHows How to. How to. More References 5.
About This Article. Co-authored by:. Co-authors: Updated: June 21, Categories: Rifles. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 39, times. Reader Success Stories Anonymous Apr 18, More reader stories Hide reader stories.
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