Deciding on the next scope you should buy for your rifle can be a difficult choice to make. There are so many different varieties and just about as many price brackets. Buying anything online can be tricky, and maybe a little nerve-wracking verse going to a store and seeing products with your own eyes and touching the product with your hands.
Research, in general, is the best route before buying online if this is how you plan to select your next rifle scope.
The Top 6 Rifle Scopes You Should Consider
- QHD+ Sensor ensures a crystal clear image quality at any time and distance; combined with an HD screen and comfortable 3" eye relief.
- Night Vision mode delivers enhanced and rapid target acquisition in complete darkness.
- Video Records footage of your hunting pursuits in razor-sharp 720P quality for your future viewing pleasure.
- One Shot Zero- allows for a fast and easier sight-in of your scope. Plus multiple reticles to choose from.
- Classic ergonomic design, user-friendly interface and a wide field of view. Easily mountable on virtually any platform with 30 mm standard mount rings.
- Affordable price for a quality thermal scope is possible. We are breaking the price barrier and making your dreams come true
- Advanced heat detection sensors allow you to see in total darkness, through dense fog, smoke and heavy vegetation
- Enjoy traditional design: 30mm tube scope made of hardened aluminum alloy, recoil resistant to higher caliber weapons
- Maximum performance with minimum power consumption (internal Li-Ion battery life 10+ hours)
- Lighter than an average scope, so it will make you feel more agile and your rifle balanced. Small things that make a big difference when you're out on an all nighter in the woods
- Affordable price for a quality thermal scope is possible. We are breaking the price barrier and making your dreams come tru
- Advanced heat detection sensors allow you to see in total darkness, through dense fog, smoke and heavy vegetation
- Enjoy traditional design: 30mm tube scope made of hardened aluminum alloy, recoil resistant to higher caliber weapons
- Maximum performance with minimum power consumption (internal Li-Ion battery life 10+ hours). Operating Temperature - 20°F to +120°F / -28°C to 48°C
- Lighter than an average scope, so it will make you feel more agile and your rifle balanced. Small things that make a big difference when you're out on an all nighter in the woods
- Easy-to-use: Mount, Sight, Shoot
- Call for mounting advice: (800) 444-5994
- Range: 100 yds. in typical nighttime environments
- High resolution, 640X480 display
- For use with rifles up to 30 caliber (see below)
- 30mm Tube
- Objective Lens Diameter: 24 mm
- Magnification: 1 - 6 x
- Reticle: MSR BDC6
- Field of View, Linear: 19.6 - 124.8 ft at 100 yds
- The Diamondback Tactical First Focal Plane 6-24x50 stands at the intersection of precision and value, delivering an impressive array of features and performance.
- Extra-low dispersion glass and fully multi-coated lenses transmit a crisp, bright sight picture. The first focal plane, glass-etched reticle keep subtensions accurate throughout the 4x zoom range.
- The precision-glide erector system uses premium components in the zoom lens to ensure smooth magnification changes under the harshest conditions.
- Exposed tactical turrets and a side parallax knob give shooters the tools needed for long distance precision shooting. The fast focus eyepiece allows quick and easy reticle focusing.
- The single piece 30mm tube is shockproof, ruggedly built to withstand recoil and impacts. Strong o-ring seals and nitrogen purging waterproof and fogproof performance.
- Ultra Sensitive Next Gen Sensor - Is capable of capturing crisp clear images at the furthest ranges with improved resolution, higher sensitivity, and smooth gradations even in total darkness
- Ballistic Calculator- Hunt responsibly by making sure your shot hits the target Each and Every time. Range, Wind, Multiple-Weapon Profiles, Angle to target, Temperature, Humidity, Plus more. Helps you...
- Dual Stream Video Recording - You asked and we listened Thorn 4 not only Streams Video to your mobile device at HD resolution and can simultaneously Record to the SD card inside
- RAV (Recoil Activated Video) - Recoil Activated Video (RAV) takes care of all your worries. Just relax and focus on your game and let the Obsidian Core do the heavy lifting.
- Ultra Low Power Profile - No more worries about your batteries dying in the field. At 18+hours of Continuous operation the ATN Thorn 4 will last as long as you do. Eye relief: 90 mm. Zero Range 100...
- Excellent Image Performance with 384x288 Sensor - it is the ideal night vision scope because it detects heat energy, instead of light. The technology allows you to see clearly in complete darkness
- Ballistic Calculator - the system allows you to calculate the trajectory of your bullet, helping you to hit the target. It helps to improve your shot placement by adjusting your Point of Impact
- Build-in Smart Rangefinder - will make your life easier than ever. Discover how using a rangefinder can help you improve your target shooting skills and become an expert at the range
- Angle of view: 12 x 9.5. Smooth Zoom - lets you magnify to target without losing what’s in your FOV like with step zoom systems
- High Resolution HD Video Recording & Photos, Recoil Activated Video (RAV) and Wi-Fi Streaming - allow you to record all of your hunting trips, using your phone / tablet as a viewfinder. Firmware...
- 384×288 thermal resolution
- 12um high-sensitivity detector
- Fast 50Hz imaging
- High-resolution OLED display
- 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x digital zoom
- Ultra Sensitive Next Gen Sensor - Is capable of capturing crisp clear images at the furthest ranges with improved resolution, higher sensitivity, and smooth gradations even in total darkness
- Ballistic Calculator- Hunt responsibly by making sure your shot hits the target Each and Every time. Range, Wind, Multiple-Weapon Profiles, Angle to target, Temperature, Humidity, Plus more. Helps you...
- Dual Stream Video Recording - You asked and we listened ThOR 4 not only Streams Video to your mobile device at HD resolution and can simultaneously Record to the SD card inside
- RAV (Recoil Activated Video) - Recoil Activated Video (RAV) takes care of all your worries. Just relax and focus on your game and let the Obsidian Core do the heavy lifting.
- Ultra Low Power Profile - No more worries about your batteries dying in the field. At 18+hours of Continuous operation the ATN ThOR 4 will last as long as you do
To ease the pressures of potentially making a bad decision, take a few minutes and learn a little about some of the rifle scopes on the market today by checking our best rifle scopes review.
The Rile Scope Buyers Guide: What You Need to Know
So what are the key advantages of using a rifle scope?
Magnification capabilities
One of the best advantage of using a rifle scope over traditional hunting tools is the ability to easily identify a target from a long distance and perfectly make a superb shot. Most olden hunting tools do not have a zooming capability and this makes them difficult to use when aiming at targets at a far distance.
Some animals are difficult to hunt while in a cross range and most of them can be able to smell your scent before you make an aim; the best way to hunt these kinds of animals is to use a professional scope with magnification capabilities that help you to shoot from a long-range distance.
Accuracy
Unlike common hunting tools, every rifle scope is designed with aiming features and customizable settings that helps a shooter to perfectly shoot on a target without a miss. Most rifles come with magnification and zooming features that enable a shooter to get the best aiming experience ever. It’s very easy to make shots on target with a professional rifle than with a common traditional hunting tool.
Fun and Enjoyable
The best rifle scopes are very fun to use once the shooter learns how to perfectly handle them. Today’s rifle scopes are very easy to mount and most of them are designed with click adjustments that enables you to free your body and not strain too much while aiming at a target.
A professional rifle scope comes with safety features that allow you to easily carry it without the worry or fearing it might go off sometimes.
Ability to Make Long-Range Shots
Unlike common hunting tools and old manufactured rifle scope that can only make shots within a particular short range distance, modern Rifle scopes can be used to perfectly make good shots on long-range targets.
Some rifles are designed with customizable features and settings that helps a user to easily make shots on air, water or land.
What is a Rifle Scope and It’s History?
In 1608, German-Dutch inventor and the earliest recorded patent holder of the telescope Hans Lippershey, and Dutch spectacle maker Zacharias Janssen, creator of the microscope, are to thank for the first refracting telescopes, which lead the way in the first studies conducted on optical shooting aids.
The idea of optical aiming aids was nothing new to the marksman. Since the advent of rifling, shooters have adopted different sights and aiming aids, but they were often primitive in design and were ineffective. Patient records of the era are scarce, but it’s known the first patient for a telescopic rifle scope was filed around 1835-1840 when New York inventor Morgan James and engineer John R.
Chapman collaborated to release the Chapman James Sight. In 1855, designer William Malcolm expanded on the Chapman James Sight by incorporating achromatic lenses and elevation and windage adjustment knobs. Two decades will pass before the telescopic sight gained its notoriety in the American Civil War.
Rifle sights were used by both the Confederacy and the Union armies, proving the design in some of the harshest battlefield conditions of its time. Over the years, warfare, sportsman, and hunters have all contributed to the growth of long-range marksmanship, which in turn led to a small industrial revolution of sorts.
To put it into perspective, some of the longest shots in history were only 600-800 yards until advancements in optics and rifling have enabled marksman to take almost impossible shots up to a mile and a half. The longest shot in history was set in 2017 by a Canadian Joint Task Force Two Special Forces operator in Iraq.
As you can see, from the 17th century to now, the concept of long-distance marksmanship has evolved, Can you still see how modern rifle scope based off these original 19th-century designs? It’s clear that modern optics are much more advanced than their predecessors.
Advancements such as higher resolution lenses, variable and fixed zoom apertures, more advanced building materials and production methods, and over a dozen different aiming reticles you can choose.
Rifle Scope Nomenclature
Before we discuss the best scopes on the market, let’s review rifle scope basics and terminology, that way you are fully armed with all the information you need to make your choice.
First up, magnification. Magnification is dictated by the first number in a series of numbers that look a lot like this “4×32”. The second number is the Objective lens size.
Magnification represents how many times the target will be magnified while looking through the scope. The objective lens is the size of the lens that is on the far end of the scope where all the light enters the optic. This is what’s called a fixed variable scope.
You may also see a number that looks like this “3-9×40.” This is the same concept; you’ll notice a second number added to the magnification variable.
The 3-9 represents the range of magnification power of an adjustable variable scope. With an adjustable variable scope, you can adjust the magnification based on the targets relative distance to the shooter by twisting the power ring knob on the rear end of the scope.
One of the biggest misrepresentations I’ve seen in my experience is a person mistaking the 3-9x by putting 3x9x40, which is fine, marksman will know what you mean, but the misrepresentation could send potential buyers the wrong way, forewarned is forearmed.
The next part of the scope we will discuss is the exit pupil. The exit pupil and the ocular lens is the lens and opening closest to the marksman’s eye where the light that enters the forward objective lens exits and the image of the target is projected into the shooters eye.
The exit pupil is important because when shooting at long distances, there is a split second delay when you see the image of the target. It’s measured in milliseconds, but that could be all the time it takes to throw or land a round on target. In modern scopes, the lenses are generally shock, water, and fog proof.
As mentioned above, the objective lens is the lens at the end of the scope furthest from the shooter. The casing where the objective lens is seated is called the objective bell.
Now that we know a rifle scope is essentially a refracting telescope, we are aware that light passing through the scope is magnified into an image at the focal point of the scope, these focal points are marked by a crosshair, also known as the reticle.
Crosshairs are the sights so to speak, the intersecting points of the crosshair are where the point of impact will be on target if judicial accuracy is practiced.
There are also two more adjustment knobs that the marksman can adjust to influence accuracy, windage, and elevation. The windage adjustment alters the X-axis or the horizontal setting; the elevation adjusts the Y-axis or the vertical setting.
If your windage, elevation, or magnification setting is off compared to the relative distance you are from the target, you will experience what’s called parallax. Parallax is when the point of aim changes when the position of the shooters eye changes. Parallax is extremely common in variable zoom scopes, but with a few simple adjustments, it’s a quick and easy fix.
Reticles, or more commonly known as the crosshairs, come in a variety of styles and designs but understand, they range in complexity. The most popular and probably the easiest reticle to use in my opinion is the standard crosshair, just a cross or T with intersecting points in the center of the optics X and Y axis.
The crosshair is the best used when engaging targets at 100 yards, anything more would require adjustments or the use of a more advanced reticle. The Mil-Dot is the most common reticle used in tactical rifle scopes, each dot in the Mil-Dot reticle acts as a unit of measurement to gauge what distance a target is at without a rangefinder.
The Mil-Dot also can be used for accounting for windage. I think this reticle has gained so much trust in professional circles because the marksman can make fast trajectory adjustments and calculations without the target exiting your point of view.
There are countless other reticle patterns, and each serves a unique purpose, many manufacturers have started introducing their own, unique reticles into the market, but the Mil-Dot is by far the preferred aperture for professional marksman due to its simplicity and precision across the board.
One final factor to consider is the size of the scopes main body, the tube. The scopes tube size comes in two sizes, 33 millimeters, and one inch, this is important because you will need to know what size mounting rings the tube will need to be affixed to the rifle.
Useful Tips on Choosing the Best Scopes For You
Nowadays in the world that we live, most of us find themselves extremely busy with long working hours and hectic activities that do not allow one to create time for a hobby or leisure activity. When you are not busy with your normal activities and want to spend some time to shop for the best rifle scope; use this tips as a guideline for selecting a good rifle.
- Range rifle- Depending on what you wan to do with your rifle, determine whether you require a short range rifle or a long-range scope.
- Shooting accuracy- If you are still learning how to use a rifle scope, choose the right scope because all rifle scopes shoot differently due to their characteristics.
- Adjustment features- Check on the adjustment capability of different scopes and compare them to determine the best rifle scope that will offer you some good customization features.
- Magnification- Check and compare different scopes magnification power.
- Objective lens diameter- larger objective lenses provides a shooter with more light to see a target.
- Eye relief- This represents the distance between your eye and the lens of the scope. a good scope should provide you with an eye relief of about 3.5 inches or more.
Conclusion
Keep in mind; there are about a million different scopes on the market today, each scope serving a specific purpose bending on the weapon, the round, where you’ll be shooting, etc.
I know it seems like a lot to digest, but trust me, once you start to get an idea of what kind of scope you need, it’s all smooth sailing from there. If I had to choose just one scope on the list, I’d have to choose the Leupold FX-3. I choose the FX-3 because the 12 times fixed magnification will always be sighted and zeroed to the distance you plan on shooting at without having to make any parallax adjustments.
The 40mm objective lens allows for greater ambient light to pass through the scope, giving you a much higher resolution without any of the fuzziness. The only downside to a large objective lens is the lack of visibility in humid and low light conditions.
You could always add a night vision scope to your optic system, but that usually costs thousands of dollars and some minor gunsmithing to attach the mount to your gun, unless it has a Picatinny rail system that is. I hope our best rifle scopes review was useful to you. As always, stay safe, shoot true, and have fun! Happy shooting!
