Choosing a Hunting Rifle Scope

Nikon Monarch (Top) – Leupold VX-II (Bottom)

The Problem

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen a post asking about hunting scope selection. This must be one of the oldest subjects known to hunting internet forums. Sounds funny, since those have only been around 15 years or so! This has always been a difficult issue for hunters, even before the internet.

Everything in rifle scopes is a compromise. Cost, weight, durability, optics quality (measured many ways), brightness, eye-relief, reticles, turrets… There are so many choices to be made and, I hate to use the cliché, but there is no free lunch here boys and girls.

A Little History on Scopes

I don’t think it is relevant to go back to the history of scopes. What is of some interest is the dramatic improvements in both glass quality and precision adjustments of today’s scope. In the past, even the best scopes suffered from some real issues with optics quality. I clearly remember Leupold’s great claim to fame in the 1980s and 1990s…they bragged that you could adjust the scope power without affecting the point of aim! We take this for granted today.

Even the cheapest of rifle scopes offer an improvement over most scopes from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and even ‘80s. There are some real options between $100 and $200 for most hunters. We will discuss the pros and cons of some of the options available today.

Everything in rifle scopes is a compromise.

Exit Pupil

Most hunters need low-light capabilities. The strongest predictors of low-light capabilities are: first, exit pupil, and then, cost. Exit pupil is the diameter of the light picture exiting the back lens. Your eyeball can’t use anything much over 5mm and anything over 4mm tends to be pretty useful and bright. You calculate the exit pupil by dividing the objective lens diameter by the magnification of your scope setting. For instance, a 50mm objective lens on a scope set at 10x will give you the 5.0mm objective that is very bright. A 42mm objective lens on a scope set at 14x gives you an exit pupil of only 3.0mm, which is getting pretty darned borderline in predawn or other low-light conditions.

This gives you the idea that if you want greater magnification, you might need to purchase a scope with a larger objective. This will also give you a heavier, more expensive, and bulkier scope to deal with. See? Tradeoffs, my friend…tradeoffs.

Magnification

Hmm…this one is controversial. Today, the 3x to 10x variable scope is pretty much standard. Some folks opt for higher magnification systems. On a heavier rifle system, a large scope with high magnification and objective lens may be the best choice. On a light mountain rifle, this would be basically inappropriate. The mountain rifle wants a lighter scope, generally, with 40mm objectives being the upper end of the range for that setup.

Long-range folks are going to put a larger premium on the big magnification. Whitetail hunters probably value the 3x or 4x range of their scopes a little more, given the tight conditions. High magnification won’t do you much good on a rifle that shoots 2 MOA or if your shots are limited to close or mid-range. Just remember the compromise rule. More magnification equals lower exit pupil. Or it requires larger objectives and greater weight to get same exit pupil. Most hunters will be happy in the 3-10x, with some opting for 14 or 15x at the top end. Long-range folks may want quite a bit more and be willing to sacrifice weight and cost to get it…

Reticles

For many of us, a fairly plain duplex or crosshair reticle gives you plenty of utility out to your rifle’s maximum point-blank range. For others, having some graduated elevation marks in the reticle allow for accurate hold-over estimation at ranges beyond maximum PBR. These are particularly useful when the maximum magnification is matched to that longer range. These elevation reticles may work well on modern flat-shooting rifles out to 500 or 600 yards. See the example here provided by Burris for their Ballistic-Plex Reticle.

Burris Fullfield Ballisticplex Reticle Example

I feel that the graduated reticles provide you with maximum utility in the 300 to 450 yard range. Between zero and 300, you should be pretty well able to call/hold your shot. The extra tick-marks help you a great deal at mid-range. Just remember that most scope’s tick marks mean something different at each power setting. It is easiest to use this on the maximum setting for these longer shots. Beyond about 500 yards, the tick marks just start to have serious limitations.

Turrets

For folks who require a bit more precision at longer ranges, most scope manufacturers offer exposed elevation and windage turrets. These allow the shooter to carefully dial in the estimated elevation and windage adjustment at given ranges and conditions. These become quite useful for varmint hunters and long-range hunters. If you opt for this type of setup, be prepared to keep ballistics computers in the field and also learn to estimate wind speed and direction as well as other climate data.

Many manufacturers will offer a customized turret. This will utilize your specific load data to read out in yards or meters on the dial. Be very careful here folks. Those dials are calibrated for specific temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, the initial velocity of your load, and the ballistic coefficient of your bullet. Any variation in those starting conditions will make your custom turret less accurate. Normally hunt at 7,000 feet in Nevada under blue skies and around 30 degrees? Take that same turret down to Texas to hunt whitetails and that turret won’t work as advertised. In my opinion, you are better to keep with a MOA or mil-dot system and do the math before you take the shot. Otherwise, stick to maximum PBR or graduated reticles that allow you to calibrate for your hunting conditions.

Eye Relief

Eye relief is what keeps the scope and your face apart during recoil. This is pretty easy to judge. Turn the scope up to full power. Then hold it close to your face and push it away until you get a full picture. If you measured the distance from your eyeball to the scope, that is minimum eye relief. Keep pushing it away until the full picture starts to recede and that is maximum eye relief. The best scopes will have both the longest distance between the two, and will be capable of keeping your eye about four inches from the scope.

Skimp on eye relief and two bad things happen. First it is hard to acquire a sighting picture when things are moving fast in the field. Second, you are going to be far more likely to require stitches. Scopes on heavy-recoiling rifles tend to make contact with your face if you are too close to them when they go boom. The consequences range from ouch to ER visit. For me, eye relief is critical in hunting situations.

Scope Glass

People get excited about the quality of scopes, most particularly the internal glass. In large part, the price of the scope is a good estimator of the quality of its glass. Not perfectly so, but pretty close. In very rough terms, the glass quality also can be judged by its origin.  Chinese and other Asian optics tend to be the poorest. Japanese glass is typically high quality for the price. Glass made in the USA is generally next, with optics of European descent typically the best.

Now all of this is really rules of thumb. The proof is in the eating of the pudding. When it comes to scopes, there is no substitute for checking them out in the store. Better yet, ask the salesman to let you take your top two or three out the front door for a real-world comparison. A scope should be bright. You should be able to see your image clearly from edge to edge. You should be able to notice a goodly amount of eye relief. This is how you make your final decision.

Parallax

Quickly, parallax is simply your focal plane being fixed at a certain distance. If your reticle and your target are basically in the same plane, no worries. If they are not, you can move your head around and see the reticle dancing on the animal while the gun stays still. This introduces error. Factories set for most fixed-parallax scopes at 100-yards, and so everything beyond that can induce error.

There are four ways to combat this: 1) take the time to move your head around until you find the limits of parallax before shooting. Then adjust to find the center. 2) custom-order a scope with a different parallax setting, 3) ignore it, as it makes very little difference at short to mid ranges, or 4) purchase a scope that has an adjustable objective lens. This will either be a rotating front lens, or a knob on the left side of the scope graduated in yards or meters. You can adjust this before every shot, or leave it at a happy-medium like 250 or 300 yards.

Other Stuff

Weight, tube diameter, adjustment range, gas purging and a whole host of other options exist. Warranty matters to some folks. I’ve owned a dozen scopes and I’ve yet to take advantage of a warranty. If warranty is your main concern, maybe you want to consider a scope that doesn’t need one instead? If the second feature out of your mouth is “warranty”, that isn’t much of an endorsement!

I’m not going to make a recommendation here. To each their own. I can say that both Nikon and Leupold tend to hit the mid range with very good Japanese glass and solid construction. I’ve yet to feel the need to own a European-made scope, but that is more about cost than anything. I have Swarovski and Meopta binoculars and a Swarovski spotting scope. They fill a need and are worth it. I’ve not yet found a situation where I felt the better mid-grade hunting scopes would let me down.

When I choose a scope, two of the first things I will notice will be the exit pupil and weight. After that, I can adjust to add or delete the features I want until I arrive at the scope of my choosing. Each rifle is different and each hunting style is as well. Choose your scope to leverage the capabilities of your rifle for the purpose you intend it to excel. Then buy your scope.