| It's late August, and believe it or not hunting season is | | | | scope. |
| just around the corner. Now is the time to get your | | | | How good a resolution do you need? Well, it depends |
| equipment out and do some maintenance and start | | | | on your shooting. For close in work you can get away |
| practicing your shooting. | | | | with a lower resolution. For long range shooting or |
| While your going over the gear you have and what | | | | shooting in low light conditions you'll want good (over |
| you need to buy new or to replace existing worn out, | | | | 90%) resolution. |
| pay special attention to your scope. Are the lenses still | | | | Scopes that are sealed, waterproof and shock proof: |
| in good shape? Are any threads stripped? Does it hold | | | | A scope of even just decent quality should be sealed |
| the zero after you sight in? If not, you may need | | | | from air and water, and able to take the normal rigors |
| another scope. | | | | of a handling during a hunting trip. This is one knock |
| Also, consider if you are changing your shooting needs. | | | | against real cheap scopes as they just won't hold up. |
| If you are going to be hunting long range when you | | | | Reticles: |
| have been hunting close range, you may need another | | | | Reticles are also known as the cross hairs. There's all |
| scope. | | | | types of reticles available on the market these days. |
| There's a ton of rifle scopes on the market, cheap to | | | | The most popular is the Duplex reticle made famous |
| expensive, general to specialized. Here's some things | | | | by Leupold. The duplex is similar to the standard cross |
| to consider when looking for a scope: | | | | hair, except the cross hair is thick for about 80% of it's |
| Magnification: | | | | length, thinning in the middle so you can see your target |
| What kind of shooting are you doing? Hunting big | | | | easily. Every manufacturer has a variation on the |
| game, hunting small game, competitive target shooting, | | | | duplex. Some new reticles are ballistic reticles that are |
| varmint hunting, plinking, they all require a different | | | | marked with graduations on a scale to help you |
| magnification. It's obvious that the longer the distance | | | | compensate for distance and wind. There are also |
| to intend to shoot the higher the magnification you | | | | illuminated reticles, great for shooting in low light |
| need. A word of caution is not to get too high a | | | | conditions. |
| magnification. Hunting whitetail deer in Maine does not | | | | Reticle choice is really a personal preference. If |
| require a 6-18x scope. You're just as likely to get a 20 | | | | possible, test out several types and choose the one |
| yard shot as a 200 yard shot. A 3-9X is a much | | | | you like best. |
| better choice in this instance. | | | | How much should you spend? |
| Here's a general guide: | | | | For the most part, you get what you pay for. You |
| Squirrels: up to 4x | | | | can't expect a $75 scope to perform like a $600 |
| Varmints: 4-12x | | | | scope. Cheaper scopes tend to have poor optics and |
| Big game in dense woods: 1.5-4x or 2-7x | | | | loose their zero easily. You don't get out hunting that |
| Big game in fairly open country: 3-9x or 2.5-10x | | | | much, do you want your trip spoiled because your |
| Big game in wide open country: 4-12x or 6-18x | | | | scope fails you? |
| Resolution: | | | | You should expect to pay $200-$800 for a good |
| Basically this is a measure of how much light that | | | | scope. You can spend more for specialized scopes. A |
| enters the scope actually gets to your eye. It's | | | | good piece of advice is get the best you can afford. |
| measured as a percentage, e.g. 95%, 87%, etc.. It is | | | | You will never regret getting quality that is too good, |
| really a measure of optical quality. The better the | | | | but always kick yourself for not getting good enough. |
| resolution, the clearer the picture you see through the | | | | |