CHOOSING AN AIR RIFLE SCOPE
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 1:57 pm
CHOOSING AN AIR RIFLE SCOPE
Before going into a lot of detail about scopes, you should be aware of the two following points:
1. If you shoot a recoilless air-gun such as a pre-charged pneumatic (PCP), single-cock pneumatic (10 meter match gun) or CO2 air-gun, you can practically use any scope.
2. If you shoot a spring air-gun, you will need to choose a scope that matches the recoil rating of your air-gun.
Ultimately, there are only two features that make an air-gun scope different than a firearm scope.
1.An adjustable objective
2.Optics that are anchored to handle the two way recoil of a spring air-gun.
ADJUSTABLE OBJECTIVE
An adjustable objective is a feature that allows the shooter to "focus" for any distance from a very close distance 10 yards or meters to infinity. Most firearm scopes are parallax set for 100 yards or more to accommodate the long distance shooting requirements of a hunting firearm. Air-gun scopes, however, must allow the shooter to adjust the parallax to accommodate for shorter air-gun distances. This feature is necessary to achieve the maximum accuracy in an air-gun.
ANCHORED OPTICS
Anchored optics is necessary to handle the forward and backward recoil caused by the mainspring's movement. Recoil in a spring air-gun is different than recoil in a firearm in the sense that it isn't only the amount of recoil that matters, but the direction of the recoil as well. Mainsprings cause an air-gun to recoil backward and forward while firearms only recoil in a backward direction. It is this two-direction recoil that can cause damage to non-air-gun rated scopes.
Scopes designed for firearms have optics anchored to handle the backward movement of the recoil. Air-gun scopes require that optics be anchored to handle the two-way recoil generated by the mainspring. Even though a manufacturer may rate a scope for air-guns, it may not handle all spring air-guns. Some air-gun rated scopes are designed to handle only light recoil air-guns while others are built to handle the medium and high recoil spring air-guns.
Hence it is important to check the nature of ‘recoil’ of the air-gun you plan to buy, before you decide to go in for a scope that’s suitable for your air-rifle. It’s also wise to mount the scope using a ‘single piece’ mount as compared to a 2 piece mount that comes with a ‘scope stopper’ fixture.
Briha
Before going into a lot of detail about scopes, you should be aware of the two following points:
1. If you shoot a recoilless air-gun such as a pre-charged pneumatic (PCP), single-cock pneumatic (10 meter match gun) or CO2 air-gun, you can practically use any scope.
2. If you shoot a spring air-gun, you will need to choose a scope that matches the recoil rating of your air-gun.
Ultimately, there are only two features that make an air-gun scope different than a firearm scope.
1.An adjustable objective
2.Optics that are anchored to handle the two way recoil of a spring air-gun.
ADJUSTABLE OBJECTIVE
An adjustable objective is a feature that allows the shooter to "focus" for any distance from a very close distance 10 yards or meters to infinity. Most firearm scopes are parallax set for 100 yards or more to accommodate the long distance shooting requirements of a hunting firearm. Air-gun scopes, however, must allow the shooter to adjust the parallax to accommodate for shorter air-gun distances. This feature is necessary to achieve the maximum accuracy in an air-gun.
ANCHORED OPTICS
Anchored optics is necessary to handle the forward and backward recoil caused by the mainspring's movement. Recoil in a spring air-gun is different than recoil in a firearm in the sense that it isn't only the amount of recoil that matters, but the direction of the recoil as well. Mainsprings cause an air-gun to recoil backward and forward while firearms only recoil in a backward direction. It is this two-direction recoil that can cause damage to non-air-gun rated scopes.
Scopes designed for firearms have optics anchored to handle the backward movement of the recoil. Air-gun scopes require that optics be anchored to handle the two-way recoil generated by the mainspring. Even though a manufacturer may rate a scope for air-guns, it may not handle all spring air-guns. Some air-gun rated scopes are designed to handle only light recoil air-guns while others are built to handle the medium and high recoil spring air-guns.
Hence it is important to check the nature of ‘recoil’ of the air-gun you plan to buy, before you decide to go in for a scope that’s suitable for your air-rifle. It’s also wise to mount the scope using a ‘single piece’ mount as compared to a 2 piece mount that comes with a ‘scope stopper’ fixture.
Briha
