Post by snyper on Feb 15, 2008 8:43:32 GMT 8
Why scope your airgun?
An important component of an airgun hunting rig is a quality scope, as this permits you to realize the intrinsic accuracy of the rifle. There are several reasons to consider scoping an air rifle. Magnification, the ability to enhance the target in conditions of low lighting, and fast sight acquisition are all key factors. Most of us can use iron sights on a lever action 30-30 to take a deer-sized animal at 50 yards, but for me to drop a pellet into the small kill zone of a squirrel at 50 yards requires an assist, especially in the dim light of the early dawn or evening hours when much of my hunting occurs.
Selecting a scope
There are a variety of scopes available for every type of gun and shooting, but the airgunner has special needs. Scopes designed specifically for airguns have become widely available in the last few years, offering good to great optical quality over a wide range of price points. The right scope depends on what type of airgun you use; spring piston airguns have a reputation for being scope eaters, especially the big magnum springers. Even those scopes built to go on a magnum centerfire can be shaken to pieces by a small caliber spring piston air rifle. This is because of the direction of the recoil generated when the spring driven piston slams home, causing a strong bidirectional force to be exerted. Heavy magnum firearm scopes are not designed to stand up to this type of recoil, and the internal mechanisms can be jolted out of alignment. This causes the point of impact to shift around rendering the scope unusable. When buying a scope for a springer, make sure you find one rated for this type of gun or you may be in the market for a replacement sooner than expected! Another issue to consider when attaching a scope to a springer is the selection of the right mounts; on a heavy recoiling springer a one piece mount makes sense as the scope is less likely to “walk” back on the dovetails than a conventional two piece set of rings. On these guns you probably want to use a scope stop, which is a small brace that is clamped onto the dovetail, many models have a pin that drops into an indentation on the rail preventing any rearward shift in position.
Pre-charged pneumatics are almost recoilless, so a standard firearm scope will hold up without problems. However, most airgun shooting occurs in the 20 to 50 yard range, and most firearm scopes have their parallax correction set at much greater distances. Airgun hunters tend to shoot smaller targets at closer ranges, conditions where the effect of parallax distortion is much more distinctive and apparent. For this reason many airgun scope makers design in an adjustable parallax correction on their scopes. The shooter looks through the scope and turns the forward or side mounted objective control until the target becomes sharp. At that point, the parallax error has been reduced for that particular target at a given range. I have scopes with sidewheels and lens ring adjustments, and both work if you become used to them. I have had squirrels and other skitterish game slip out of view while fumbling with the adjustment. On the other hand I’ve been shooting prairie dogs and groundsquirrels from a set position where the ability to range find using the AO was a great advantage. So it depends on the shooter and the type of shooting they do.
What's available?
There are several manufacturers that currently have airgun specific offerings on the market; including Tasco, Leupold, BSA, Nikko Stirling and Leapers. I have and use scopes from all these manufacturers, and all make very good products. I have a well over a hundred rifles in my collection, and was looking for a cost effective solution for the problem of keeping several guns scoped and sighted in at the same time. I was tired of having to remount and re-zero scopes as I moved from gun to gun and back again. At a SHOT show a few years ago, I stopped by the Leapers booth and looked at their products, a range of scopes for just about any application. I ordered several, actually a grab bag of twenty scopes, and have been using these (and others) ever since. I agree with the oft heard adage “buy the best scope you can afford”, but at the same time think the Leapers scopes are one of the best values around. I am not as fond of the compact “Bug Buster” scopes, but have had very good experience with all of the large aperture variable mag scopes I’ve used. I have used these scopes on the gun taken to Africa on both my big game and small game guns because I trust the optical quality and robustness of construction (also a cost effective way to carry backups).Regardless of which you choose, there are certain features that are absolutely necessary in a scope destined to ride on the hunting air rifle, and others that may be desired based on your shooting style and intended use. As mentioned, the scope must be designed to stand up to the forces exerted by a spring piston airgun if that is the platform you’ll be mounting it on. The parallax correction must either be set for the ranges at which airguns are used, or allow the shooter to make adjustments when required. Many of the scopes I use can be adjusted from 7 yards to infinity and I find this to be just about the perfect range of control, but be aware it adds one more adjustment parameter to deal with in the field.
Illuminated crosshairs
Since a common use of airguns is to hunt pest and small game, often taking place in low light conditions, the scope must offer excellent light transmission properties. Many of the airgun scopes being offered today are equipped with illuminated crosshairs, which are quite useful in placing a shot when hunting in low light. In the hours of near darkness in the early dawn or late in the day, it is a common occurrence to have the outline of your quarry but are unable to determine where the crosshairs overlay it. An illuminated red or green crosshair glowing over the outline makes the difference between a shoot-no shoot decision in this situation.
What magnification?
For much of the quarry hunted with airguns, the kill zones tend to be quite small and a variable magnification is a useful feature, in my opinion 3-9x or a 3-12x is the best option in most cases. I don’t use very high power magnifications for most hunting duty, because unless you have a very solid rest the crosshairs at 16x magnification tend to shake like you’re in an earthquake! On the other hand, for lower powered guns that will be used primarily for close in pest control a fixed 4x magnification scope works well. This provides adequate magnification, makes shooting accurately inside of dark buildings like a barn or a feed shed easier, and removes the need to give even passing consideration to the magnification setting when preparing to squeeze the trigger.
Scope models coming from various manufacturers come equipped with Mil-dots, which are a series of dots aligned vertically and horizontally (usually at one mil from dot center to dot center) along the cross hair (Mil dots have been well covered in earlier blog entries. These mil dots can be used to range find if the hunter knows the right formula to apply and the size of their target, but this is somewhat complicated to work out when hunting. I use a laser range finder as it is quicker, easier, and more accurate. But when sighting in my gun I work out which mildot to use at 20, 40, and 60 yards and use the mil-dot and laser range finder en concert to determine shot placement in the field.
Finding a scope
I would suggest that when you get ready to purchase a scope for your air rifle that you consider the platform and the intended use, then take a look online at what’s available.. While you may find an airgun rated scope at your local gun shop, the selection will most probably be fairly limited. I also think that if you want a good quality glass the is a great value, you should take a look at the scopes offered by Leapers.
Source: Airghog Blogs
An important component of an airgun hunting rig is a quality scope, as this permits you to realize the intrinsic accuracy of the rifle. There are several reasons to consider scoping an air rifle. Magnification, the ability to enhance the target in conditions of low lighting, and fast sight acquisition are all key factors. Most of us can use iron sights on a lever action 30-30 to take a deer-sized animal at 50 yards, but for me to drop a pellet into the small kill zone of a squirrel at 50 yards requires an assist, especially in the dim light of the early dawn or evening hours when much of my hunting occurs.
Selecting a scope
There are a variety of scopes available for every type of gun and shooting, but the airgunner has special needs. Scopes designed specifically for airguns have become widely available in the last few years, offering good to great optical quality over a wide range of price points. The right scope depends on what type of airgun you use; spring piston airguns have a reputation for being scope eaters, especially the big magnum springers. Even those scopes built to go on a magnum centerfire can be shaken to pieces by a small caliber spring piston air rifle. This is because of the direction of the recoil generated when the spring driven piston slams home, causing a strong bidirectional force to be exerted. Heavy magnum firearm scopes are not designed to stand up to this type of recoil, and the internal mechanisms can be jolted out of alignment. This causes the point of impact to shift around rendering the scope unusable. When buying a scope for a springer, make sure you find one rated for this type of gun or you may be in the market for a replacement sooner than expected! Another issue to consider when attaching a scope to a springer is the selection of the right mounts; on a heavy recoiling springer a one piece mount makes sense as the scope is less likely to “walk” back on the dovetails than a conventional two piece set of rings. On these guns you probably want to use a scope stop, which is a small brace that is clamped onto the dovetail, many models have a pin that drops into an indentation on the rail preventing any rearward shift in position.
Pre-charged pneumatics are almost recoilless, so a standard firearm scope will hold up without problems. However, most airgun shooting occurs in the 20 to 50 yard range, and most firearm scopes have their parallax correction set at much greater distances. Airgun hunters tend to shoot smaller targets at closer ranges, conditions where the effect of parallax distortion is much more distinctive and apparent. For this reason many airgun scope makers design in an adjustable parallax correction on their scopes. The shooter looks through the scope and turns the forward or side mounted objective control until the target becomes sharp. At that point, the parallax error has been reduced for that particular target at a given range. I have scopes with sidewheels and lens ring adjustments, and both work if you become used to them. I have had squirrels and other skitterish game slip out of view while fumbling with the adjustment. On the other hand I’ve been shooting prairie dogs and groundsquirrels from a set position where the ability to range find using the AO was a great advantage. So it depends on the shooter and the type of shooting they do.
What's available?
There are several manufacturers that currently have airgun specific offerings on the market; including Tasco, Leupold, BSA, Nikko Stirling and Leapers. I have and use scopes from all these manufacturers, and all make very good products. I have a well over a hundred rifles in my collection, and was looking for a cost effective solution for the problem of keeping several guns scoped and sighted in at the same time. I was tired of having to remount and re-zero scopes as I moved from gun to gun and back again. At a SHOT show a few years ago, I stopped by the Leapers booth and looked at their products, a range of scopes for just about any application. I ordered several, actually a grab bag of twenty scopes, and have been using these (and others) ever since. I agree with the oft heard adage “buy the best scope you can afford”, but at the same time think the Leapers scopes are one of the best values around. I am not as fond of the compact “Bug Buster” scopes, but have had very good experience with all of the large aperture variable mag scopes I’ve used. I have used these scopes on the gun taken to Africa on both my big game and small game guns because I trust the optical quality and robustness of construction (also a cost effective way to carry backups).Regardless of which you choose, there are certain features that are absolutely necessary in a scope destined to ride on the hunting air rifle, and others that may be desired based on your shooting style and intended use. As mentioned, the scope must be designed to stand up to the forces exerted by a spring piston airgun if that is the platform you’ll be mounting it on. The parallax correction must either be set for the ranges at which airguns are used, or allow the shooter to make adjustments when required. Many of the scopes I use can be adjusted from 7 yards to infinity and I find this to be just about the perfect range of control, but be aware it adds one more adjustment parameter to deal with in the field.
Illuminated crosshairs
Since a common use of airguns is to hunt pest and small game, often taking place in low light conditions, the scope must offer excellent light transmission properties. Many of the airgun scopes being offered today are equipped with illuminated crosshairs, which are quite useful in placing a shot when hunting in low light. In the hours of near darkness in the early dawn or late in the day, it is a common occurrence to have the outline of your quarry but are unable to determine where the crosshairs overlay it. An illuminated red or green crosshair glowing over the outline makes the difference between a shoot-no shoot decision in this situation.
What magnification?
For much of the quarry hunted with airguns, the kill zones tend to be quite small and a variable magnification is a useful feature, in my opinion 3-9x or a 3-12x is the best option in most cases. I don’t use very high power magnifications for most hunting duty, because unless you have a very solid rest the crosshairs at 16x magnification tend to shake like you’re in an earthquake! On the other hand, for lower powered guns that will be used primarily for close in pest control a fixed 4x magnification scope works well. This provides adequate magnification, makes shooting accurately inside of dark buildings like a barn or a feed shed easier, and removes the need to give even passing consideration to the magnification setting when preparing to squeeze the trigger.
Scope models coming from various manufacturers come equipped with Mil-dots, which are a series of dots aligned vertically and horizontally (usually at one mil from dot center to dot center) along the cross hair (Mil dots have been well covered in earlier blog entries. These mil dots can be used to range find if the hunter knows the right formula to apply and the size of their target, but this is somewhat complicated to work out when hunting. I use a laser range finder as it is quicker, easier, and more accurate. But when sighting in my gun I work out which mildot to use at 20, 40, and 60 yards and use the mil-dot and laser range finder en concert to determine shot placement in the field.
Finding a scope
I would suggest that when you get ready to purchase a scope for your air rifle that you consider the platform and the intended use, then take a look online at what’s available.. While you may find an airgun rated scope at your local gun shop, the selection will most probably be fairly limited. I also think that if you want a good quality glass the is a great value, you should take a look at the scopes offered by Leapers.
Source: Airghog Blogs
