-
Step 1
Check the scope's available magnification. Amateur hunters may get excited about a scope with a great deal of magnification, but experts believe its lowest setting is the most important. A scope on a high setting interferes with close-range shots, while you can still shoot at longer range with a scope at a 1X or 2X setting. This is especially important with handguns, which have a shorter range than rifles.
-
Step 2
Consider a red dot scope, which creates a red dot allowing you to aim more accurately at the intended target. They eliminate parallax problems and make hunting in ambient light much easier. On the other hand, they usually require a power source such as a battery and the dot itself tends to obscure a small target such as a rabbit. Red dot scopes typically don't have any magnifying power either, though this is less of a concern with pistol hunting than it is with rifle hunting.
-
Step 3
Check the scope's waterproof properties. Most scopes are coated to protect their components from rain and fog. Coating also helps reduce glare on the lens. A basic coating will cover the surface of one of the scope's lens. More thorough coatings will cover all of the scope's lenses, while multi-coatings provide more than one layer on each lens. Individual hunters may have their own preferences, but generally speaking, the greater the number of coatings, the more durable the scope.
-
Step 4
Check for repeatability. If you set your scope in one location, shoot elsewhere, and then return to the same location again, you should have the same point of impact for the scope that you set earlier. Better scopes will do this every time; cheaper scopes or those of poorer quality will require some "settling" before their repeatability becomes what it should be.
-
Step 5
Double-check recoil. Pistols and handguns have a much greater amount of recoil than rifles, which can absorb the shock more readily due to their larger size. A handgun scope needs to be able to take that punishment in ways that a rifle scope wouldn't.
