The Best Rifle Optics
Finding the best rifle optics starts by knowing what kind of shooting you'll be doing. Are you hunting in open fields or wooded areas, shooting from a bench or standing with the rifle at your shoulder? When your establish that, you can then consider if the scope corrects parallax error, has a good adjustment consistency, has high quality lens glass and a large objective lens size -- all signs that it's one of the better optics available on the market.
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Parallax Error
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Parallax error happens when you change the position of your eye relative to your scope and it changes the point of aim. This is not a good thing, since you'll never quite know where you're aiming. Average sporting optics will be "parallax-free" up to 100 yards, meaning no matter how you look down the scope, the aim point remains the same. Higher quality scopes will allow you to adjust the distance to which the scope is parallax-free, a functionality called "AO" or adjustable objective.
As you evaluate your optic options, having a scope with parallax correction will be important, specially if you're hunting small game at distances beyond 100 yards.
Adjustment Consistency
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Because of the forces involved in firing a rifle, every shot will be slightly different as it pertains to the alignment of your scope -- unless you have high quality optics. Since your scope will have to deal with recoil from every shot, it's important that the recoil has little or no effect on the reticle. If the recoil pushes the reticle against the springs on any particular side after a shot, your scope will not aim accurately. In addition to robust innards, the scope should also be well-mounted to the rifle. If not, it will move with each shot and you'll lose accuracy again.
So, for the best scopes, look for one that is rated for the rifle size it'll be attached to, which should account for the recoil levels and ensure the mounts are secure.
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Lens Glass
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The best lens glass you can find is developed from sand exported from Vietnam. It's some of the most pure sand on the planet, and pure sand makes for crystal-clear glass. If you purchase a low quality scope, light will likely be distorted as it passes through the optics and may even create small aberrations that limit your ability to aim accurately.
Objective Size
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The larger the objective end (the front lens) of the scope, the higher quality it will be. The reason is that larger lenses collect more light. A common term you'll find on optics spec sheets is "light gathering." With more gathered light, you'll be able to see more, out to a greater distance. For example, a scope built with a 40 mm objective will provide less clarity in the scope's field of view than a 50 mm objective.
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