Southampton Buccaneers Field Target Club

Unlike rifles, your choice of suitable scopes is very limited and can be expensive.  In FT, competitors are permitted to range find targets using high magnification scopes, but not dedicated lasers.  Once you know how far away the target is you can adjust your aim point to compensate.  To do this accurately the scope must have a magnification of at least 32X, but a higher magnification will generally improve range finding.  Most general purpose scopes only go to about 12X or 16X magnification.  Many of these claim to range, but they don't, or at least not to the level of accuracy required for FT.  Another problem is the ranges we are interested in are relatively short, out to a maximum of 55yards and a requirement to focus at 8.  Many of the better scopes on the market are designed for live round rifles which probably wouldn't be used any closer than 55yards!  As a result the closest range at which they will focus is about 50 yards, and often 100, totally useless for FT.  This gives a relatively limited number of choices, but a good scope will stay with you for a long time.  An option is to get a scope modified to be suitable for FT, but this can be an expensive route.

Another source is the 2nd hand market, but good scopes tend to be held onto and it may take a while to find the right one.  It's tempting to try and get away with a low power scope, but it's just not worth it.  If money is tight, spend less on the rifle.  A really good scope will help you achieve good scores on even an average gun.  A low magnification scope will always give poor scores regardless of the rifle.  We've seen or used just about every scope on the market at some point, and regardless of what you may hear, a scope with less than 32X magnification will end up being replaced very soon after buying it.  Although in FT the maximum target is only 10 yards further than in HFT, the relatively low power of the rifles means the pellet drops an additional 63mm at 55 yards compared with 45 yards, enough to completely miss the kill zone, so ranging is more critical in FT than HFT.

There are 2 main types of range finding scopes, those that have a sidewheel and those that have the parallax adjustment on the front of the scope.  Both work, but sidewheels are usually easier to operate and read the distance without breaking your shooting position.  The other advantage of a sidewheel is the ability to fit an over size wheel that will give greater spaces between the ranges by virtue of it's increased circumference.

Another aspect of scopes are the physical dimensions which can sometimes be misleading.  The objective lens diameter (the one at the front) determines how much light the lens collects and therefore how bright the sight picture is.  A big lens will gather more light that a smaller one of the same quality.  This can be really important on an overcast day or if shooting at dusk or dawn.  The important thing to realise is that not all lenses are equal.  Companies such as Leupold and Bushnell spend enormous amounts of money on developing special glass and coatings to maximise image clarity, resolution and brightness and as a result their 40mm objectives outperform most 50mm lenses on brightness and clarity by some margin.  With top quality optics you can see incredible detail at long distance which may just be a blur on many others that have much larger objectives.  So big is not always better.  The scope tube is also generally available in 2 sizes, 25mm and 30mm with the 30mm tube usually touted as better.  Again, high end scopes often have 25mm tubes but the quality of the internal mechanisms and lenses still mean they outperform 30mm tubes, so again don't always believe that bigger is better.  Of course Leupold and Bushnell scopes are towards the top end of the price range and are more expensive than the typical air rifle scope, but don't be drawn into the bigger is better debate, quality usually has far more bearing on the matter. 

An often asked question at the club is 'what's the best FT scope I can get for under £150?', and the answer is usually 'none'.  This is the one part of the sport where parting with cash is the only option.  There are many really good £150 scopes around but none rangefind at the critical distances we need.  You could use a £50 scope, but it will cause you to miss targets.  If you're serious about competing this is the one area you can't scrimp although you could compete in the 'sporting class' with almost any scope.

Sporting class

For the 2006 GP series a 'sporting class' was introduced.  There are no restrictions on the rifle, and the course shot will be the same for both the traditional FT shooters and the sporting class, however, there are restrictions on scope specifications.  Scopes are limited to a maximum magnification of 12 mag, although higher magnification scopes can be used as long as they are not used at a greater mag than 12x.  This will help reduce the cost of competing as many shooters would already have a scope that could be used competitively with a sporting rifle such as the AirArms S400 or Daystate Harrier.

Why is range finding so important?

Air rifle pellets lose their already low energy very quickly which gives them quite a pronounced arc of trajectory.  Additionally the effect of a cross wind becomes more significant the further the pellet travels and it's not unusual to have to aim 4 inches or more off centre at full distance to take this drift into account in even light winds.  The diagram shows that the width of the target on it's centre line is much larger than it is towards the top or bottom and this gives you a bigger margin of error when estimating the windage factor.  The ability to read the wind over the entire 55 yards is incredibly difficult, so knowing the exact range of the target will allow you to hit this centre line which will increase the chance of a kill.  Once you know how far away the target is you can adjust your point of aim.  There are two ways of doing this, the first (and by far the most common method used in FT) is to dial the drop using the top elevation turret on the scope to move the cross hair to the actual point of impact.  This requires target turrets that can be dialled during competition compensating for the pellet drop and the knowledge of how much to dial.  The other is to make use of mildots.  Mildots are equally spaced markings on the recticle that give you several potential aim points that follow the arc of the pellet.  This is the method used primarily in HFT (due to the fact you are not permitted to adjust any part of your scope) and whilst slightly faster, is not as foolproof as dialing.  The process is to establish a relationship between the dots and distance, so at 24 magnification, 55 yards may equate to 4.5 mildots.  The difficulty is that the magnification you set your scope to will change the number of mildots.  4.5 mildots at 24mag would become 2.25 at 12mag or 1.125 at 6mag whereas dialling for the distance will always give a point of impact on the cross hair.  Some scopes allow both dialling and also have mildots giving you a choice of method.

Mounts

Once you've selected your scope you will need mounts to attach it to your rifle.  They come in a variety of sizes and styles, but don't buy cheap mounts.  We recommend 2 piece double bolt mounts.  Good quality ones will centrally align your scope above the barrel and will not move once installed.  This is especially important on spring guns which can have quite a pronounced recoil.  You should always get the size recommended for your scope and ensure that they are high enough to clear any magazine.  Setting up the scope can be a bit tricky the first time, so ask someone to talk you through it, and remember that the bolts only need to 'pinch' the scope and it is normal to have a gap between the top and bottom sections.  Applying too great a force may end up destroying your scope by crushing the tube.  All air rifles have a dovetail mount, so ensure that your mounts are designed to fit on a dovetail, live round rifles have a completely different mounting method and the mounts are not interchangeable.  The BFTA have produced a comprehensive PDF manual on how to set up your scope.

Common terms used to describe scopes
Scopes are quite a technical piece of equipment with various terms used to describe their various aspects.  Here are a few definitions that will help to understand what you're looking at.  As we've said earlier, the quality of the optical components has far more bearing on the image brightness and quality than size to the extent that a tiny little scope from one of the premier brands will outperform in every respect a huge scope from an economy brand so our recommendation is to go for quality over size.

Eye piece.  This is the lens at the back of the scope that you look into

Objective.  This is the lens at the front of the scope.  Generally the larger this is the brighter the image will be making it more suitable for dawn or dusk shooting.  This will also decide what height mount you use as the larger the diameter the higher it needs to be mounted to prevent it touching the barrel.  30mm objectives are very small (and likely to be dark), 40-44mm is very common and anything larger will need high mounts which may make the cheek piece on the rifle too low.

Eye piece focus.  Most scopes have an element of adjustment on the eye piece to allow for different peoples eyes.  Not all of us have 20/20 vision and spectacles can also make the recticle slightly blurred.  Intended to make the recticle sharp it can also help with focussing fixed parallax scopes but is not the same as a truly adjustable parallax and the range of adjustment will never make a 100 yard fixed parallax scope focus sharply at 40 yards.

Eye relief.  This is the distance that you need between your eye and the scope to be able to see the scope picture.  Unlike binoculars you don't place your eye on the scope as any recoil would instantly give you a black eye!  The distance varies but is usually over 5 cm.  You may hear that some scopes are critical on eye relief which means that the distance you need to be at does not have much leeway for error, perhaps only 1 or 2mm which makes where you mount them on the rifle quite critical.

Recticle.  This is the correct term for the cross hair.  Hundreds of variations are used, some of which have very specific uses.  Milldot recticles are a popular choice for air rifles that have evenly spaced dots on the vertical and horizontal planes of the crosshair which give you aim points for distances different to the rifles zero point. Some scopes have an illuminated recticle that lights up red or green with a dimmer switch.  Used for night hunting and occasionally on dark targets where the cross hair is lost they can be useful, but not hugely.  A matter of personal preference. 

Tube diameter.  This is the diameter of the main scope cylinder where the mounts clamp it.  Two common sizes are available 25 and 30mm.

Coated lenses.  Most lenses have a very thin layer of chemical coating on them which can help to reduce internal reflections, improve clarity or even to allow more light to pass through the lens and can often be seen as a green or purple sheen.  The quality of coatings varies tremendously but usually the more you spend the better they become and on high end lenses the coatings are matched and optimised on all of the internal lenses (can be up to 15) to give a far better image than would normally be achieved.

Parallax.  This refers to what distance the scopes focus is set to.  For example a scope which has 35 yard parallax will be 100% in focus at 35 yards but anything closer or further will become progressively more blurred. This is an important aspect for air rifles as typically you take most shots between 10 and 45 yards, so a scope set at 100 yards fixed parallax will make the entire range you need so far out of focus that it's unusable.  Lowering the magnification will extend the in focus range but avoid scopes with anything over 35 yards for use with an air rifle.  Some scopes can have this range adjusted but it's not really a job for a novice and does have an element of risk associated with it.

Adjustable parallax. This is the ability to change the focal distance across a range.  Again you need to be careful as some scopes may have a parallax range of 50 yards to infinity which is too far for us. the ability to focus to 10yards or less is very important.  There are 2 ways of adjusting the parallax, front Parallax Adjustment (PA) and side wheel PA.  Front PA involves rotating the whole front section of the scope which moves the objective lens in and out very slightly on a fine thread to change the focus.  Sidewheels are a separate wheel mounted about half way along the scope on the left hand side.  By turning it you move internal lenses which have the same effect.  Neither is better but sidewheels are usually easier to adjust from a shooting position.  Adjustable parallax of 10yards to infinity is essential for FT.

Turrets. These are wheels in the centre of the scope between where the mounts attach, one on the top and one on the right which allow you to move the recticle to zero the rifle.  Two main types, standard which are under a protective cap and are only intended for occasional use to get it zeroed and target turrets which are exposed and protrude further allowing for adjustment on a shot by shot basis to allow for changes in distance or wind.  

So, what scope do I need to buy?
The answer is it depends what you intend doing with the equipment.  For just a bit of general shooting for pleasure almost anything will work but as soon as you start looking at competitions you do need to start spending more cash.  To give a rough guide here are some pointers:

General shooting, and no competitions.
There's a huge range of scopes from £30 upwards in this category.  Generally the more you spend the better the optical and build quality becomes.  Optical quality will give you a much clearer brighter sight picture so if you can go for a good midrange scope over a budget one.  A zoom lens can make shooting more enjoyable, but no need for much more than 12x magnification.  A fixed 6x or 10x mag can also be a good purchase and a mildot recticle is better than a 30/30 or duplex type.  If you have a spring rifle make sure the scope you buy is rated for spring guns.  The recoil goes in the opposite direction to live round rifles and even good quality scopes can shake themselves apart in no time.  On a PCP there's no recoil so almost any scope is suitable.

I might want to do a bit of HFT or compete in the FT Sporting class
Still no need to go mega expensive, but you should budget £150-£250 to get a quality item that has a bright scope picture and good clarity.  Mildot recticles are a must and should be relatively low magnification (between 6 and 12x mag).  Fixed mag scopes are often used.  Should be parallax adjustable (although you're not permitted to focus during the competition for HFT).

FT is what I want to do.
High magnification is essential, and 32x should be viewed as a minimum with anything less than this a potential waste of money.  Target turrets are also a requirement to allow you to dial each shot although you could use mildots.  Parallax adjustable scopes either on a sidewheel  or on the objective lens is essential and it must be able to focus to 10yards or closer.  You'll also find that most courses have at least some targets tucked away in dark shadow so bright optics also come into play.  The combination of needs does make an FT scope expensive, but a good scope is always worth it.  Budget for £400+.

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Last modified: 08-Oct-2007 09:30