Better Shots With Your Rifle Scope

Just how good is the scope you are currently using?  Are you having difficulty seeing the target clearly?  You can’t hit something you can’t see.  Do you have to get closer for a clear view, sometimes frightening away your prey?    A good rifle scope is a necessary piece of equipment to the hunter or target shooter.  It’s worth its weight in gold.

Being as far away as possible from your target will give you the element of surprise.  The deer aren’t going to stand there while you move in for a better shot.  Further away increases the targets available to you.  Can you imagine how many more deer you would have available to you at 1000 yards versus 500 yards?  The key to a good quality scope is magnification.  It’s all about magnification.  Sure a good scope with high quality glass is going to cost you, but why would you want to settle for anything less?  Buy the best glass you can afford.

The next two important parts of a good rifle scope will the target turrets and the side parallax focus.  Target turrets give you the control over the shot by precisely lining up the sight compensating for wind and/or elevation.  The side parallax focus puts the target and the reticle on the same focal plane enhancing your aim.  All of this is mounted to the rifle.  Don’t buy the cheapest mount you can find.  The mount actually has a really important job.  You want a good quality mount to hold your scope on the rifle.

Once you have your equipment attached you are ready to start practicing.  Yes, you have to practice.  Being a great shot just doesn’t come from your gene pool.  The scope will need to be adjusted to work with your rifle. Start out with a 100 or 200 yard shot.  Once you are dead on target with that distance increase the distance from the target to 300 or 400 yards.  Then go to 500 yards.  As soon as you have perfected any distance, increase it.  Keep up the practicing and you will soon be at 1000 yards.  And as you can imagine, being accurate at 1000 yards will make you amazing at 200 or 300 yards!

Now, making a 1000 yard shot is not reserved for a military quality, long gun or high velocity ammo.   As you practice with your rifle, scope and ammo, you’ll become familiar with the way you set up shots.  Rifles are all different.  Scopes are all different and there are many types of ammo to use.  Each will have an effect on your ability to hit that target.  The most important thing, however, is practice, practice and more practice.