Quick Guide to Hunting Scope Terms

Scopes and Hunting Optics - A Glossary of Terms

Scopes (rifle or shotgun)

Nikon

o Objective lens - The lens closest to the target.
o Ocular lens - The lens closes to your eye.
o Coatings - Some lenses are coated to prevent fogging or scratching.
o Field of View (FOV) - The amount of area seen through the scope at a specific distance, usually 100 yards.
o Windage adjustment - This is controlled by a knob on the top of the scope. Adjusts the right/left movement caused by the wind.
o Elevation adjustment - This is controlled by a knob on the side of the scope. Adjusts the up/down movement caused by involuntary motion.
o Bullet drop compensators (BDC) - This is an adjustment knob that is specific to your ammunition and caliber. The idea is to estimate the distance to the target and dial it into the BDC for an accurate impact.
o Reticle - This is what you see when you look through the scope. Common ones are dot, plain crosshair, duplex crosshair and mildot. Simply a question of preference, really.

Quick Guide to Hunting Scope Terms

NOTE: The windage and elevation knobs are known as MoA (Minutes of Adjustment).

Now in addition, you will see numbers like 3-9X40. The numbers in front of the "X" tell you that the target can be seen from 3 to 9 times as big as you see it with the naked eye. Example: At 100 yards, a deer looks to be 2 inches tall. In your scope at 3X power, it will appear to be 6 inches tall. At 9X power, that same target will appear 18 inches tall.
The second number is the diameter of the objective lens in millimeters.

Usually in the Midwestern states, a deer rifle is standardized at about 3-9X scope power. The average shot will be somewhat short at between 75 and 100 yards most of the time. In the western states like Montana or Colorado, where it is wide open country, a higher power is probably a good idea. In these areas, the average shot can be, realistically, from mountain to mountain at close to 1000 yards. A 25X power scope can be very handy here.

One more term you will want to understand is parallax. This is the tendency of the reticle to move off the target without moving the scope at all. When a scope is sighted in at a specific range, say 100 yards, this can happen at distances that are either shorter (25 yards) or much longer (250 yards) than that. Tough to explain, but it makes sense if you think about it.

Spotting scopes have somewhat less of a terminology set. Reticles, parallax, MOA adjustments and such are not a factor here as you are not targeting with them. These are normally manufactured at a higher power like 20-60X power (or even higher) and have a larger objective lens as well for a larger FOV. These are used in off seasons to find active game areas and to "glass" an area from a distance so as not to taint the area.

Range finders can be purchased to estimate the distance to a target instantly and quietly. This is done with a laser light, so no optical terms are needed. Usually the model number tells you how far the finder is accurate. A "400LH" model is used for up to 400 yards; a "1000X" model is accurate to 1000 yards.

Quick Guide to Hunting Scope Terms

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