Hunting Scopes – Getting Started Part 1
It’s not unusual for rifles and firearms to seem like they are missing something without hunting scopes or some kind of sighting device. Scopes are becoming more and more popular with handguns, also. The main reason is that it makes it less difficult to hit your target, when it is faraway, even though the guns can have the iron sights built in. It is easier to make out your target and get off a more accurate shot when you aim through a magnifying scope or use a red dot laser sighting system.
Most rifle scopes have a sizing set up that is known as a number range, which refers to the magnification ranges and the objective lens diameter. The first digits of a 3-9x 40 hunting scope, for example, indicate it is a variable scope capable of showing targets three times closer than they look to the naked eye, but it is also capable of going up to 9 times the naked eye. The important factor here is how low the magnification is rather than how large it is, because as the magnification goes up, you willl get less light through the eyepiece.
The last number is the objective lens diameter, measured in millimeters, and normally they are 40 to 45 millimeters, although some of the extreme models reach up to 75 millimeters, even though it is not needed. The larger the objective lens number, the larger it will be and the more light you will get through the scope. A delicate balance of magnification and objective lens diameter is what will hand you the most detail and the best chance of accurate shots.
Picking magnification size depends on how much magnification you will require. Remember that the detail improves when you use a lower magnification, but you also need to think about whether you will be shooting at smaller targets from long distances. You want to select a 3-9x 40 hunting scope for hunting large targets like deer, but for smaller, more distant targets like pheasants or rabbits, you might need a 6-20x or an 8-25x variable rifle scope.
The objective lenses of rifle optics can also be variable or adjustable. External parallax adjustments are able to change the diameter of variable objective hunting scopes. A variable objective can make a difference with scopes that have greater than 10x magnification. You won’t generally find this feature on scopes with smaller magnifications.
Lenses are usually waterproof, fog-proof and are coated with single or multiple-layered coatings that help diminish glare and loss of light. Generally speaking, the more layers of this coating you have, the more defined the contrast and the better the object’s image will be. Fully multi-coated hunting scope lenses generally are considered the best because they typically give better light transmission and clearer contrast.
Field of View is another term you will hear when looking at different hunting optics. Field of View is refering to the amount of feet, left to right, you will be able see while peering into the scope. Typically, you will have about a 30 foot Field of View or FOV at a 100 yard distance on 3 times magnification. As the magnification lowers, the FOV goes up. At 9x magnification, the FOV is only about 14 feet.
It is essential to understand the measurements of rifle scopes when you want to select the best overall model for the type of hunting you will be doing. The scope’s measurements definitely can make quite a difference in the preciseness of your shots.
The Origin Of Night Goggle Optics
The night vision equipment that is available today originally comes to us from the Armed Forces. Other products that got their start in the armed forces are the Web, frozen dried food and the GPS just to name a few. But when it comes to night vision technology I’m not speaking about the stuff that your child are playing with, but the Real McCoy.
In the early days of warfare like today it was common for a operation to take place at night . The reason I think is very obvious. A unit of soldiers are able to preserve the element of surprise until the final moment of attack. History has proved that was not always easy because as you know mans eye does have its limits and executing an attack under the cover of darkness wasn’t always effective with the light of the stars and moon often giving away a battle units position. The Armed Forces have researched tirelessly for years researching many methods to elevate a soldiers vision at night and thanks to their advances the whole playing field of combat warfare has been altered dramatically not to mention the many uses for this technology in the civilian world.
But how does this technology work you ask? Night optics capture the available light using a form of electro magnetic radiation that is outside the range of the human eye. By making use of this sort of light equipment like night goggles, binoculars and scopes it is able to give our eyes vision in the dark helping you to move around normally in almost complete darkness.
Although this night vision scope technology is always improving the two types commonly used are: image intensifiers and thermal imaging devices. Thermal devices work by looking at and scanning the differences in temperature in the direction they are pointed at. The FLIR (Thermal Forward-Looking Infrared) detector option is often used on the military vehicles and rescue helicopters.
Now image intensifiers work by amplifying available light 2-5000 times greater than what the human eye can see. The intensified light makes use of phosphorous screen technology (similar to that used in a TV)enveloped in an eye piece to give the user as close to normal vision as possible. When a soldiers eyepiece is in place, the equipment will amplify available light allowing an image to be transmitted to the eyepiece giving the soldier an image of what he is looking at. The phosphorous monitor or screen is green in color. The human eye can recognize more levels of green than any other color in the visible spectrum giving the soldier to see better in the darkest conditions.
As I mentioned before it is easy to become overwhelmed with the many different ranges of magnifications and models out there in the market today. Different things work for different conditions and situations and this is something the armed forces had to deal with also. When designing equipment for a soldier weight and compact-ability must be taken into consideration and because of this a night vision binocular could be used without any illumination and just using the image intensifiers. This would keep the cost very low resulting in small, low power and lightweight sizes ideal for use in the field.
Some things to remember when you use a set of night goggles, you may find you get a certain amount of tunnel vision because a lot of your peripheral vision is restricted within the eyepiece. Moving non stop will aid you in detecting your surroundings but judging distances accurately can become tricky, as bigger objects will look closer than they actually are and vice-versa. Don’t expect 20/20 vision, maybe 20/25 which way better than what you would see without assistance. The army have the option to work under the shroud of darkness, much like their enemies, allowing for a better chance to capture and defeat when necessary. The FLIRs really do help in locating human energy from within a heavy cover, allowing for the directing of soldiers to a certain area to carry out missions. Rescue missions also have a much higher chance of success with the use of the Night Optics.