Riflescopes with Variable magnification

Sub Categories

All-round Hunting Rifle Scopes

Rifle Scopes for Stalking

Rifle Scopes for Mountain Hunting

Low Light Rifle Scopes

Long Range Hunting Rifle Scopes

Introduction

People enjoy going outdoor and observing life outside of four walls. You do not need any particular skill to get in touch with the nature that surrounds you. However, for you to properly observe the subtle happenings you would otherwise miss and to successfully hit a target when hunting, experience, as well as proper gear, is definitely needed.

That is where variable magnification rifle scopes can come in handy, particularly when hunting in a smaller area, as they let the user adjust the magnification so as to focus on the target when moving closer or farther away from it. These rifle scopes can be recognized by the range in their specification, not a particular number. This setting is endless, signifying that the magnification of the rifle scope is not locked.

History

In the beginning, only rifle scopes with fixed magnification were manufactured but as time has moved forward, rifle scopes with variable magnification were produced. As a matter of fact, Kahles was among the first manufacturer to introduce variable magnification rifle scopes and later, all major manufacturers followed in its footsteps.

Now the tables have turned, fixed scopes have fallen out of flavor, and at the moment, only a few manufacturers still produce fixed magnifications rifle scopes and later on, you will be able to see why. We would not call ourselves psychic, but we can certainly predict what the future holds in this scenario and that is that variable magnification scopes will prevail. Let us see why:

Pros

The use of these scopes is extremely versatile. When observing on shorter ranges, the magnification should be turned down, and up when observing on longer ranges. Also, these rifle scopes tend to have a wider field of view, which provides less restriction when observing, which is always an advantage.

Even experienced hunters can get sidetracked and lose focus, but with variable magnification rifle scopes, you get complete and utter control of the device. If the target moves closer, you can just adjust the magnification and regain the focus, so there is no need to worry.

These rifle scopes offer you multiple options – hence the name. On the one hand, at high magnification, you are able to observe the animals as you please and observe the fine details on the target. On the other hand, at lower magnification, you are able to take a shot even if the rifle scope is rested on a shooting stick, or even without support.

Cons

In spite of its many excellent features, the variable magnification rifle scope still has a few drawbacks. The first one is that these scopes do not produce the same light transmission rate as the fixed ones. Because adjustments cannot be made on the latter, they feature only one glass, in comparison to variable magnification scopes, which have numerous glasses in front of the lens, resulting in a lower light transmission rate.

These optics are also bigger in size, as well as weight, and they also sport a bigger tube diameter, usually at least 30 mm. That is why you should always make sure you choose the rifle scope you are comfortable using. Also, you need to set one more setting before the shot, which can prove to be troublesome. There may also be times where the cheaper second focal plane scopes have the option of a movable point of interest when magnification is changed.

Kahles K1050 10-50x56

Zoom Factor

Variable magnification rifle scopes have come a long way, as the zoom ratio they started off with was 2 x and 3 x, now there are scopes with a 10 x zoom ratio. It used to be a standard to have a 3 x zoom in 1-inch tube scopes and a 4 x zoom in 30 mm tube rifle scopes.

More and more manufacturers like Swarovski and IOR began producing rifle scopes with a much wider zoom ratio. Soon after, others, such as Zeiss, Leica, Schmidt & Bender followed. Today, even a 10 x zoom factor is not uncommon, thus the versatility of the rifle scopes is greatly enhanced.

Conclusion

Variable magnification rifle scopes are of great help when wanting to dodge the ongoing debate about which magnification should be used for your hunt, as they provide a lot of diversity in said magnification. It can be adjusted based on where you are at, and what you are after.

These scopes are great for hunting in smaller areas, and for those who love a good challenge of chasing. Even though these scopes may be a bit pricier, they make up for it, as they can be used anywhere. But remember: at the end of the day, pick the scope that meets your level of experience and the intended use.

Filters

Sort

In stock

Nightforce SHV 4-14x56

Ask for price

View Product

Add to compare

In stock

Nightforce SHV 5-20x56

Ask for price

View Product

Add to compare

In stock

Nightforce SHV 3-10x42

Ask for price

View Product

Add to compare

In stock

Nightforce SHV 4-14x50 F1

Ask for price

View Product

Add to compare

Filters

Sort

VIDEO

Hunting riflescopes are the most common type of riflescopes. For this reason, this is the biggest category on our website. Even though there are many types of hunting-riflescopes, there are some characteristics that many of them share.

A rifle with optics - hunting riflescope

Mounting solutions - Ring and Rail mounts

Both ring and rail mounting options are available. This is the only category where rail mounting is available, but it is only available with some middle-class and premium scopes. There are four rail mounting standards altogether (the rail option offered depends on the manufacturer):

LM rail (optical devices with this rail are no longer manufactured but mounts for it are still produced)
Zeiss ZM/VM rail
Swarovski SR rail
Schmidt & Bender Convex rail

Schmidt & Bender Polar T96 2.5-10x50 with a S & B Convex rail

Tube diameter

Tube diameters of 30 mm and 25.4 mm are the most common.

Scopes with a 34mm tube are rare – Schmidt & Bender Polar T96 series is one of the few that use it.
Zeiss Victory V8 and Blaser Infinity are equipped with a 36mm tube,
whilst Swarovski dS is equipped with a tube that measures 40 mm in diameter.

It is important to note that tube diameter does not affect the light transmission rate.

Turrets

Riflescope for hunters is equipped with low-profile, capped elevation and windage turrets. After a scope is zeroed (at 100 m), most users won't make any further adjustments to the windage and elevation. For this reason, the turrets are capped to prevent unwanted rotation.

As such optics is commonly used in forests where one can quickly bump the riflescope somewhere, capped turrets are the best way to avoid the unintentional shifts of the point of impact.
Furthermore, these are among the most delicate parts and can break if hit too hard.
Caps are used to prevent that.
With some modern, premium optics, there is an option of purchasing an uncapped, BDC elevation turret which allows the user to quickly compensate for the bullet drop at longer distances by setting the turret to the number for the corresponding distance (1 – 100 m, 2 – 200 m, 3 – 300 m, etc.)

The reticle

Most riflescopes are equipped with a hunting-oriented reticle. Usually, the reticle is a crosshair with thicker lines at the sides and narrower lines towards the center.

There are no holdovers or hash marks because it is meant to be simple to use.
The reticle is mainly in the second focal plane, meaning that it appears to be of the same size regardless of the magnification, providing minimal coverage of the target.
Blaser Infinity with first focal plane reticle configuration is an exception to the rule.

FFP-hunting optics were used in the past but are gradually dying out. Commonly, the riflescope is equipped with an illuminated central dot, the intensity of which depends on its purpose.

Magnification

The magnification is either

fixed or
variable.

A few decades ago, fixed magnification optical devices were the prevalent type, now it is the other way around. In England, Scotland, South Africa, and some other countries, many users still prefer the fixed type over the variable type. Entry and middle-class riflescopes have a 4–6x zoom factor, whereas the premium ones boast a 6–8x zoom factor.

Parallax

Parallax is typically fixed at 100 m.
If magnification is above 12x, a riflescope is usually equipped with an adjustable parallax setting (side focus).

Swarovski Z8i 2.3-18x56 has an adjustable parallax turret (on the left)

Subcategories

There are many subcategories:

Best Hunting-riflescopes

Riflescopes of the highest quality are produced by the renowned European sport optics manufacturers such as:

Such devices are equipped with:

an illuminated reticle,
commonly a fine, central illuminated dot.

The zoom factor is 6x or greater. There is an option of purchasing an uncapped BDC turret on most. Reticles are in the second focal plane, except with the Blaser Infinity series which features an FFP-configuration.

Premium optics boast:

an exceptional field of view,
impressive resolution,
a high light transmission rate, and
a high degree of colour fidelity.

They are difficult to compare because there are only small differences among them, but each series has its own strong point (Leica Magnus series, for example, is known for its incredibly wide field of view).

The middle-class devices are not to be overlooked since its popularity has risen considerably in the last few years.
Most of these devices are made in Japan and highly popular because of their excellent price to performance ratio.
Some European-made devices can also be found in this class.

A short presentation is available here.

Short Presentation | HuntingRiflescopes | Optics Trade from Optics-Trade

Riflescopes with Variable magnification

Sub Categories