How to select the right riflescope.

Choosing the right riflescope is a matter of discovering what best fits you, and your intended application. Careful consideration here directly affects success in the field.

Scopes make targets appear closer and easier to see. They help shooters quickly acquire the target and place each shot with less effort. Plus, they also gather and transmit more light, for improved visibility at dawn and dusk and other low-light conditions.

Three key variables come into play in the science of optics. Field of view (the width of area you can see through a scope), eye relief (the distance your eye can be from the scope and still see the full field of view), and magnification, are all three inter-related. It is a series of trade-offs; more of one means less of another to some degree.

The following options provide a good rule of thumb for scope selection:

For general, all-around hunting purposes – a mid-range 3-9x scope that provides a good balance of magnification and field of view is ideal.

For close-in, faster targets – a scope with less magnification and a wider field of view is advised – a 1.5-5x scope for instance, could be perfect for your turkey gun, slug gun or early-season muzzleloader.

For smaller, more distant targets – such as varmints or long distance target shooting – where it’s possible to get a good, solid rest, higher magnification 4-14 or 6-24 scopes are best.

For low-light conditions – scopes with a larger objective (front) lens will gather more light, producing a brighter image. No matter the application, there’s a Simmons® scope designed to meet your needs.