Scopes
In air rifle hunting, shot placement plays a bigger role in the take of small game than power does. Because of
this, air rifle hunters tend to use variable power scopes that have a much greater range of magnification than those used
by .22 rimfire firearms shooters. On sporting air rifles, a magnification range of 4-12 power is fairly common.
Likewise, adjustable objective lenses are also common and are viewed as mandatory in most airgunning circles. The
adjustable objective allows the shooter to "dial out" parallax error, which is a difference between appearant point of aim
and point of impact caused by the target and scope reticle being on different optical planes. The adjustable objective
allows the target and reticle to appear to be on the same optical plane, thus eliminating parallax error.
In theory, the adjustable objective makes for more precise field shooting. In practice, there isn't always an endless
amount of time available to diddle with dials while setting up a shot. I often find myself "setting and forgetting,"
adjusting the objective to give a parallax free sight picture at 30 yards, which is a fairly common game taking distance in
my hunting. Even this less than precise use of the adjustible objective is better than not being able to adjust for
parallax at all. Most scopes without adjustable objectives are set to be parallax free at either 50 yards in the case
of .22LR firearms scopes or 100 yards for centerfire firearms scopes. Obviously, both of these distances are beyond
the normal game taking range of the airgun hunter.
With their violent double-snap recoil, spring-piston air rifles place demands on scope mounting that even some of the
most potent firearms do not. The clamping force required to prevent a scope from creeping in the mounts under recoil
is comparitively high, so scopes used on spring-piston air rifles should have body tubes that can withstand it.
Spring-piston air rifles also typically require biased elevation adjustment with more "up" clicks than "down"
clicks.
The erector mechanisms must be stoutly constructed to withstand the double-snap recoil of spring-piston air rifles.
Likewise, the lenses need to be internally braced to handle bi-directional recoil. Everything inside the scope must
be heavy duty to deal with the recoil that spring-piston air rifles dish out.
The construction needs to be heavy duty, but ideally, the weight of the scope should be as light as possible.
Heavy optics and mounts have a greater tendency to "shoot loose" than a lighter optical sight system package. One of
the keys to successful scope mounting of spring-piston air rifles is to use the lightest scope that will stand up to the rigors
of spring-piston air rifle use while doing its intended job.
Optical clarity is also important. You need to be able to clearly see what you're aiming at. That seems obvious,
but the challenge in doing this may not be until you are trying to pick a bluish-gray quail out of the bluish-gray shadow
cast by the brush it is using for cover and concealment.
Reticle style is also an important consideraton. Generally, air rifle scopes come with either a "duplex" reticle
or variation on the theme, in which thick crosshairs taper in step-down fashion to fine before they intersect in the center
of the sight picture, or they come in the increasingly popular "mil-dot" style, which incorporates a series of horizontal
and verticle dots along the crosshairs. These are said to make hold over / under for distance and inclination correction
easier, as well as lateral adjustments in aim point required to compensate for wind drift.
In my hunting, my "aim point" is typically much different than my anticipated point of impact. Sometimes, the
center of the crosshairs doesn't land on the body of the target animal at all, after all of the compensation for distance,
inclination, and windage is mentally calculated and made. In light of this, many of my fellow air rifle enthusiasts
are surprised to learn that I still favor duplex reticles over mil dots for hunting field use.
My gripe with mil dots is found in shooting that hypothetical California valley quail in the aformentioned
hypothetical shadow cast by the hypothetical bush mentioned above. In that kind of shooting, I find the mil dot reticle
to provide a sight picture that is too "busy" with dots that are inclined to either obscure the aiming point or get lost
in a confused brushy background. I also started air rifle hunting with duplex reticles back in the day, and I've got
a fairly well-developed feel for the correct sight picture with this type of reticle because of my long use of it. In
other words, I am simply more comfortable using it.
To complicate matters even further, there are some very expensive scopes on the market that are billed by their makers
as being "air gun rated," yet have poor track records for survival on air rifles. Likewise, there are some scopes on
the market that aren't specifically marketed for airgun use that have an enviable track record of performance on the
most powerful and harshest-firing spring-piston air rifles.
I initially used Beeman's "Blue Ribbon" Model 66R scopes on my air rifles. These were well made and had excellent
optics, yet they weren't needlessly heavy. The only thing I didn't like about these scopes was that the turret and objective
markings were silk screened on and eventually became illegible under hard usage. I wasn't overly fond of the exposed
target turret adjusters, either, as they were prone to being moved with the knocks and bangs and brush scrapes encountered
in my hunting environs. When Beeman discontinued the line, I had to go shopping for something else.
I currently use a humble and inexpensive Bushnell scope on my .20 R-9. This is billed on the blister
pack as the "Sportsman 4-12" but it is not the same scope as the 4-12 Sportsman in Bushnell's catalog. The one I use
doesn't seem to appear in Bushnell's promo literature and the only place I've seen them for sale is Wal-Mart, of all places.
I've used a variety of scopes over the years, ranging in price from the sublime to the ridiculous. For air
rifle hunting, I haven't found anything I like better than the Wal-Mart sourced Bushnell Sportsman 4-12 A.O. model that
currently graces my .20 R-9.
It has the kind of optical clarity that only Bushnell can seem to deliver at this price point. It is, in my estimation,
even better in this regard than the Leupold Vari-X IIc scopes that I use on my .30-'06 and .375 H&H firearms rifles.
It has superior light transmission with minimal optical flare. Sighting through it, quail seem to jump out of the
shadows they think are concealing them. Compared to the 4-12 Banner model that came on my .177 R-9 "Goldfinger,"
there is no comparision. The Wal-Mart scope beats it in every respect.
It has withstood close to 10,000 rounds of shooting through my .20 R-9. On a Gamo Shadow that I owned, one
of these scopes replaced a Simmons Pro-Air that the rifle promptly ate up the internals of and has been going strong
for 15,000 rounds. My brother in law still uses it without complaint.
One thing that I appreciate is that the controls all move with equal light force regardless of whether it is 17
degrees in the sunshine or 97 in the shade. The objective lens and power ring have a very ergonomic and easily grasped
design which is gripable even with gloved hands. The markings on the objective and powerwheel are recessed and filled
with white paint, rather than being simply silk screened on, and remain legible after several seasons of hard use.
Another thing I appreciate is that the clicks made to the windage and elevation adjusters move the point of impact the
expected amount, every time, and are very positive in operation. The turret adjustment dials can be finger turned,
even with gloved hands, and function with the accuracy of taget turrets, yet they are protected by screw-caps and
are low in profile, which I prefer over exposed target turrets for the hunting that I do.
In essence, these Wal-Mart sourced Sportsman 4-12 scopes seem to offer much of the performance of the Trophy Series that
Bushnell makes, but at a much lower price point. That is a win-win deal in my book. This is the only scope
I've ever used on an air rifle that has left me with literally nothing to complain about.
