What does a first time Scope buyer need to know about scopes?
- Thread starter JustinD
- Start date
The first numbers will be the magnification, 4x is 4 times maginification, 3-9 will be adjustable from 3x to 9x magnification. The second number will be the lens diameter, typicall 32mm, 40mm, or 50mm, but there's all kinds of combinations.
The most common you will see is usually a 3-9x40.
as for price, you can pay as little or as much as you want, the sky is the limit, but myself i wouldn't put anything too crazy on an enfield. If you look on the equipment exchange you can probably get an older model bushnell for much less than a new one would be.
The most common you will see is usually a 3-9x40.
as for price, you can pay as little or as much as you want, the sky is the limit, but myself i wouldn't put anything too crazy on an enfield. If you look on the equipment exchange you can probably get an older model bushnell for much less than a new one would be.
Like everything else, you can pay for a lot more than you get. And people tend to want you to buy what they bought so they can feel vindicated in their choices.
A low price doesn't necessarily mean a scope is no good, but it is hard to make a good scope without good glass and other components and that only comes cheap when a new brand is trying to break into the market with better quality for lower price than the competion. A high price doesn't guarantee good quality. If you don't know how to judge quality you can certainly find someone willing to sell you crap for a higher price.
As dand83 said the most common you will usually see is 3-9x40. I will add to that the reason: 3-9x magnification is suitable for almost all of the shots almost all of us will take while hunting, and a 40mm objective lens size, if the glass and it's coatings are good quality almost always gives a big enough field of view and a bright enough image. 50mm objective lenses are becoming popular mainly because people find it easy to believe that if 40 is good, more must be better. But it isn't necessarily so - a bigger lens means a bigger scope and in some situations you may find it awkward and find that it gives no noticeable advantage. Likewise, many people are buying more magnification than they need because it's fashionable. The potential problem with higher magnification is that it makes the target look easier to hit, but neither you nor your rifle get more accurate just because the target appears bigger - it's still the same distance away.
There are plenty of good scopes out there on people's rifles that could work well for the rest of their lives. Convincing those shooters that they need something better with more magnification and bigger lenses and illuminated reticles and mildots and rangefinding bullet drop compensating etc. is the only way to get them to replace scopes that are working just fine.
Take your old Enfield to the range and find out how far it can shoot a group that is not larger than the kill zone (heart & lungs area) on the game you intend to hunt. When it was built, if it could produce a four inch group of five shots at one hundred yards it was considered very accurate for a military rifle. At two hundred yards that group will expand to eight inches and you should think about whether you can ethically attempt shots on a deer beyond that - in the field you probably won't shoot as well as you did on the range. You don't need a scope with magnification bigger than you need to see that animal properly at that range. So you don't need a 12x or 16x, let alone 24x. Or a 50mm objective lens. (If you want more magnification or a bigger lens anyway, of course it's your money, buy more if you want. But then that extra money isn't going on something else that might be more useful in improving your accuracy, e.g. extra time and ammo for practise, a good mount and rings, a gunsmith who knows how to install it properly...)
Spend your money on quality not gadgetry. Keep it simple. I recommend you consider a Weaver Classic K4 or K6. These are fixed power scopes, 4x38mm and 6x38mm that are well made. Depending on the terrain in which you will hunt they will probably be enough for you and your Enfield. Then whatever else catches your fancy, compare it to those Weavers and their price and decide if it offers real advantages that you want and whether it's worth it to you.
A low price doesn't necessarily mean a scope is no good, but it is hard to make a good scope without good glass and other components and that only comes cheap when a new brand is trying to break into the market with better quality for lower price than the competion. A high price doesn't guarantee good quality. If you don't know how to judge quality you can certainly find someone willing to sell you crap for a higher price.
As dand83 said the most common you will usually see is 3-9x40. I will add to that the reason: 3-9x magnification is suitable for almost all of the shots almost all of us will take while hunting, and a 40mm objective lens size, if the glass and it's coatings are good quality almost always gives a big enough field of view and a bright enough image. 50mm objective lenses are becoming popular mainly because people find it easy to believe that if 40 is good, more must be better. But it isn't necessarily so - a bigger lens means a bigger scope and in some situations you may find it awkward and find that it gives no noticeable advantage. Likewise, many people are buying more magnification than they need because it's fashionable. The potential problem with higher magnification is that it makes the target look easier to hit, but neither you nor your rifle get more accurate just because the target appears bigger - it's still the same distance away.
There are plenty of good scopes out there on people's rifles that could work well for the rest of their lives. Convincing those shooters that they need something better with more magnification and bigger lenses and illuminated reticles and mildots and rangefinding bullet drop compensating etc. is the only way to get them to replace scopes that are working just fine.
Take your old Enfield to the range and find out how far it can shoot a group that is not larger than the kill zone (heart & lungs area) on the game you intend to hunt. When it was built, if it could produce a four inch group of five shots at one hundred yards it was considered very accurate for a military rifle. At two hundred yards that group will expand to eight inches and you should think about whether you can ethically attempt shots on a deer beyond that - in the field you probably won't shoot as well as you did on the range. You don't need a scope with magnification bigger than you need to see that animal properly at that range. So you don't need a 12x or 16x, let alone 24x. Or a 50mm objective lens. (If you want more magnification or a bigger lens anyway, of course it's your money, buy more if you want. But then that extra money isn't going on something else that might be more useful in improving your accuracy, e.g. extra time and ammo for practise, a good mount and rings, a gunsmith who knows how to install it properly...)
Spend your money on quality not gadgetry. Keep it simple. I recommend you consider a Weaver Classic K4 or K6. These are fixed power scopes, 4x38mm and 6x38mm that are well made. Depending on the terrain in which you will hunt they will probably be enough for you and your Enfield. Then whatever else catches your fancy, compare it to those Weavers and their price and decide if it offers real advantages that you want and whether it's worth it to you.
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BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Scoping an Enfield is a bit like putting a racing wing and bodywork on a Land Rover.
Tooner is right...spend on quality equipment, both glass and rifle.
Tooner is right...spend on quality equipment, both glass and rifle.
Ar180shooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ottawa, ON
Personally, I wouldn't bother scoping an Enfield, especially when optics ready budget rifles are available for less than $400.
That aside, a fixed power Weaver as Tooner suggested would be a decent scope for you IMO. I use variable scopes on all my hunting rifles, and I have never shot a deer on anything more than minimum power (2x or 3x). I hunt forested areas where the longest shots are typically no more than 100 yards, so power range is dependent on what ranges you expect to be shooting game at.
My $.02
That aside, a fixed power Weaver as Tooner suggested would be a decent scope for you IMO. I use variable scopes on all my hunting rifles, and I have never shot a deer on anything more than minimum power (2x or 3x). I hunt forested areas where the longest shots are typically no more than 100 yards, so power range is dependent on what ranges you expect to be shooting game at.
My $.02
Why not scope an enfield? Mine shoots great, and I have seen a Parker hale shoot even better. I would recommend a 3-9 power redfield scope if buying new. A Bushnell 1.5-4.5 scope chief IV or something similar would be awesome too.
Ar180shooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ottawa, ON
They don't scope very well. The mounting system required isn't clean like on a Mauser, and the scopes need to be mounted very high.
What model of enfield is it? Different mounts available, brian at accurate sells some nice ones but the no1 mk3's often need to be drilled : http://accurateaction.com/product/addley-precision-smithless-scope-mount/
as for what the numbers and stuff mean, 3-9x40 means the magnification is adjustable from 3 power to 9 power, the size of the objective lens is 40mm, the bigger the lens often the more light and clarity (but not always) but this also raises the centreline of the scope which will likely cause issue with a low cheek rest point on your enfield.
I would recommend a 2-7 X32mm or 3-9x 40mm scope, I would avoid an adjustable objective for all but target shooting.
To be honest though, you might be into it for $100 for drilling and tapping, another $50 to $100 for a rail, at this point you may just want to consider a savage axis or ruger american package for what you have to spend to put a scope on it.
