When you’re looking to buy a scope for your air rifle, there’s a huge amount of choice. Some designs are more suited to a particular type of rifle, and others to either target shooting or hunting. In many cases, the features of a scope are a matter of preference – or budget.
We’ve picked out five air rifle scopes that we consider to be good value. They’re all great quality scopes. And they’re all under £300.
Hawke Airmax 30 Touch 3-12×32
At 266mm long, and weighing 572g, Hawke’s Airmax Touch is a strong, lightweight scope with a 30mm tube. The glass-etched reticle can be illuminated (in the centre only) to six levels of brightness, and between each setting on the adjustment turret, there’s an off position, so it’s easy to switch directly to your preferred setting. The scope comes with a 76.2mm wheel to make adjustment a bit easier.
A zoom ring that indexes with an audible click allows magnification up to twelve times. The definite click means that you can adjust magnification without moving out of position to peer at the setting. Although the objective lens is just 32mm, the wide-angle (short focal length) optical system provides an expansive image of the landscape.
This piece of kit is ideal for daytime hunting.
The Hawke Airmax features a focus control for parallax adjustment. Parallax is the differing perspective of varying viewpoints. By the neurological process of stereopsis, our natural binocular vision uses parallax to form a single, solid, 3-dimentional image.
In a telescopic sight, however, parallax can work against us. Light becomes distorted as it hits the various surfaces in a scope, and as a result, the reticle may seem to wander. The Airmax parallax adjustment is a technically sophisticated function that allows a shooter to achieve pinpoint focus.
Especially suitable for low-recoil air rifles, the Hawke Airmax has zero eye relief. Like those early cameras that were operated by a photographer who draped a black cloth over his head and the camera, a zero-eye-relief scope prevents light bleed at the viewing end, allowing for a clearer image through the sight.
Every glass surface in this scope is coated with 16 layers of light insulation.
London Armoury Resurrection FFP Riflescope
London Armoury’s Resurrection scope is available in two sizes: 4-14×44 or 6-24×50. Even in the smaller of the two scopes, the objective lens is large, allowing for excellent light input. This is a great advantage for crepuscular shooting, when daylight is dim.
The wide zoom range (4-14 or 6-24) makes it possible to focus on targets at varying distances. The illuminated reticle is on the first focal plane. This means that the reticle is magnified with the image, making it easier to focus on the target.
This scope features a detachable sunshade, and lockable turrets so you can be confident that your rifle will stay aligned for a follow-up shot.
Hawke Vantage AO 3-9×40
Hawke’s waterproof, fog-proof, and shockproof Vantage AO scope is 322mm long and weighs 482g. Constructed from a single 25mm tube, this hardy scope has been nitrogen purged for long-lasting internal purity.
The optics are coated with 11 layers of protection, ensuring first-rate light transmission and clarity at all ranges. Multiple coating of all optic components means that the scope is identified as fully multi-coated. This high grade of protection results in an image of exceptional clarity and contrast.
This sturdy little scope’s magnification range is from three times to nine times, and the 40mm objective lens allows parallax adjustment from 10m to infinity. Elevation and windage can be adjusted over a range of 100 MOA, at increments of ¼ MOA. The mil-dot reticle shows 1 milliradian (3.44 MOA) increments in all four directions.
The ocular and objective lenses are threaded for additional accessories, such as lens covers or sunshade, and the adjustment turrets come with protective caps.
Richter Optik 3-9×40
A mil-dot reticle provides a way to focus by increments of milliradians. A milliradian is an angle. There are approximately 6,283 milliradians (or mils) in a complete circle.
Along the crosshairs of the reticle, there are dots. The distance between the centre of one dot and the next is one mil.
At a range of 100m, an adjustment of one mil will alter your aim by 10cm. If you’re 200m from your target, one mil will equate to 20cm. At 300m, it’s 30cm; at 400m, it’s 40cm; 500m, 50cm … and so on.
At under £35.00, this 320mm-long Richter Optik scope, which weighs a mere 382g, is exceptionally good value. The scope’s variable zoom system allows magnification of times three to times nine. A 40mm objective lens is protected by a flip-up cover.
This scope is one of Richter Optik’s most popular products. With its large range of magnification and precise mil-dot sighting, this model is a great favourite among hunters.
ProShot Precision Rifle Scope with Mounts 3-9×50
With magnification up to nine times and a large (50mm) objective lens, which is ideal for hunting in low light conditions, this Proshot Precision scope is a very handy piece of equipment. Made of high-strength aluminium and fully multi-coated, it’s waterproof, fog-proof, and resistant to recoil. It has a 25mm tube and a duplex reticle.
This scope, which comes with mounts, is ideal for target shooting and pest control at ranges of up to 60m.
Looking for Something Special?
So we’ve had a look at five great rifle scopes with a price tag under £300. However, if you’re after something a little bit more extravagant, how about this super scope from Leupold …
Leupold Rifleman 3-9×50
The good-looking black Rifleman 3-9×50, made of aircraft-grade aluminium, is 315mm long and weighs 411g. Featuring a simple duplex reticle, this lightweight, durable piece of kit is waterproof, fog-proof, and impervious to rust and corrosion. On the end of the 25mm tube, the large (50mm) objective lens is great for low-light hunting, making this scope ideal for deerstalkers.
Eye relief is 106.68mm at low magnification, and 93.98mm for greater magnification. The scope tube is 25mm in diameter.
There’s no doubt that this nifty little scope was designed with the hunter in mind.
The scope’s nitrogen-purged optical chamber contributes to a crystal-clear image. Ambient air inside the scope is forced out by, and replaced with, near-pure nitrogen. With this dry, inert gas occupying all the space, oxygen and water vapour are excluded, protecting the interior of the scope from fogging and oxidation. O-ring-sealed lenses enhance the scope’s impedance to moisture.
Contact Us
For more information about scopes, or to talk to a member of staff about any of the products on the Pellpax website, give us a call on 01263 731 585 or email [email protected]
Merry Christmas!
