Rifle Scope

Hi Jimmy,

You don't need to know anything about guns at all. A rifle scope is an optical instrument, not a gun.

You should be able to see clearly through the scope. It is, after all a telescope with cross hairs inside so that you can align the rifle barrel with the target.

Tell us what the scopes specs are. There should be some numbers like 7x35 or something.

Also what do you mean by "barely see the bullseye?" Is it fuzzy or small or what?

By the way, have you have a firearms safety course yet? I insist that your dad get you some formal training.

Jimmy,

First things first. Have you had your eyes checked to make sure you have 'normal' vision? You might need glasses. (I had to get glasses when I was 14.)

Next, make sure that the scope is properly adjusted for your vision. The lens nearest your eye might be adjustable to get a good focus, so when you look through it you should see a set of cross-hairs and the image in the distance all in focus at the same time.

I think most rifle scopes will give you about a 3X magnification. That means the image will look 3 times bigger through the scope than without it. You can set up a ruler 50 feet away. The image seen with one eye through the scope should look 3 times bigger than the view with your other eye not looking through the scope. If the image through the scope looks smaller, then the scope is on backwards.

Congrats on keeping your grades up.

Please mention the brand name of the scope; there are many shooting enthusiasts on CR4 who can advise whether the manufacturer is reputable.

Welcome to CR4. Your query is well composed--indeed, better than most. You seem to be tackling your goals in a sensible way. Best of luck.

When I was your age, I had undiagnosed nearsightedness. You might want to check your vision just in case there might be an issue there. Practice to make sure your eyeball position is on axis with the scope. I suspect that with a few suggestions from this thread, you will succeed in sorting this out.

I agree with all of the above except that the National Rifle Association (NRA) Light Rifle Qualification is part of the youth education program and includes firearm safety training.

Jimmy, you sound like a bright young man so I find it hard to believe you haven't googled rifle scopes for help with your problem. Or, perhaps you did and need help understanding this link. In the mean time; there are two things that might be your immediate problem. The first has already been mentioned; adjusting the focus. The ocular lens, or the lens closest to your eye is adjustable for your personal vision. Either the entire piece turns or a ring just behind or in front turns. On new scopes this adjustment can be a little stiff but will smooth out after some exercise. Check the instructions that came with your scope or have the gun shop where you got it show you how to operate this feature.

The second thing is "eye relief." That is the distance your eye must be from the ocular lens to be in optical range of the scope. For common 22 Caliber rifle scopes this is about 1" to 1.5".

Experiment with these things and let us all know how it's going.

One last thing though... you need to know which of your eyes is dominant. For that is the eye you must aim with and wiil determin whether you are a right of left hande shooter. Chech this link to do a little tes to find out.

In addition to all the above, when adjusting the eyepiece for your vision, you should be able to look through the scope and then look at the target without a delay to re-focus. If it takes a second or two to readjust your focus, then your eyepeice is not adjusted properly.

In addition to all the above, when adjusting the eyepiece for your vision, you should be able to look through the scope and then look at the target without a delay to re-focus. If it takes a second or two to readjust your focus, then your eyepeice is not adjusted properly.

Or, alternatively, you are relatively aged. At 70, I find that shifting focus from the rear-view mirror to the road ahead takes several milliseconds more than it used to...

Hi everyone, this is Jimmy again. I have the afternoon off from my summer job, so I wanted to let you know what has been going on since my first message on your webpage.

First, Usbport, you were right. The man at the gunshop put the scope on backwards. It is a story I will tell all of you in a minute.

lynlynch, so all you will know, I have taken the introduction rifle course from the NRA, grandpa took me last year. Also, I take a class every other Saturday from the 4H man in town. He teaches shooting at the college and for 4H. Also, I do wear glasses, my eye was hurt in an accident when I was 3 years old, but my sight is 20-20 with my glasses. And, I have shooting glasses that grandpa had made for me last year too.

I have a question about glasses and shooting as well.

The scope was put on backwards at the gunshop. Pmoon, I googled some webpages but the photos I found were not really good until I found one that made me think the scope was on backwards. I showed it to my dad, who agreed with me that it might be on wrong. Well, he called our neighbor Mr. Jack, who was in the Marines a long time. He's kinda scary looking, but he is a good man. Mr. Jack looked at my rifle and told us that the scope had been installed backwards. He told my dad he wanted to go with us to the gun shop.

We went down there. The gun shop man was laughing about it when we showed him the rifle. Well, he, my dad and Mr. Jack went about behind the shop, and when they came back 10 minutes later, the gun shop man was really scared. I think Mr. Jack told him off and scared him. Anyway, the gun shop man had his mechanic put my scope on right and even gave me two boxes of bullets for my gun.

Anyway, the scope works really good now, and I'm shooting pretty good. I just need to practice.

And I want to ask about glasses. My dad is getting interested in shooting too, but he has really bad eyes and wears different glasses. Do you think he could use some kind of magnifying glasses like you read with to see the crosshairs in the scope better? We were reading in a shooting book that it's better to see th crosshairs really good and the target a little fuzzy. And, I want to thank all of you. You have some really good ideas. I would like to sign up for your webpage if that would be OK. I might want to be an engineer maybe after I serve in the army. Thank you again.

Thanks for the update! I think everybody is rooting for your success, and you've succeed with this little problem. Good luck in your studies, and in your service if you enlist.

Welcome to CR4--by all means register.

Jimmy,

Good luck in the service and thank you for your willingness to serve. In regards to adding a scope onto your rifle I personally like alot of Meopta's products and this site that I tend to find deals and closeouts at different times. Again good luck.