Scopes & Sighting Systems Explained for Air Rifle Beginners
Choosing your first scope—or deciding if you even need one—can be a bit overwhelming for new air rifle users. There are dozens of options out there, each with technical specs that sound more complicated than they really are. This guide strips away the confusion and helps you understand the main types of sighting systems available, when to use them, and how to choose the right one for your shooting goals.
Do You Even Need a Scope?
It depends on what you're doing. For casual backyard plinking at close range, open sights or red dots may be all you need. But if you plan to shoot at longer distances or require precision (such as pest control or target shooting), a scope becomes an essential tool.
Scopes magnify your target, provide a clearer point of aim, and often include features that help compensate for distance and wind. For most airgun users in the UK, a good scope will dramatically improve accuracy and consistency.
Types of Sighting Systems
1. Open Sights (Iron Sights)
These are the simplest type of sight—usually a notch-and-post setup. They're found on many beginner rifles and are great for short-range shooting and learning basic aiming techniques.
Pros: Lightweight, no batteries needed, very durable. Cons: Limited accuracy, difficult to use in low light or for precision shooting.
2. Red Dot Sights
Red dot or reflex sights project a small illuminated dot as your aiming point. They're fast and intuitive—ideal for reactive shooting up close.
Pros: Fast target acquisition, works with both eyes open. Cons: Not magnified, not ideal for long-range precision.
See our red dots here. Most red dots come with weaver/picatinny bases for which you will need an adapter to fit to an air rifle 11mm dovetail. Snap ins adapters are ideal. Vector or UTG snaps ins are perfect.
3. Telescopic Scopes (Optical Scopes)
So many to choose from! You can see what we have here in the Day Scopes - Traditional section. There you can use filters to narror your options on things like brand, price, tube size, objective lens size, maximum magnification, parralax and more. Good brands to start with are WULF, Hawke, Vector, PAO
These are the most common type used by air rifle shooters. They magnify the target and typically feature crosshairs or other reticles to help with precision aiming. Magnification ranges from fixed (e.g. 4x32) to variable (e.g. 3–9x40).
Pros: Better long-range accuracy, clearer view of the target. Cons: Can be heavier, takes time to learn how to use properly.
Key Features Explained
- Magnification: Determines how close the target appears. For sub-12 ft-lb air rifles, a 3–9x magnification is usually more than enough.
- Objective Lens (e.g. 40mm in 3–9x40): Affects how much light enters the scope. Larger lenses are brighter but heavier.
- Parallax Adjustment: Helps maintain focus at shorter distances—especially useful for air rifles shooting at 10–30 metres.
- Reticle Types: From simple crosshairs to mil-dot, reticles help you adjust for range, wind, or holdover.
- Tube Size: 1-inch and 30mm are the most common. Larger tubes allow more adjustment range and light transmission.
Choosing the Right Scope for Your Needs
Match your scope to your shooting style:
- Backyard target shooter: A 4x32 fixed scope or red dot is affordable and effective.
- Hunting or pest control: Go for a variable scope (e.g. 3–9x40 AO) with parallax adjustment for flexible performance.
- Benchrest/precision shooting: Consider higher magnification and a more advanced reticle for accurate range holdovers.
Mounts Matter Too
Even the best scope won’t help if it’s not mounted correctly. Make sure to use mounts that fit your rail type (11mm dovetail or 20mm Picatinny/Weaver) and are the correct height for your scope’s objective lens and tube diameter. Always tighten evenly and consider using a scope stop or one-piece mount to prevent movement on spring-powered rifles.
Tacticalscopes mount rings are here. Great brands for air rifles are BKL, Hawke, Sportsmatch and Hawke. One or 2 piece, don't worry about things like extdned, cantilever etc for now.
Final Thoughts
Don’t stress over having the fanciest scope. Start with something simple and upgrade as your needs evolve. A decent entry-level scope, properly mounted and zeroed, will transform your accuracy and boost confidence faster than you think.
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