TRAINING WITH KL STRATEGIC (7.3): WHAT TO DO WITH SCOPES

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In the third part on the subject of goals—hence Article Number 7.3—we will now focus on telescopic sights. These aiming aids for medium to long distances now offer much more than just magnifying the target and aligning a target mark on it. What they can do and the basics of their use will be examined in more detail below.

Mounting

The use of a telescopic sight begins with correct mounting. Errors made here can have serious consequences later on. In general, the rule is: you get what you pay for.

The quality of the mount must be high to guarantee resistance to firing. It is not just about the mount staying on the weapon, but also about the scope being reliably held in alignment within the mount.

It is almost irrelevant whether one uses one-piece or multi-piece mounts nowadays. High-quality quick-release mounts are also reliable enough to be recommended. This was not always the case. Quick-release mounts have often led to problems in the past, as they could not be mounted repeatably. This was mainly because they could not always be loosened and tightened evenly, so the mount itself took slightly different positions on the weapon each time it was loosened or tightened. As a result, the weapon had to be re-sighted in after each new mount, and the resistance to firing was rarely comparable to fixed mounts.

This has changed in the meantime, so that today one can also obtain corresponding good quality with quick-release mounts from well-known manufacturers. Nonetheless, the recommendation remains to either not constantly loosen the mount, or to regularly check the adjustment—at least after each new attachment.

Once the appropriate mounting method has been determined, the next step is to determine the correct height. It is important to mount a telescopic sight (glass) as low as possible on the weapon. The gunsmith you trust can provide appropriate assistance with this. In general, however, the minimum height can be easily determined by halving the largest diameter of the glass (usually the ocular diameter) and adding 2-4mm. This ensures that the glass sits as low on the weapon as possible without touching the barrel.

It is also important to consider the construction of the weapon. Different heights may be required as the mounting points have different distances from the bore axis (e.g. Remington 700).

Once the basics are in place, the actual mounting process begins. Here, too, there are various pitfalls that an inexperienced shooter can fall into, which can later lead to aiming errors or deviations.

The goal of the mount is to achieve the correct eye relief in a relaxed shooting position. There is potential for errors in two forms:

• Tense position

If the shooting position is adapted to the structural conditions of the weapon, unnecessary forced positions will inevitably occur, which are not reproducible and therefore lead to aiming errors or deviations.

The basis that a telescopic sight should be mounted as low as possible often does not suffice to look straight and centered through the glass. This can be compensated for by increased/adjustable cheek pieces. There are various providers and models on the market for this purpose; however, DIY solutions are often the most cost-effective and individually suitable option. The goal here is to look through the glass in a relaxed, centered manner in the most frequently used shooting stance, without assuming an unnecessary forced position.

• Incorrect eye relief to the scope

An incorrect eye relief to the glass will inevitably lead to aiming errors. Too much distance restricts the field of view excessively, so classic aiming errors are no longer recognized, and too little distance leads to parallax errors and can potentially cause injuries, depending on the caliber, as the ocular hits the face due to recoil.

The descriptions of the telescopic sights usually provide a correct distance or range.

Once the height and eye relief are correct, the actual mounting can take place by tightening the rings around the glass tube crosswise to ensure even pressure. It is also advisable to secure the screws with appropriate means, such as Loctite Blue, to prevent loosening.

Once this is done, the next potential source of errors is waiting; the correct focus adjustment. This is normally set once for each shooter and only needs to be changed if their eyesight changes. To adjust, the adjustment ring is brought to an end stop and a target is aimed through the glass. The distance is not relevant here. The focus is adjusted until the reticle and target are clear at first glance. It is important that the clarity is present immediately at first glance before the eye begins to compensate for any deviations. Once this setting is found, it is recommended to mark it on the glass.

Parallax

Now that the chosen glass is mounted, it can finally be used, but here too there are various ways to mess up a secure hit.

In addition to the classic aiming errors, an incorrect parallax adjustment can lead to deviations in the point of impact. Since the reticle in a telescopic sight is in one plane (1st or 2nd focal plane), an incorrect adjustment can cause the reticle to shift over the target depending on the angle of view. This is called parallax and occurs with telescopic sights with adjustable magnifications. For this reason, such glasses have a so-called parallax adjustment, which corrects the reticle projection at various distances, in simple terms aligning the focal planes through the lens system of the telescopic sight to create a sharp image and thus ensuring that the reticle is fixed in the respective focal plane according to the distance.

The shooter can check the correct parallax adjustment by lightly moving their head in the aiming position after the adjustment has been made. If the reticle shifts over the target, the parallax is not correctly compensated for.

The parallax adjustment can also be used for quick distance determination. As already indicated, the focus adjustment also affects image sharpness over distances; distance markings can usually be found on the parallax adjustment dial, which are either exact or approximate values depending on the quality of the glass. Simple means can be used to mark intermediate distances. Distance determination is done by adjusting the image sharpness using this dial. Each position can be assigned to a corresponding distance.

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