Description
Rifle Scope Product Details
U.S. Optics FDN-25X Riflescope, 5-25x52mm, 34mm Tube, FFP, Horus H59 Reticle, 1/10 MIL FDN 25X H59
U.S. Optics FDN-25X Riflescope, 5-25x52mm, 34mm Tube, FFP, HORUS H59 Reticle, 1/10 MIL Elevation/ Windage Adjustment, Black, Medium, FDN 25X H59
Rifle Scope Product Features
About the U.S. Optics Scope Maker
U.S. Optics is a premium company for long gun scopes, optics, mounting solutions, and other components used for guns like rifles and long guns. They design and supply their products by applying building materials which are durable and long lasting. This includes the U.S. Optics FDN-25X Riflescope, 5-25x52mm, 34mm Tube, FFP, Horus H59 Reticle, 1/10 MIL FDN 25X H59 by U.S. Optics. For more shooting goods, visit their website.
About Rifle Scopes
Rifle scopes allow you to precisely align a rifle at different targets by aligning your eye with the target at range. They accomplish this through zoom by employing a set of lenses inside the scope. The scope’s alignment can be adjusted to take into account separate ecological factors like wind and elevation to account for bullet drop.
The scope’s purpose is to help shooters understand exactly where the bullet will land based upon the sight picture you are seeing using the scope as you line up the scope’s crosshair or reticle with the intended point of impact. Many modern rifle optics have about eleven parts which are arranged internally and externally on the scope. These optic pieces include the rifle scope’s body, lenses, modification turrets, focus rings, and other elements. See all eleven parts of optics.
Rifle Scope Types
Rifle scopes can be either “first focal plane” or “second focal plane” type of optics. Finding the optimal type of rifle scope is based around what type of shooting you plan on doing.
First Focal Plane Optic Facts
First focal plane scopes (FFP) include the reticle ahead of the zoom lens. This causes the reticle to increase in size based on the level of zoom being used. The result is that the reticle measurements are the same at the enhanced distance as they are at the non magnified range. For example, one tick on a mil-dot reticle at 100 yards without having “zoom” is still the same tick at one hundred yards using 5x “zoom”. These kinds of scopes work for:
- Quick acquisition, long distance kinds of shooting
- Shooting situations where calculations are small
- Experienced shooters who recognize their target “hold over” as well as “lead” equations for their long guns
- Shooters who do not mind the reticle is enlarged and uses up more visual eyesight space than a SFP reticle
Second Focal Plane Glass Details
Second focal plane scopes (SFP) feature the reticle to the rear of the magnifying lens. This triggers the reticle to remain at the same size relative to the level of zoom being used. The result is that the reticle dimensions adapt based upon the magnification employed to shoot over greater distances because the reticle markings represent different increments which can vary with the magnification. In the FFP example with the SFP scope, the 5x “zoom” 100 yard tick reticle measurement would be 1/5th of the non “zoom” tick reticle measurement. These types of scopes work for:
- Far away styles of shooting where shooters have extra time to make ballistic estimations
- Shooting where most of the shots happen within much shorter ranges and distances
- Shooters who like a clearer optic picture without room used up by the larger size FFP reticle
Details on Glass Magnification
The quantity of zoom a scope supplies is determined by the diameter, density, and curvatures of the lenses inside of the rifle scope. The zoom of the scope is the “power” of the scope.
About Single Power Lens Rifle Glass
A single power rifle scope or optic comes with a magnification number designator like 4×32. This means the magnification power of the scope is 4x power while the objective lens is 32mm. The zoom of this kind of optic can not adjust because it is a set power scope.
Variable Power Lens Rifle Optics
Variable power rifle scopes can be adjusted between magnification power levels. These types of scopes will list the magnification amount in a format like 2-10×32. These numbers indicate the magnification of the scope could be adjusted in between 2x and 10x power. This also involves the powers in-between 2 and 10. The power modification is achieved utilizing the power ring component of the scope near the rear of the scope by the eye bell.
The Power Level and Range of Scopes
Here are some advised scope powers and the distances where they can be efficiently used. Highly magnified scopes will not be as effective as lower powered rifle scope glass because too much zoom can be a negative aspect depending on your shooting distance. The same relates to longer distances where the shooter needs to have enough power to see exactly where to properly aim the rifle.
Details on Glass Lens Coating
All contemporary rifle optic lenses are coated. Lens coating can be a significant aspect of a rifle when looking into high end rifle optics and scope setups.
HD Versus ED Rifle Glass Lens Coatings
Some optic companies will also use “HD” or high-definition glass coatings which use different procedures, components, compounds, and polarizations to extract different colors and viewable target definition through lenses. This high-def coating is commonly used with higher density lens glass which drops light’s chance to refract by means of the lens glass. Some scope suppliers use “HD” to refer to “ED” indicating extra-low dispersion glass. ED deals with how colors are presented on the chromatic spectrum and the chromatic aberration or deviance which is similarly called color distortion or fringing. Chromatic aberration can be noticeable over objects with hard edges and shapes as light hits the object from various angles.
Optic Lens Single Finish Versus Multi-Coating
Different optic lenses can also have various coatings applied to them. All lenses normally have at least some kind of treatment or coating applied to them prior to being used in a rifle scope or optic assembly. This is since the lens isn’t simply a raw piece of glass. It is part of the carefully tuned optic. It requires a coating to be applied to it so that it will be efficiently usable in numerous types of environments, degrees of light (full light VS shade), and other shooting conditions.
This lens treatment can protect the lens from scratches while minimizing glare and other less useful things experienced in the shooting environment while sighting in with the scope. The quality of a single covered lens depends on the scope manufacturer and how much you paid for it.
Some scope producers similarly make it a point to specify if their optic lenses are coated or “multi” coated. Being “better” depends on the maker’s lens treatment technology and the quality of materials used in developing the rifle scope.
What to Know About Hydrophobic Finish
Water on a scope lens does not improve maintaining a clear sight picture through an optic in any way. Many top of the line or high-end scope makers will coat their lenses with a hydrophobic or hydrophilic coating. The Steiner Optics Nano-Protection is a fine example of this type of treatment. It provides protection for the surface area of the Steiner scope lens so the H2O molecules can not bind to it or create surface tension. The outcome is that the water beads slide off of the scope to preserve a clear, water free sight picture.
Options for Installing Optics on Long Guns
Mounting approaches for scopes can be found in a few choices. There are the basic scope rings which are individually mounted to the optic and one-piece scope mounts which cradle the scope. These different kinds of mounts also usually are made in quick release versions which use toss levers which allow rifle operators to quickly install and dismount the scopes.
Glass Mounting Solutions with Hex Key Rings
Normal, clamp design mounting scope rings use hex head screws to mount to the flattop design Picatinny scope installation rails on rifles. These types of scope mounts use two separate rings to support the optic, and are made from 7075 T6 billet aluminum which is created for long distance precision shooting. This type of scope mount is perfect for rifles which require a long lasting, sound mount which will not move no matter how much the scope is moved or abuse the rifle takes.
Quick-Release Cantilever Glass Ring Mounting Solutions
These types of quick-release rifle scope mounts can be used to rapidly connect and detach a scope from a rifle. Several scopes can also be switched out if they all use a similar style mount. The quick detach design is CNC crafted from anodized 6061 T6 aluminum and the mounting levers fasten nicely to a flat top style Picatinny rail. This permits the scope to be sighted in while on the rifle, taken off of the rifle, and remounted back on the rifle while preserving precision. These kinds of mounts are useful and beneficial for rifles which are moved around a lot, to remove the glass from the rifle for protection, or for sight systems which are adopted in between multiple rifles. An example of this mount style is the 30mm mount designed by Vortex Optics. It normally costs around $250 USD
Rifle Glass Tube Sealing and Gas Purging
Moisture inside your rifle optic can ruin a day of shooting and your expensive optic by bringing about fogging and producing residue inside of the scope tube. Most scopes prevent wetness from getting in the scope tube with a system of sealing O-rings which are water resistant.
Scope Gas Purging
Another component of preventing the accumulation of moisture within the rifle optic’s tube is filling the tube with a gas like nitrogen. Because this area is already occupied by the gas, the glass is less altered by condition alterations and pressure differences from the external environment which could possibly permit water vapor to permeate in around the seals to fill the void which would otherwise be there. These are good qualities of a decent rifle scope to look for.
