Choosing an air gun scope is easy if you know what you are looking for and what matters most. There are several factors to consider when picking an air gun scope, a kind of recipe that you can use to make sure you buy the right scope for your rifle and for your style of shooting.

The best air gun scope is going to be the one that accomplishes what you need it to accomplish for the right price. That’s what we are looking for, so let’s stir up a little recipe for our air gun scope buyers guide.

All Air Gun Scopes Must-Have

Good air gun scope mounts are a must-have! A good air gun scope mount will have an adjustable pin which locks the rear ring to the rail and stops the scope from moving with recoil, giving you a better shot.

Necessary Accessories

Adjustable Parallax – More specifically, either Adjustable Objective or Sidewheel, which is essential for focusing on anything short of 80 yards. Most targets will be within that range, which again means that the adjustable parallax is necessary.

Mildots – which are perfect for range-finding and compensating for pellet drop over distance. Also consider fixing the barrel droop on your air gun if you see significant drop over distance.

Air Gun Rated Scope – A spring-loaded air gun will destroy a non-rated scope after a dozen shots. Spring-rated scopes have extra internal springs which counteract the unique double recoil of piston air guns.

Luxuries

Large Objective - The larger the objective lens (far end scope), the more light it lets through, and the clearer the picture. However, the larger the glass, the heavier the scope. Keep that in mind if weight is already an issue. Again, this is not a necessary factor in choosing an air gun scope but a luxury that’s nice to have.

Zoom – It will make your target appear closer. The perfect zoom for entry level air guns is 3-9, which means your target appears 3 times closer, adjustable up to 9 times closer. Other scopes are 4-12, 6-24, and target scopes are 8-32, 10-50, 8-80. However, variable zoom scopes can be slightly heavier. Again, weight is a factor here when choosing an air gun scope.

Ready to buy your scope? Check out the best air gun scopes of 2019 and pick on one today!