What Defines A Quality Optic?

Why are quality optics important for gun owners? What’s the point in spending a hundred dollars, or even a thousand dollars, versus spending twenty five dollars, it’s just a scope right? No, not at all. Purchasing quality optics is important if you are planning to depend on your weapon for hunting, competition, or self-defense, or if you are just a plinker looking to avoid frustration. There are several different factors that are important to a quality optic.

Durability
This is a major factor when it comes to choosing any optic. A quality optic is able to withstand drops, falls, and tumbles and most importantly recoil. Cheap optics can literally be destroyed by the recoil of the weapons they are mounted on. For example a cheap red dot on a shotgun can be rattled apart by the heavy recoil. If you are looking to hunt with your optic remember to think about how your rifle rattles and bumps as it’s slung over your shoulder. Is your optic strong enough to withstand this?

Precision
If an optic cannot reliably hold zero what’s the point? When you place your crosshair, red dot, chevron, or whatever reticle you use on target and pull the trigger where does the bullet go? Shooting with a bad scope might as well be called patterning. Weak, cheap optics can lose zero due to recoil or bumps and jolts when handling the weapon. This can cause an unlimited amount of frustration on the range, but could be a major problem in a self-defense encounter.
Some scopes even go as far as incorporating built-in laser rangefinders and wind calls ( find out more about these systems in Burris Eliminator III review ) for extra precision.

Clarity
When we actually get down to the heart and soul of a scope we have to look at the glass. This is important enough that plenty of people refer to any optic as simply glass. The glass is going to decide what kind of clarity you have when looking through the lens. At close range this is not a big deal, but when you extend your range, and up your magnification the level of clarity comes more into play. You’ll notice with subpar optics the image can easily blur and go in and out of focus. This could be a big deal when it comes to hunting and trying to determine if the animal you’re aiming at is legal to shoot or not.

Branding
A company that makes a quality product will proudly brand the item, and attempt to build a reputation on this brand. These brands are what often make an optic unique in both form and function. Typically a company producing a quality product will not attempt to steal thunder from another company. No clone has ever been as reliable as its original. If a company will proudly brand their item, and back it with a good warranty, you can typically assume it’s a good optic, and if it isn’t it’s backed by a real warranty.

Investments
Optics are investments. They are like firearms, they are not disposable and should last as long as your rifle. When you pay into a good rifle you are investing into a quality piece of gear that will return on your investment with deer slain, competitions won, and potentially lives saved.

This post has been published in co-operation with rifleopticsworld.com, written by Almo Gregor.