The good news is that since air rifles are not known for their reach, it helps narrow down our options a fair bit. For your convenience, I have here a list of five rifle scopes for you if you want to squeeze that extra bit of accuracy.
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1. Nikko Sterling Mountmaster 4×40
While it is easy to be convinced that you need to shell out a ton of cash to get a good scope, that is not necessarily the case. Of course, if you cheap out on a scope, you are getting what you pay for but there is no need to break the bank to get a solid scope. Especially in the air gun field, you do not need a premium one to do well. You just need it to cover the basics and you will be good to go.
One such scope is the Nikko Stirling Mountmaster 4×40. While Nikko also makes high-end scopes, when they turn their attention to producing affordable ones, they are not pulling any punches. They did an excellent job in making a budget scope that performs exceedingly well.
While the tube is only one inch paired with a 40mm objective lens, it performs well enough in low-light conditions. The lenses are surprisingly high-quality, allowing for admirable image clarity. The illuminated reticle is your basic dot and dash mildot and half mildot. The parallax adjustment comes down to 10 yards but the adjustment is located on the collar on the objective lens, which is the only downside I can come up with.
2. The MTC King Cobra 6-24×50
MTC is known for its high-quality scopes, so it is difficult to pick just one of them to put on this list. Although, since I had to pick one, I would stand by the King Cobra 6-24×50. While the magnification does not matter m as much because air rifles have a shorter reach, the extra zoom can be useful when you can squeeze a bit more output from your airgun.
The 30mm tube is coupled with the 50mm objective lends, which allows in plenty of light during low-light conditions in addition to perfect image clarity regardless of the magnification level. The SCB2 reticle comes with plenty of aim points in mildots and half dot that help with holdover. The reticle has a brightness control that is easy to work with, and the side parallax adjustment wheel comes down to about 15 yards. The exposed turrets are lockable and can be manipulated easily. They produce sharp and audible clicks.
3. The MTC Mamba Pro
While the scopes you find on the market are getting increasingly complex, it is refreshing to see those that are simple and straightforward. The MTC Mamba Pro does not have all the bells and whistles compared to its counterparts, but it does what you need a scope to do, and it does a very good job at it.
You get to choose from three magnification options. 2-12x, 3-18x, and 5-30x. All these options are coupled with a 30mm tube and 50mm objective lens. Again, airgunners might find it more comfortable operating at a lower magnification level.
At a glance, the Mamba Pro looks a lot like the Viper Pro, but the Mamba has a smaller profile when you look at the turrets. The Mamba also features finger turn turrets instead of the coin slot kind on the Viper Pro. The SCB2 reticle has half and full dot markings. The lines at the bottom half help with holdover placement. Finally, you get a set of screw-on magnetic scope covers.
4. Hawke Sidewinder 30 FFP 4-16×50
Many airgunners own a Hawke scope, maybe more than that. This is not your typical trend where people buy the same thing because everybody else is doing it. Hawke’s popularity is well-founded. Their scopes are very solid and they do pretty much everything you would want in a scope. The range is quite generous, making this the scope that fulfills every role.
This high-performance scope comes in a compact and light bundle with its 30mm chassis, 50mm objective lens. The lens itself is coated in 18 layers, allowing the perfect image clarity and superior performance in low-light conditions. The reticle comes with six-step illumination and parallax adjustment, which you can access on the side. The dials turn nice and smooth.
The magnification ring is textured and you can slap on a throw lever if you want to work in low-light conditions. Zeroing is a breeze because of the lockable turrets with defined clicks at 1/10 MRAD. The window on the top turret also gives you a nice view of the turret’s position, which is a nice touch. When it comes to the reticle, you get the FFP Half Mil that has half mil spaced markings out to five mildots in all four directions. There is also windage crosses on the lower section if you need more information.
5. Hawke Airmax 30 SF 3-12×50
Many scope manufacturers have been neglecting the airgun community for quite some time. That means, airgunners have to make do with scopes that are designed for real firearms, and it can get a bit frustrating. However, Hawke is aware of its popularity in the community and has come forward with a really solid scope designed for airgunners.
The 30mm tube and 40mm objective lens allows in plenty of light and the side parallax comes down to about 9 meters. The image clarity is perfect thanks to the multi-coated lenses and it stays clear in low-light conditions if you slap on night vision and other add-on gears. The AMX reticle is illuminated, designed specifically for air gunners. It offers ample aim points such as half mildots lines for holdovers, but they managed to keep the clutter to a minimum. The lockable turrets are also a really nice touch and you can adjust them precisely.
