A modern telescopic sight is a precision instrument, full of helpful features, but at its most basic level a scope has one simple role to play - it helps us point our airgun in a particular direction.
It doesn’t matter what type of shooting we're doing or what type of airgun we’re using, the principle is the same: a scope is a type of sighting system that will help ensure a pellet will fly through the air on a known trajectory and hit the intended target.
A telescopic sight, which can also be referred to as a ‘scope’ or an ‘optic’, is just one type of sighting system available to the shooter. Let’s take a quick look at the other kinds to understand the differences.
OTHER TYPES OF SIGHT
Open sights, which are also known as ’iron sights’, feature a foresight at or near the front of the barrel and a rear sight closer to the shooter’s eye. The system works by the shooter aligning a front element, usually a small post, inside a rectangular U- or V-shaped cut-out in the rear sight. When these two elements are correctly aligned, the barrel will be pointing in a very specific, controlled direction, and this is the key to any sighting system.
Aperture sights are similar to open sights, but instead of a notch, they use a fully enclosed element for the rear sight. This is typically a circle, but other shapes, such as squares or diamonds, can be used. The rear aperture sight, called a dioptre sight if the aperture is
