When looking for a hunting rifle scope, it is important to first review a number of facts about what the important needs are in the hunting scope itself. The main aim (no pun intended) of a hunting rifle scope is to provide the following:

· To assist the hunter in obtaining an accurate target on the prey

· To help determine distance from the hunter to the target

· To facilitate the process of locating the prey in the first place

· To potentially help the hunter deal with low light hunting conditions

One must seriously consider two major areas when evaluating the purchase of a hunting rifle scope: Performance features, and cost. Going hand-in-hand with each other, one can consider purchasing an entry level hunting scope in the couple of hundred dollar range up to exceptionally sophisticated scopes costing thousands of dollars. Aside from budget and performance features, a hunter should also take the terrain that they intend to hunt in into serious consideration as well.

A hunting rifle scope as a targeting aide

When one begins to review all of the different styles of scopes available on the market today, the primary purpose of the scope should never play second fiddle to the other features. The primary purpose of the scope is to aim the rifle accurately. The better the optics that the hunting scope has, the better your sight on the target will be. Many options (including laser) are available outside of the traditional cross-hairs for targeting, so a thorough review of these different targeting methods should be researched prior to finalizing your purchase.

A rifle scope as an aide to determine distance to the target

One can never forget about the troublesome effects of the ever present "law of gravity." Simple physics dictates that the effect of gravity over time will impact the trajectory of the bullet, so the longer the shot, the more adjustment that needs to be made when firing on the target. Most hunting rifle scopes will have features that will help you compensate for this before making the shot.

Using the hunting scope as a spotting scope

One might want to pay close attention to the ease in which the hunting scope can be detached from and reattached to the rifle for easier use as a spotting tool. Constantly trying to find prey by looking down the end of the barrel is not what you are going to want to do. By detaching the scope to use as a sighting scope in a much more comfortable fashion will greatly enhance your ability to locate prey and enjoy your hunting experience.

Helping to deal with low light hunting conditions

The better the optics contained in the scope, the more you are going to have to pay for the hunting rifle scope. There is a price for quality. Scopes today can be purchased with night vision capabilities to further assist locating and targeting prey in low light conditions such as dawn and dusk. There are night vision scopes that will also allow for some spotting and hunting under moonlight conditions as well.