Scoping it out

Joe Poole is nothing if not consistent. While shooters will tell you glass is much more important than the rifle on which it sits, Poole has found it unnecessary to spend big money on a scope.

“I’m ashamed to tell people how much I paid for my scope,” he chuckled. “I paid $250 for it.”

That leaves out Swarovski. Yep, Zeiss is out, too. One would be hard-pressed to even find a Leupold and Nikon in that price range.

Poole’s choice, amazingly, is one that is imported into the U.S. by Crossman (yep, the airgun company) for Walmart.

“It’s a rugged military-like scope,” he said.

The glass also is good, and the reticle system is perfect for bead on a deer hundreds of yards away.

“It’s got more mil-dots than other scopes, and it’s got 140 minutes of angle, and that really gives you a lot to work with,” Poole said.

While MOA is important to fine tuning during sight-in, the mil-dots are vital because this hunter doesn’t make adjustments to crosshairs: He uses the mil-dots that are placed along the horizontal and vertical crosshairs to determine impact point.

“When you’re hurrying up, you don’t have time to make adjustments,” Poole said.

He has practiced enough to know where the bullet will impact using each mil-dot, so he simply picks the appropriate dot and squeezes the trigger.

“The main crosshair is set at 100 yards, and then you start backing up 200, 300, 400 yards and see where each dot hits,” Poole said. “I know that 700 yards is between the third and fourth mil-dot.”

To get the best view possible of his target, Poole chooses the 8-32x56mm version built around a 30mm tube.

“It’s the biggest one they make,” he said.

However, he said he rarely zooms in past 18 power.

“Eighteen x is perfect,” Poole explained. “You can judge the deer real good; you can see all the features, and if (the deer) moves, you can move on him real quick.”

While higher-power settings allow closer looks at antlers, it also complicates the process of squeezing off a confident shot.

“Thirty-two x is unbelievable,” Poole said. “You can zoom in and look at the deer if you want, but as far as shooting, no way.”

That’s because the effects of heartbeats and breathing become so exaggerated that it’s pretty much impossible to keep the crosshairs still and finding a deer that has moved is incredibly difficult.

Of course, scope mounts are critical to provide the most-stable platform. For this, he turns to Weaver aluminum bases with tactical rings.

“All the experts recommend at least four screws per ring, and that Weaver has six screws per ring,” Poole explained. “A lot of people don’t like aluminum, but I’ve found aluminum is just as strong as steel, and it doesn’t rust.”