The second part of our gun accessories discussion on sights.  We’ll get right back to it with the telescopic sight.

Telescopic Sight (Scope), made by Trijicon

Telescopic Sight – This type of sight, often called a scope,  is best known for its use with sniper rifles.  The telescopic sight is similar to the reflex sight (see the previous article to read about the reflex sight) in design, but the telescopic sight allows for greater magnification, as the name suggests.

There are several components of a telescopic sight that can vary among different models.  Some of these characteristics include magnification, objective lens diameter, and field of view.  The magnification of a telescopic scope will usually have a range, such as 6 to 15 (six times to 15 times magnification).  These gun accessories are generally classified based on range of magnification and objective lens.  An example would be 4×24, which denotes 4x magnification and a 24mm lens. Like the reflex sight, some scopes require a mount.  The mount is attached directly onto the firearm, and the scope is attached to the mount.

Similar to the reflex sight, a telescopic sight has a reticle, which is a set of lines and/or a dot to aid the shooter in aiming.  You can get a scope made by Leupold at Impact Guns with a magnification range of 6 to 18 here.

Laser Sight

Laser Sight – Well this is definitely the coolest sight on the market, at least in terms of the concept.  Any futuristic sci fi movie has its share of laser technology in it, but this is laser being put to actual use.  The design of these sites is very simple (beyond actual laser technology).  A laser is attached to the barrel of the gun parallel to the direction of fire.  The shooter see where the gun is pointed visually from where the laser dot is located on or near the target.

There are some laser sights that are only visible with night vision goggles, making use of an infrared diode.  The benefit of these is only the shooter can see where the laser is pointed, preventing a live enemy (who may actually be the target) from seeing the laser.  These gun accessories are made for just about any type of firearm.

Tactical Light – Sometimes night vision goggles can be used on secret special forces missions that happen when it’s dark.  But when they can’t be used, gun-mounted lights are the alternative.  Just about any gun can be mounted with a light.  Many lights are made to fit with the Picatinny system — a standardized light mount system for firearms.  Here’s a light that can be used with several models of rifles.

Be sure to check out our other articles on military surplus gun accessories, and be watching in the near future for more articles on the topic.

Written by Craig Kent, member of the Best Military Surplus team.