can you use a rifle scope on a crossbow? is a question that many people who enjoy using a crossbow to shoot at their favorite targets, have asked themselves.
The answer to that question is Yes. But not a resounding yes because not every rifle scope can and should be used on a crossbow.
Crossbows carry a different design than rifles and mounting some scopes on them will make them challenging to use.
This article looks at what makes a rifle scope good to be used on a crossbow. It also differentiates the crossbow from the rifle and what qualities to look for in a rifle scope to determine whether it will work effectively with a crossbow.
Differences Between Rifles and Crossbows
Apart from the air rifle, any other rifle can aim at long distant targets of greater than 300 yards. The crossbow however fires over a short distance of about 75 to 150 yards. The rifle also gives a much higher recoil compared to the crossbow.
What Characteristics Make a Good Crossbow Scope
To determine whether the scope will be perfect for your crossbow, certain factors should be taken into consideration.
Reticle
A rifle scope to be effective on a crossbow should have a different reticle design that will compensate for the drop experienced over these short distances.
An effective reticle design on a crossbow scope is made up of descending range marks along the vertical reticle, each range mark denoting an increase in the range.
Objective lens diameter
A bigger objective lens on a rifle scope will allow in more light resulting in a brighter image, which is excellent for identifying distant targets. It’s not unusual to find a rifle scope with an objective lens diameter, of up to 56mm.
Crossbows, on the other hand, have a narrower body, therefore any riflescope with a diameter larger than 40mm might not fit. A 40mm diameter also allows for more than enough lighting to be used on close targets.
Magnification
Magnification multiplies the size of the image seen through the scope by ‘X’. For example, a 3x magnification enlarges it three times over the normally visible image.
It’s clear that distant targets require a higher magnification. This is the reason why some rifle scopes have as high as 25x magnification. To help the user make shots on targets more than 1500 yards out.
Rifle scopes are also complex and come with variable magnification, for example, 3.5-25x, which allows the user to simply adjust the magnification to the target. However, these scopes are heavier and more expensive than necessary for a crossbow.
Because a crossbow is for short range targets, a fixed magnification of a small digit like 3x is just fine.
Parallax
You don’t necessarily need a scope with parallax adjustment to use on a crossbow. Parallax adjustment is mostly useful on long-range targets ideally further than 600 yards. A crossbow scope can be used effectively when the parallax is set anywhere between 50 to 150 yards.
CONCLUSION
Yes, a rifle scope can be mounted on a crossbow but we have seen the qualities that are important when choosing the best scope for your crossbow. This is the most in-depth review of these qualities, all that is missing is a list of the best scopes that will work perfectly on a crossbow. The shooter should also rely on their skills not just on the capability of the scope.
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