How Do Rifle Scope Turrets Work?

How Do Rifle Scope Turrets Work?

It's no secret that a rifle scope has click adjustment turrets needed for accurate shooting. When a shooter sits behind his rifle and shoots past his zero distance, he has to make a decision whether to use the drop reticle or adjust clicks with his rifle scope turret. Learning how to use any rifle scope turret out in the field will take hours to understand their click value adjustment farther out you shoot. The shooter will then have to run ballistics to determine which value to dial to per shooting yardage. 

At Kenton Industries, we take pride in mastering this, and over 20 years ago we created a revolutionary product that not only eliminates any confusion but will also allow the shooter to hit his target much faster. Our custom scope turrets are designed for ease of use, swift adjustments, and enhanced shooting accuracy. Calibrated for your specific rifle, ammunition, elevation, and temperature, you can expect consistent performance regardless of environmental differences and shooting distance.

Back to Basics: Understanding Rifle Scope Turrets

Turrets are key components in the mechanism of a rifle scope, assisting shooters to accurately aim at their targets. Their primary function is to adjust the point of impact by altering the reticle’s position in relation to the target. The two primary adjustment turrets found on most scopes are for windage (horizontal adjustment) and elevation (vertical adjustment).

The elevation turret on a rifle scope is found at the top and is used to adjust the bullet's point of impact based on each shooting distance. Each click on the turret moves the bullet's point of impact a certain amount, typically measured in minutes of angle (MOA) or milliradians (also known as MRAD or MILS), depending on the scope. When the elevation turret is adjusted, it physically moves the reticle inside the scope, raising or lowering it in reference to the shooter's point of view. When you are shooting a further distance, the reticle will move down inside which naturally brings your barrel up looking through the scope.

The windage turret, located on the side of the scope, adjusts the bullet's point of impact left or right. It works in the same way as the elevation turret, with each click representing a specific measure of adjustment. This lets the shooter compensate for the wind effect on the bullet's trajectory.

MILS vs. MOA Scopes: Which is Better?

MILS (milliradians) and MOA (Minute of Angle) are units of angle measurement used in rifle scopes to adjust for bullet drop over distance and to correct for wind drift. They fundamentally help in estimating adjustments needed for accurate long-range shots by a shooter.

MILS is traditionally found in scopes that are primarily designed for tactical or military use. A MIL is a unit based on the radian system of angular measurement, and if you imagine a circle then it has 6,283.6 mils. MILS give the shooter a .1 MRAD adjustment per click at 100 yards which translates to just about .36 inches. MILS are often used by professionals because they can be utilized more universally across different range estimations and ballistic charting.

On the other hand, MOA stands for "Minute of Angle," and it's a unit of measurement used for spherical coordinates or angular measurement. A MOA click value gives the shooter a .25MOA adjustment at 100 yards which translates to .25 inches. This makes conversions a bit easier. 

Both MILS and MOA are used to correct aim and account for changes in distance, wind, and ballistic characteristics in order to increase shooting accuracy. The choice between the two usually comes down to personal preference, the nature of the shooting (military, hunting, sport), or the specific shooting conditions. Many American hunters and sport shooters typically prefer MOA because of its relatability to inches and yards, while military and tactical shooters might lean towards MILS due to its universal translation between metric and imperial units of measure.

Regardless of whether your rifle scope is based on MILS or MOA, our Kenton custom scope turrets are designed to replace your factory turret and provide faster adjustments and more consistency since they are tailor-made to your specific needs and preferences.

How Do Kenton Custom Scope Turrets Work?

Think of the last time you were hunting or competition shooting and ran out of time hitting your target, or even worse, getting too confused by the ballistics. This even happens to the most advanced shooters in challenging situations. At Kenton Industries, we eliminate all of these issues. 

First, our custom turrets are unique in that they are a yards-to-yards conversion - not an MOA or MRAD-to-yards conversion. Second, with our proprietary ballistic program, we run the ballistics for you, collect the proper field data based on all your shooting variables, and convert it to a yardage custom turret. With a yardage custom turret your shooting will result in faster adjustments – just range your target, dial the appropriate yardage, and shoot! 

Order Your Custom Scope Turret from Kenton Industries

Kenton Industries was the first to produce this revolutionary product, and we are proud to say we are the leader in custom yardage turrets. To clarify, we are not claiming it's “our way or the highway,” in fact, we encourage every shooter to master long-range ballistics. However, we do guarantee faster shooting adjustment, customized for every shooter’s different ballistic variables when you use a Kenton turret.

Whether it be for your next hunt or a competition, our custom scope turrets are the surefire way to outshoot the competition. We offer custom turrets for just about every major brand including Trijicon, Nightforce, Leupold, Vortex, and more. If you happen to have a rifle scope that doesn’t allow for turret replacement, we also offer custom ballistic strips as an alternative, but equally effective option.  

Visit our website to order your custom turret or contact us with any questions and we’ll be happy to help.

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