I’ll probably get beat up for this, but why are some guys so concerned about how the clicks feel on a scope? I don’t do a ton of dialing, but when I do, I spin the turret to the number I want and shoot. As long as it stays where I spin it to, I’m happy. Serious question for the guys who do it all the time; am I missing something?
Rifle Scopes Why is the “feel” of clicks so important?
- Thread starter tlear
- Start date
Well it’s always nice to be able to stay in the scope and dial and feel that I dialed the 1.2 up I needed without having to come off the scope
Because I paid damn near half a stack for a scope, it should be perfect.
It's easier to count nice clicks. I don't like vague clicks that make me wonder if that was 1,3 or 1,4.
I also like nice mechanical action, of all descriptions. It's satisfying. "It feels good" drives a whole lot of purchasing decisions...
I also like nice mechanical action, of all descriptions. It's satisfying. "It feels good" drives a whole lot of purchasing decisions...
Past a certain point, it’s basically the equivalent of aesthetics.
Clicks need to be distinct enough to count when needed (such as at night). Past that is personal preference.
For example, all other things being equal, you won’t shoot better with a tangent theta vs a razor gen 2 because the theta feels better.
Clicks need to be distinct enough to count when needed (such as at night). Past that is personal preference.
For example, all other things being equal, you won’t shoot better with a tangent theta vs a razor gen 2 because the theta feels better.
Definitely makes quick target acquisition easier when you can feel what you are dialing without having to come off the scope. Not to mention the extra peace of mind knowing that you can feel what you are seeing and not second guessing what you dialed.
Somewhere in the $1000 dollar range and up, the turret feel differs a whole lot less. I want to be able to feel how many clicks I'm turning without going up, and I want to be confident I'm firmly adjusted to that click. Step down into the cheap Chinesium scopes you get out of a vending machine and you start questioning "did I dial .5 or .6 mils?" then when you lift your head, you're somewhere in the .55 range because the detents are so damn weak or your shit doesn't line up.
I'm picky about but my clicks TBH. Having said that a more practical application where they serve a purpose is in my dad's case. He's 63, eyesight isn't what it used to be. When the sun starts to set during hunting season he counts his clicks on the V6 dial because he can't see the numbers. I wish i had gotten him an ATACR 4-16 with that huge elevation knob and prints on it, then again he doesn't like FFP and prefers plain duplex.
There’s no way your shots will be faster if you’re feeling without looking. At night if you aren’t able to light up, you may have to. But that’s when the necessity trumps speed. And if you’re in situations that require this, you’re better off with MTC that allow you to dial to the nearest whole mil and then make a small holdover or under from there.
And as far as second guessing what you see, I’m not even sure what that means. If I dial to 7 mils I’m not thinking “wait, that didn’t feel tactile, am I actually at 7mils?”
There’s very few situations where the need to stay on glass while you count clicks fairly slow is going to be a better option than taking a couple seconds to look up. Not to mention you can usually do it if you have both eyes open anyway.
Im a big fan of the MTC/heavy clicks for many of the reasons listed above, yet they are a disappearing feature.
I shoot night a lot. Like every night.
With FFp being what it is, and the night being 100 different conditions, you can’t always see your hold over reticle.
As such, we run a lot of MTC stuff for shit nights.
With FFp being what it is, and the night being 100 different conditions, you can’t always see your hold over reticle.
As such, we run a lot of MTC stuff for shit nights.
Good tacticle clicks are usually an indicator of repeatability and quality. You are turning a screw up and down with the turret so if the clicks are mushy and have a lot of play in them I wouldn't be sure if it really made the adjustment I wanted. But as it was said, every scope starting from the mid range should give you an adequate quality adjustment.
It's not just the feel of the clicks but also how "secure" the clicks are and how loose the knobs are between clicks. Many cheap scopes might have clicks you can hear/feel but the knobs are very stiff, sometimes due to thick grease, other times with o-rings etc. and what happens is the adjustment knobs don't "settle" into the notch of the click. In other words you can easily get a "half click" adjustment where you think you stop when you feel the click, but in reality you go a bit past and instead of the knob settling into the click notch, it's stiff and floats between them. I call this a "muddy" adjustment, but you can still have solid feeling clicks/notches and have this issue.
I feel like many of the lower quality scopes do this, they are getting better with clicks you can feel, but the adjustments are still "muddy"
I feel like many of the lower quality scopes do this, they are getting better with clicks you can feel, but the adjustments are still "muddy"
Personally I associate weak feeling clicks to poor quality. Not necessarily the truth since I've felt some high dollar scopes with spongy turrets, but that's just how my brain works.
I’m familiar. And I might have the correct equipment. 
I’m also pushing things to the very end of what’s possible - which isn’t something that folks who are recerting are doing.
Dialing has its uses.
I’m also pushing things to the very end of what’s possible - which isn’t something that folks who are recerting are doing.
Dialing has its uses.
On my Barska, I just shout out “Click! Click! Click! Click” when I turn the knobs.
I knew there was something wrong with you when the shit I kept getting from you in the mail kept coming in Sightmark and Barska boxes.
All good points, and what I offered are merely opinions at the end of the day.
As far as quicker target acquisition goes, my thought on this is that when/if you are in a high pressure situation it may be easier for some people to make a turret adjustment quickly and accurately when you can feel and see what you are dialing. Just an extra bit of confidence I guess.
Now my “second guessing” theory may be a bit out of context for this topic, but I and I’m sure most everyone here has been behind lower quality optics that have mushy turrets that when you make your turret adjustment you can’t feel shit and most of the time your turret markings don’t even line up. Again maybe more of peace of mind type of deal that a higher quality optic with “tactile” turret clicks gets you.
Like I said, these are probably more of an opinion than anything. And I would certainly agree that the most important, real world advantage of tactile clicks is going to be night shooting.
Going to play the Devil's Advocate here.
Although my personal preference is away from mushy turrets, I've come to realize that it doesn't matter.
I shoot with both eyes open always,, so I can see my turret without breaking cheek weld. I can see my data card attached to the side of my rifle without breaking cheek weld as well, which is why I dont run an armboard. For me its as simple as looking up, seeing my dope, and turning the dial. Its 100% visual, like I'm sure 99% of everyone else is.
My Satanic Advocacy is simply in support of the fact that we wrangle over turret feel simply be cause we nitpick and wrangle over everything.. at the end of the day, it doesn't impact performance.
Although my personal preference is away from mushy turrets, I've come to realize that it doesn't matter.
I shoot with both eyes open always,, so I can see my turret without breaking cheek weld. I can see my data card attached to the side of my rifle without breaking cheek weld as well, which is why I dont run an armboard. For me its as simple as looking up, seeing my dope, and turning the dial. Its 100% visual, like I'm sure 99% of everyone else is.
My Satanic Advocacy is simply in support of the fact that we wrangle over turret feel simply be cause we nitpick and wrangle over everything.. at the end of the day, it doesn't impact performance.
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A lot of scopes with "mushy" turrets are that way because of O-ring seals. The way you are sure the scope makes the adjustment you did, is by testing the results, not by feeling the clicks. Turret feel is preference and subjective, like reticle choice.
I just went on my first night vision shooting excursion last night (well first since the Army in the 80's) with my son and @jwknutson17 and the distinct clicks of Jake's Tangent Theta was very welcomed in the dark. We also mentioned how nice MTC would be as well, with the quality of the MTC in Schmidt's new DT II+ turrets, that has me wishing I bought another before the price hike that occurred this week.
Outside of night shooting, my motto used to be "as long as I can click accurately to my solution, and the mechanics are reliable and repeatable" then I do not need more. This was certainly the case with my older Minox ZP5, there was some play and clicks were not very distinct but I was able to dial where I wanted to go so it didn't bother me so much. But then I bought another ZP5 last year and the clicks were completely different, almost no play and very distinct, on par with Kahles. I quickly found that I gravitated toward the scope with the better clicks and soon sent my old ZP5 in for an "upgrade" under warranty, the clicks in the upgraded scope almost work better than the newer one. But do the more distinct clicks help me dial any better to my solution, I do not think so.
Moral of the story, I think that more distinct turret clicks are desired, but they do not make it any worse or any better than another set of turrets that are just as accurate but not as distinct for most of my shooting (which is daylight to low light), but if I get into night shooting more and more, then maybe I will think differently.
Outside of night shooting, my motto used to be "as long as I can click accurately to my solution, and the mechanics are reliable and repeatable" then I do not need more. This was certainly the case with my older Minox ZP5, there was some play and clicks were not very distinct but I was able to dial where I wanted to go so it didn't bother me so much. But then I bought another ZP5 last year and the clicks were completely different, almost no play and very distinct, on par with Kahles. I quickly found that I gravitated toward the scope with the better clicks and soon sent my old ZP5 in for an "upgrade" under warranty, the clicks in the upgraded scope almost work better than the newer one. But do the more distinct clicks help me dial any better to my solution, I do not think so.
Moral of the story, I think that more distinct turret clicks are desired, but they do not make it any worse or any better than another set of turrets that are just as accurate but not as distinct for most of my shooting (which is daylight to low light), but if I get into night shooting more and more, then maybe I will think differently.
I would say that all turrets are O-ring sealed. A mushy click can also be because of weak spring or because the ball or whatever does not sit properly in it's detent.
You are right that it does not necessarily mean that the adjustment is correct, but it is an indicator of how well the turret design is. If an O-Ring makes the clicks mushy, something went wrong.
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