How to Adjust a Rifle Scope Left and Right – Full Guide with Tips, FAQs & More

Before you’re ready to use a scope effectively on a rifle, you need to adjust it properly. 

There are a number of different adjustments involved in making a rifle scope ready for shooting. 

Windage Adjustments 

When we talk about “adjusting the scope left and right”, we generally refer to the windage adjustment of the rifle scope. 

The windage adjustment affects the position of the reticle (crosshair) inside the scope. This position can be adjusted by turning the windage turret. 

The windage turret is a knob located on the right side of the riflescope and can be turned forward or back towards you. 

Moving the knob forwards moves the reticle to the right and moving it backward moves the reticle to the left. 

If you simply shoot a bullet without adjusting the windage, it’s not going to give you an accurate representation of where the bullet is gonna go. 

Thus, it’s important to try it out and observe how the reticle needs to be adjusted. 

If your bullets are going to the right, then you should move the knob forwards. If your bullets are going to the left, then you should move the knob backward towards you. 

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Terms and Units Involved 

Every single tick of the windage adjustment turret represents one unit. 

Each unit, known as a click, is used to measure the trajectory of the bullet in MOA (Minute of Angles) and it is expressed in inches. 

Another unit you may come across to measure clicks is MRAD or MIL. 

In most cases, it’s most convenient to have a scope whose adjustments are all in the same units of measure. 

Note: If you want to gain information about What AOEG Scope Means click HERE.

Turrets and How They Work

The number and types of turrets you’ll have on your rifle can vary depending on the manufacturer, model, price, and type of rifle scope. 

The general purpose of turrets is to “sight in” or “zero in” your rifle scope. The process of “zeroing in” your scope essentially ensures that the reticle is indeed pointing in the exact scope where the bullet will go. 

To fully understand how turrets work, it’s important to familiarize yourself with different terminologies used when setting up turrets. 

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Target Turrets 

Target turrets are the most precise types of turrets currently available on the market. 

Target turrets allow you to make extremely precise and minute adjustments, which enables you to hit your bullets dead center on your target. 

The adjustments for target turrets are generally measured in MOA. 

Identifying features of target turrets include their size and the extremely small adjustment scale on them which provides adjustments into a fraction of an inch. 

Target turrets are typically not ideal for hunting situations. This is because their adjustment(s) can be easily ruined by even a small bump, rub, or scratch. 

Ballistic Turrets

Ballistic turrets make much larger adjustments per click compared to target turrets. 

Moreover, ballistic turrets are the ideal choice for hunters and field shooters. 

This is because it enables them to adjust for targets quickly by making big sweeping changes rather than having to be too precise with smaller changes. 

They also often come with caps. You can cap them to ensure that their adjustments are not accidentally changed due to bumping or rubbing against surfaces. 

You’ll notice that these types of turrets are raised and are typically made in 100-yard increments. 

This makes them much easier and quicker to work with; perfect for hunters. 

Note: If you want to know What a Cantilever Scope Mount click HERE.

Fingertip Adjustable Turrets

Fingertip adjustable turrets, as the name suggests, can be easily adjusted by the tip of your finger. 

They are much smaller and are meant for making adjustments on the go. It allows you to make big changes to the scope settings with small movements. 

Fingertip adjustable turrets are available as both ballistic well as target turrets. 

Coin-Style Turrets

Coin-style turrets are fairly narrow and they cannot be turned just using your fingers. 

They have small indentations where you can fit a tool around to turn it. 

Coin-style turrets are more common in target turrets. 

Capped Turrets

Capped turrets are larger in size but they can be turned using both your fingers or a specific tool. 

As the name suggests, these types of turrets can be capped to prevent any chance of accidental adjustment. 

Of course, capped turrets are available in both ballistic and target turret variants. 

Resetting Turrets to Zero 

This functionality is available in higher-end, relatively expensive scopes and not in lower-end scopes. 

It’s a really handy feature that allows you to avoid confusion. 

Once you have “sighted in” your scope and all of the adjustments have been correctly made. 

You can utilize this function to turn all of the turrets to zero (without any of your reticle settings being adjusted). 

The benefit of this is that if you have to later change the settings for a specific shot, you can do so without having to keep track of the changes that you made. 

Then, once you have made the shot and want to go back to your “default settings”, you can change the turrets back to zero. 

So, if you didn’t have resettable turrets, you would have to keep track of all of the changes in order to go back to your default settings. 

It’s a major headache that resettable turrets completely eliminate. 

Wrapping Things Up… 

We hope you now have a better understanding of how to adjust your windage settings as well as how different types of turrets work. 

If you have further questions regarding rifle scope adjustment, let us know in the comments below.

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