MOA, I just watched the video on this site

[DennisH]

I am all confused now!

You adjust your scope 1 MOA (4 clicks on a 1/4 turret adjustment) which is 1" @ 100 yds.

How many inches does 1 MOA adjustment (4 clicks) equal on your 600 yd target?

 

[fullersson]

At 100 yards 1 inch is 1 MOA
At 200 yards 2 inches is 1 MOA
At 300 yards 3 inches is 1 MOA
At 400 yards 4 inches is 1 MOA
At 500 yards 5 inches is 1 MOA
At 600 yards 6 inches is 1 MOA

And it goes on from their following the same pattern. The actual number for MOA 1.047 in. instead of 1 in. I only tell you this because someone will come on here and tell you I was wrong on MOA. Everyone I know calls MOA and inch just because it is so close to an inch that it doesn't matter.

I'll give you and example at 1000 yards 10 inches is 1 MOA. Actually at a 1000 yards 10.47 inches is 1 MOA. Now if you can shoot well enough to tell a .47 inch difference at 1000 yards you're a lot better wind doper than I am. Hope this helps, Brian.

 

[BoydAllen]

To amplify, in the shooting world, MOA stands for (is an acronym representing) minute of angle. The information that you may be missing, that can cause confusion is as follows. A circle may be divided into 360 degrees. Each of those degrees may be divided into 60 minutes (1/60 degree), and each of those minutes may divided (as with time) into 60 seconds (1/60 of a minute, or 1/360 of a degree). What we are dealing with is a very small acute (less than 90 degree) angle, and like all such, the distance between the two lines (not precisely the correct usage of the word) that form the angle increases, as the distance from where they meet increases. The farther out you go,, the wider the gap. If you double the distance from where they come together, the distance between them doubles, and so forth.

Inside the scope, is a tube that contains lenses, that is tied to the main (outside) tube at one end with a pivoting joint. It is called the erector tube, because one of the things that it does is turn the image right side up. Somewhere near the other end of the erector tube, one or more springs push it against horizontal and vertical adjusting screws, that are part of what are referred to as the scopes turrets. Turning either or both of these screws changes the ANGLE of the erector tube relative to the outside of the scope, and because that is fixed to the action, to the center line of the barrel. The point of all of this is that when we adjust a scope, we are making an ANGULAR adjustment, and angles get wider the farther we get from their hypotenuse ( where the lines, rays, or segments intersect).

Another thing that comes in handy, when shooting, or sighting in at distances less than 100 yards, is knowing that the value of a given adjustment decreases from its 100 yd. value. If you are shooting at 50 yards, an adjustment that would give 1/4" at 100 yd. will give 1/8". At 25 yd", the same adjustment will give 1/16".

When answering a question, it is hard to know how much the questioner already knows, and there is also the issue of many others reading the answer. If all of this is too simple, please don't be insulted. That is not what I intend at all.

Boyd Allen