Rifle sights have greatly developed over the last several decades. There are basically 3 kinds, or generations, of sights used on rifles for focusing on your target.

The first of the three basic rifles sites is the open site. This has two focal points mounted on the rifle. The first is mounted close to the muzzle of the rifle and the second is mounted along the first third of the rifle. This open sight then requires the shooter to line up three focal planes with your target being the third focal point. Therefore the shooter needs to look down the barrel of the rifle, lining up all three focal points to get an accurate shot. As you can imagine this is not the simplest task and requires a lot of skill and training. The ability to perform this type of focus on your target gets more difficult as one’s age affects their eye site.

The second basic type of rifle sight is called the Aperture. This type uses a "peep sight" also known as a "rear sight" mounted to the rear of the barrel of the rifle. This reduces the focal plane to just two focal points rather than the three above. This is made possible as you look through the rear aperture, not at it, down the barrel of the rifle to your second focal point being your target. With some practice, this aperture can bring increased speed, accuracy and efficiency to your shooting.

The third basic type of rifle sight is the telescopic sight. This "scope" greatly reduces the eyes work as you look through the scope to focus only on one focal point being your target. As you can imagine, this scope will even further increase the efficiency and accuracy of your shot over the previous two types of sights described above. Just a few decades ago it was believed that the down side to telescopic sites was that they were not reliable or rugged enough. It is true that generations ago "scopes" did not stand up well to weather conditions as the clarity was affected. They did not stand up well to much impact of a rough terrain or to the snagging of getting caught up in thick bush.

These down sides of years ago are no longer true. Scopes have become just as sturdy, if not even more so, as the aperture peep sites. Modern scopes are dependable tools that can withstand knocks and snagging and can be trusted to maintain their accuracy or to remain in "zero". A well-made, simple, rear scope mounted on a quarter rib or sturdy steel base is virtually indestructible. With these new generation scopes or "optics", there is greater chance of something going awry with your rifle than with the scope.