MOA
Now we dive into what can confuse many shooters. MOA. This is an acronym for "Minute Of Angle". This might take a bit to click, but once you get it, you get it.
MOA is one of the two angular measurements we use in shooting. The other is MilliRADians (MRAD or MIL) which we will discuss later.
MOA or Minute Of Angle is an angular measurement, used in shooting, that represents 1/60th of one degree and is approximately 1 inch at 100 yards. One MOA creates a specific amount of bullet impact spread at a given distance, which increases with distance. If you project that angle out at the range, it turns out that it would equal ABOUT 1 inch at 100 yards. The actual measurement is 1.0472 inches at 100 yards.
Now, think of it like a flashlight. The cone gets bigger the further away you try to shine it. By 200 yards, 1 minute of angle is now measured at ABOUT 2 inches, and so forth. So, at 1000 yards, your single Minute of Angle is now 10 inches. The theory goes, if you can hit a 1 inch target at 100 yards, you should be able to hit a 10 inch plate at 1000 yards. Easier said than done, but that’s the fun of shooting. This is what shooters refer to as 1 MOA accuracy.
To simplify this down to one or two sentences, 1 MOA is 1 INCH at 100 yards. 1 MOA at 500 yards is 5 INCHES. If you can hit a 5 inch plate at 500 yards, you are shooting at 1 MOA accuracy.
So far, in the context of this explanation, we have ONLY referred to MOA as the size it represents as it projects outward from the barrel of your gun.
We can now discuss how MOA applies to your MOA rifle scope.
Some scopes have MOA adjustments while other scopes have MIL adjustments. (More on MIL in the next section.)
For the time being, we will discuss a scope with MOA adjustments, or simply, an MOA scope. The turrets of the MOA scope generally turn in 1/4 MOA "clicks". Assuming we are talking about a 100-yard range, a single click will alter the projectile's trajectory by a quarter inch. If you clicked 3 times, it would change by 3/4 of an inch. If you clicked 8 times, you would move that hit 2 inches.
Now let's talk about 1000 yards. One click (or 1/4 MOA) will move your point of impact 2.5 inches, 8 clicks (or 2 MOA) will move your point of impact 20 inches, and so on.
The good news is, you don't have to remember this, you will have a DOPE card or calculator that will tell you.