The Guts of a Leupold Scope

OK. Listen up class. This here is how a Leupold (and virtually all other brands) rifle scope works. As you know, the purpose of a scope is to make it easier for you to hit the thing at which you are aiming. Essentially, a scope is designed to deliver as much pure light as possible to a shooter's eye. Light rays bouncing off the target image go into the objective lens at the front of the scope and are magnified.

The target image comes into the scope upside down and enlarged, like in the old-time Brownie cameras. The erector lens system, cleverly built in to the middle portion of the scope's main tube by ingenious engineers, magnifies and turns the upside-down image right-side up. Obviously, however, it doesn't stay that way. There is another lens at the rear of the scope that magnifies the target image further. It is this lens that shoots the target image and the central aiming point, known as the reticle (reticule) or "crosshairs", to the shooter's eye. Bam! Any questions? Class dismissed.