MOA stands for "Minute of Angle" and is an angular measurement used to help measure shooting in minutes since a bullet moves in an arc-shaped trajectory. Essentially, MOA is used to help compensate for bullet drop at varying distances. One MOA is 1/60th of a degree, and 1 MOA spreads about 1" per 100 yards. However, 1 MOA is a different size at different distances, and it gets bigger with distance. For example, 1" at 100 yards and 12" at 1200 yards are both 1 MOA. If you want to translate MOA to linear measurement to reach your target, youll need to do some basic math. Consider the rule that one MOA is equal to one inch at 100 yards. More accurately, the one inch is 1.047, but unless you are long-distance shooting, the inch measurement is rounded off.

MOA is commonly used with rifle scopes to help the shooter make adjustments to their scope so as to hit the target more accurately. Although the majority of retail scopes adjust in 1/4 MOA per click adjustments, some scopes adjust in 1/8, 1/2, or even 1 MOA per click. Once you know how many MOA to adjust, you can then make the adjustments on your particular scope.