One MOA (Minute of Angle) equals about 1.047 inches at 100 yards — near enough to one inch for practical use, and it scales with distance: roughly half an inch at 50 yards, a quarter inch at 25. In metric that is 29 mm at 100 m, which is the figure to work from on a British range. That single fact lets you work out how much of the target your dot covers and how far each turret click moves your point of impact. New to the term? Start with what is MOA, explained simply.
How much does your dot cover at distance?
The figures below show roughly how many inches a dot of each size covers at common ranges in yards — useful for picking a dot size and understanding precision. The same figures in metres and millimetres follow underneath.
| Dot size | 25 yd | 50 yd | 100 yd | 200 yd |
| 1 MOA | 0.3 in | 0.5 in | 1.0 in | 2.1 in |
| 2 MOA | 0.5 in | 1.0 in | 2.1 in | 4.2 in |
| 3.25 MOA | 0.9 in | 1.7 in | 3.4 in | 6.8 in |
| 6 MOA | 1.6 in | 3.1 in | 6.3 in | 12.6 in |
| 8 MOA | 2.1 in | 4.2 in | 8.4 in | 16.8 in |
And the same coverage in millimetres at metric distances, which is what you will actually be shooting on a UK range. One MOA covers 29 mm at 100 m.
| Dot size | 25 m | 50 m | 100 m | 200 m |
| 1 MOA | 7 mm | 15 mm | 29 mm | 58 mm |
| 2 MOA | 15 mm | 29 mm | 58 mm | 116 mm |
| 3.25 MOA | 24 mm | 47 mm | 95 mm | 189 mm |
| 6 MOA | 44 mm | 87 mm | 175 mm | 349 mm |
| 8 MOA | 58 mm | 116 mm | 233 mm | 465 mm |
Smaller dots (1–2 MOA) cover less of the target for precision; bigger dots (6–8 MOA) are faster to find up close but obscure more at distance. See how this plays out by use case in our best pistol red dot sights guide.
Click values: how far does one click move?
Most optics adjust in 1 MOA or 1/2 MOA clicks. Because MOA scales with distance, the same click moves your point of impact less at shorter range. This table shows roughly how many clicks shift your zero one inch at yard distances; the metric version follows it:
| Click value | 25 yd | 50 yd | 100 yd |
| 1/2 MOA | ~8 clicks | ~4 clicks | ~2 clicks |
| 1 MOA | ~4 clicks | ~2 clicks | ~1 click |
In metric it is easier to read the other way round — here is how far one click moves your point of impact at metric distances:
| Click value | 25 m | 50 m | 100 m |
| 1/2 MOA | 3.6 mm | 7.3 mm | 14.5 mm |
| 1 MOA | 7.3 mm | 14.5 mm | 29.1 mm |
So to shift your group 10 cm at 100 m you need about seven 1/2 MOA clicks, or about three and a half 1 MOA clicks.
So if you're zeroing at 25 yards with 1/2 MOA clicks and need to move impact one inch, that's about eight clicks — not two. Ready to set yours up? Follow our mount and zero guide.
MOA vs MRAD
MOA's main rival is MRAD (milliradians), where 1 MRAD ≈ 3.6 inches at 100 yards (0.1 MRAD ≈ 0.36 inch per click). MRAD is far tidier in metric: 1 MRAD is exactly 100 mm at 100 m, and one 0.1 MRAD click is exactly 10 mm at 100 m, which is why most metric-country shooters prefer it. Neither is more accurate — pick the one your reticle and turrets use and stick with it. More on this in our MOA guide.
Metric equivalents used on British ranges
Almost every optic sold anywhere is graduated in MOA or MRAD and almost every published table is in yards and inches, because the manufacturers are American. British ranges are laid out in metres. The yard figures are kept on this page because they are what the turret caps and the manufacturers' manuals say, but here is the conversion you need at the firing point.
| Yards | Metres | 1 MOA covers |
| 25 yd | 22.9 m | 7.3 mm at 25 m |
| 50 yd | 45.7 m | 14.5 mm at 50 m |
| 100 yd | 91.4 m | 29.1 mm at 100 m |
| 200 yd | 182.9 m | 58.2 mm at 200 m |
| 300 yd | 274.3 m | 87.3 mm at 300 m |
The two numbers worth memorising are 1 MOA ≈ 29 mm at 100 m and 1 inch = 25.4 mm. Everything else falls out of those. Note that a 100 m range is about 9% longer than a 100 yd range, so a click moves proportionally further — close enough to ignore on a red dot, and not close enough to ignore when you are dialling a scope at distance. The same yard-to-metre table applies to zero distances, which we cover in the red dot zero distance chart.
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Frequently asked questions
Is 1 MOA exactly 1 inch at 100 yards?
Not quite — it's 1.047 inches. The one-inch approximation is close enough for almost all practical shooting.
What dot size should I choose?
2 MOA is a great all-rounder; 1 MOA favours precision/distance; 6 MOA favours fast close-range pickup, popular on carry pistols.
How do I convert clicks to inches?
Multiply the click MOA by 1.047, then by (distance in yards ÷ 100). A 1/2 MOA click ≈ 0.26 inch at 50 yards. In metric, multiply the click MOA by 29.1 mm, then by (distance in metres ÷ 100) — so a 1/2 MOA click moves about 7.3 mm at 50 m and 14.5 mm at 100 m.
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