4 - 12 power scope ?

[rebs]

If you shoot on the 300 yd range with 12 power and then move to the 50 yd range do you turn the power down or keep it at 12 power ?

 

[Guilty]

The power setting can remain at 12x power but you should reset the parallax setting on your scope when you change the distance of the target if your scope has this ability. The power variable is a magnifier so it allows you see your target better at the 12x power compared to 4x power.

 

[rebs]

what if your scope does not have parallax adjustment ?

 

[Guilty]

Then you only have the factory parallax setting which is typically set at 100 yards. Here are a couple informative articles and discussions:
http://www.eabco.com/Reports/report01.html
http://www.opticstalk.com/what-exactly-is-parallax-anyway_topic5026.html

 

[jmr40]

I tend to use my scopes highest magnification setting to zero and shoot at all ranges beyond about 100 yards. At ranges less than 100 yards I use the lowest magnification. I NEVER touch anything else. Parallax is is only an issue at longer ranges. I keep the scope on the lowest setting while hunting, if a close shot comes up parallax just isn't an issue inside of 100 yards. If a longer shot presents its self there will almost always be time to change the scopes settings, not often the case if you have scope set on 5X-12X and a 30 yard shot comes up suddenly.

Also, even with very good scopes the point of impact may change slightly as the magnification is changed. Just using the most and least magnification removes a lot of possible variables.