I am a scope expert!

O

Ozzieman

New member
I am a scope expert! I can look through a scope with the best of them,,, shooting is another thing entirely.
I have a bolt action pistol caliber rifle with a 3X9 scope. I have good days and bad days with the gun.
Thursday was one of those BAD days. I couldn’t hold 4 inch groups at 50 yards, yet with a peep sighted 22 I was holding sub 1 inch groups.
I could shoot two rounds and they would be touching and the next 3 would be all over the place.
A good friend that I consider a knowledgeable gun person came over to talk and I told him of the problem that I had.
He looked at the scope and said “It's your parallax for that scope, that manufacture has it at 200+ yards.”
I thought Parallax had more to do with focusing at different ranges.
His explanation was that with a parallax at 200 yards when you shoot under 100 yards, like 50 yards, small amounts of change in the eye’s location would move the point of aim where as longer than 100 it wouldn’t be a problem.
Personally I thought he was nuts.
I picked up the gun and looked through the scope and moved my head in very small movements in relation to the scope and ,,, sure as heck the cross hairs would move several inches on the target. This was with the gun held on the bench so that it would not move.
At 100 yards or more even at 9X the movement was not noticeable.
Once again my expertise!
He then told me that a friend the previous year had the same problem with the same scope and the company that manufactures the scope for only 35$ will change the parallax to shorter distances.
I shot the gun again but this time spent more concentration on aligning the center of the cross hairs to the center of the scope and made sure my head was in the same location on the gun on each round.
5 rounds fired,,, 4 touching and one,,,, don’t know if it was me or the scope alignment.
I then moved my head and shot one round each at the extreme corners of the scope, left, right, top and bottom, but with a clear view through the scope. 8 inch group with each round exactly where I expected it to be.
Monday the scope is going back to the manufacture (Redfield) to be modified for pistol caliber ranges.
For those of you that are Scope experts of my level the following is a good simple description of parallax and its effects.
This now places me in the expert level of,,, a frog.


http://thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/06/foghorn/ask-foghorn-rifle-scope-parallax/
 
When going for accuracy, parallax is a big issue. Even with adjustable parallax scopes, most likely you dont adjust it to be perfectly parallax free. Thats why some people shoot at lower magnifications slightly better than high magnifications. Magnification multiplies parallax error.

The best way to fix this for rifles is to get a cheek pad so that when you full rest your head on the rifle, thats the position your shooting from. Consistent cheek weld as they call it.... On pistols thats a whole different story, I have no experience in them.
 
Yeah it sux when you find out about parallax and there ain't a lot you can do about it.

But then you know and you are more conscious about it, and you will shoot better because you are more consistent with position
 
In addition to learning about scopes,a good,consistent cheek weld is a component of better shooting.If you hold and cheek the rifle the same way each time,it will shoot better regardless of sights.Recoil begins before the bullet leaves the barrel.If you are shooting 1 in groups at 50 yds with a peep,just use similar technique with the scope.

I do not know exactly what range your scope is plx set for,but,at least the error gets smaller,all the way to that range.You might shoot real good at 150,and plenty good at 50,with technique.
 
Thats number 1 in regards to rifle shooting,,,, the service calls it steady position, but I include cheek weld within that.;)
 
fwiw: I really don't know of any 200-yard parallax off-the-rack scope (unless, of course, it has AO.) Redfield's 4-12X, let alone the 3-9, probably doesn't have parallax fixed @ over 100 yds.
 
This may be why my scope on my Savage has given me poor results... I'll have to be more conscientious about this next time, see if I can get some decent groups.
 
fwiw: I really don't know of any 200-yard parallax off-the-rack scope (unless, of course, it has AO.) Redfield's 4-12X, let alone the 3-9, probably doesn't have parallax fixed @ over 100 yds.

I've never heard of a fixed parallax scope set at 200 yards. 100 is the virtual standard, I've only ever seen 50 and 100.
I agree but a low power scope I have on a contender at 50 yards doesn’t have the same problem, as long as you’re close to center it will hit point of aim.
I also found it odd that a 3X9 would be set for +200 yards.
I have sent Redfield a question and a request for modifying the scope, as long as there is any truth to this.
 
I'll be curious to hear their answer, especially an explanation as to why such a thing would make sense to them in the first place.

I mean, the logic of fixed parallax is to set it at the "average" distance of expected use... Who makes 200 yard average shots, especially with a 3-9?!
 
I got my answer from Redfield, and it appears to be true.
The following is my question and there answer.

This request was submitted through the redfield.com contact form on Sep 25, 2011 6:54 PM.

Richard,

This is true. You can send this in to have the parallax changed to 50 yards. Price for this is $14.99

Regards,


---- Original Message ----


Early this year I purchased a Redfield Revolution 3-9X40mm Matte 4 plex scope.
Over all I have been very happy with the scope but accuracy has been marginal. I have it on a Ruger 44/77 and will only use it for max 125 yards. The problem that I have is with the parallax of the scope. What I see at 50 yards is with very small movement of the eye in relation to the scope the cross hairs move on the target where above 100 yards it’s no problem.
A friend of mine told me of another person with the same problem and (this is word of mouth only) he found out that your scope has the parallax set to +200 yards. He returned it to you and you changed the parallax to less for pistol cartridges.
I was wondering if any of this is true and can I get it done to mine?
 
Just turn the front glass in and out will set parallax. I can not remember which way now. Air gunners do this all the time, I did it on 3 or 4 scopes to adjust to 30 yds to use on air rifles.
 
I assumed that you meant the focus knob since turning the actual parralax adjustment would be pretty obvious IF THE SCOPE HAD ONE.

Since this scope doesn't, I figured you couldn't be referring to anything but the focus.
 
Many none AO scopes have front glass on a threaded piece and screwed into the tube then locked in place by a jam ring or so called locking piece. Unscrew the locking piece and turn the front glass will set parallax just like an AO scope.
 
HankC1
Many none AO scopes have front glass on a threaded piece and screwed into the tube then locked in place by a jam ring or so called locking piece. Unscrew the locking piece and turn the front glass will set parallax just like an AO scope.
I don’t see how that is possible since the ring, if it will rotate will just loosen the glass it’s holding in and there is nothing to change position of the glass behind the ring.
I have 5 guns with scopes and only one has any kind of parallax adjustment and that’s one that is 9X36 with range adjustment that cost more than the gun it’s mounted on.
Also there is no way to remove the ring from the front of this Readfield if you tried to unscrew it.
Last, since this is a sealed and pressurized scope with nitrogen I really don’t want to dissemble it.
 
It won't be a good idea to mess with expensive scopes like Readfield and void the warranty. I have done it on several cheap scopes like Tasco and there is a posting several years ago on this subject that is exactly how I did mine. Works and I did not have moisture problem as well. However, I only did that on scopes used on air rifles which I don't shoot in rain or winters anyway.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212235
 
If you have a large objective scope with the parallax set at 100 yards or beyond and want to shoot tighter groups, there's a way to do it temporarily.

Cut a disk out a piece of flat cardboard, or other non-abrasive opaque material, the diameter of the front lens (objective). Cut a hole in the center that's only about 1/3rd the diameter of the lens. Tape it in place over the lens with masking tape or electrical tape (don't put tape on the lens, on the inside of the sun shade).

This trick removes the light rays that are refracted most, those farther from the lens center. Those that are closer to the center are bent less, so even if the lens isn't adjusted for parallax at the intended distance, the amount of deviation is less noticeable, so the crosshairs don't appear to move on the target at closer distances when the eye isn't perfectly centered.

There will be less light coming through the scope, so the image will not be as bright, but in full daylight, it shouldn't be a problem. If several disks are made, the best size aperture can be found for the use.

The disk shouldn't be used for hunting in dim light because the image may be too dark under that condition.

JP
 
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