fast focus????

[Rembo]

am I the only one scratching thier head over the "fast focus" feature that has shown up on some otherwise excellent scopes lately?

I just picked up a Bushnell for my one and only lever gun and it has this "feature"...even the Elites have it now...now why would one want this "feature"?...you focus the reticle once for your eyes and hope it doesn't move...."fast focus" seems like an answer to a question no one asked...and/or a sales gimmick...like 50mm objectives...

I focused mine and put three wraps of black electrical tape around it....

 

[Levi Garrett]

Not a big deal. Might even be better for moisture control. The old way may have left some scopes buggered up with folks un screwing the eye piece too much, it does get pretty loose. Also may be part of the internals being made in another way so its less costly.
In any case the feature is nice, and with a butler creek cap in place , its secure enough for me.
With these aging eyes, its good to have
I also find it easier to focus quickly , where the reticle does not have a chance to come into focus with all those turns the old way. I would say the turns have been reducted a great deal, like 1-10 ratio.

 

[Dmay]

L.G. - How often do you re-focus a scope?? I never had to.

Notice my eyesight starting to "change" this last year - is this what I have to look foreward to??

 

[AP]

Getting a rifle scope in proper focus has become a trial for me as I get older....glancing back and forth at the sky to ensure the reticle is at infinity, for my eye, is a pain using the older style of turning the eyepiece on a fine screw thread... and turning... and turning... back ... and forth

Being able to quickly vary the focus allows me to more easily see where the best position is by rapid comparison.

I preferred European scopes for this reason alone to Leupold.....in fact on another board I invoked the ire of many of the Leupold lovers...as well as a person who identified themselves as a Leupold tech rep...by pointing out that at least one of my Leupolds (an older generation VXIII which was newly purchased at the time) wouldn't focus completely for me at all - there was simply not enough travel.....I was taken to task for such heresy!!

The Leupold rep said I was crazy and that they made the best scopes in the world etc etc....when I pointed out I had no such problem with various other scopes (Swarovski, Zeiss, S&B, Nickel and a Bushnell ScopeChief - the last didn't even have fast focus but at least there was sufficient travel enough for me!) They reasserted that I was nuts! And I may be... but I don't worship at the altar of Leupold.

Anyway the facts are that the majority of the guys that hunt today and can afford the higher priced Leupold scopes are past 40....and reading glasses are not "a possibility" they are a probability....when that happens ... getting the scope adjusted from the factory setting is an annoying challenge particulalry with a fine thread ocular..and even more so when the range of focus won't cover your requirement.....

BTW - I see now that even Leupold has added "fast focus" on their VariXIII scopes .....this is good...and a great convenience - even if only used once before the ocular is locked....till the next time. best

 

[Why not?]

AP,

I have sold almost all of my Leupold scopes because, like you, I cannot get them to turn out far enough to focus for my eyes either.

The Leupold rep on 24hourcampfire told me a quite different story. He said that Leupold would change the lenses so there would be enough adjustment. When I contacted Korth Agencies, they said they had never heard of this.

I contacted Leupold directly and they told me that was simply not true, but that the stop that prevents turning the ocular lens out too far could be removed to get more adjustment.

No thanks! I could just see me losing the whole ocular assembly on a hunt some where.

Switched to Elite 4200 and 3200s and have never looked back. More than enough focus adjustment, great windage and elevation adjustments and fine optics. The 2 1/2-10X40 model 4200 is amazing optics, much better than my 3-9X40 Leupold Vari-X II.

Ted

 

[AP]

Well Ted... looks like both of us are crazy.....I like Elite's as well and have recommended them to several folks in past (including my boss)...they have all been very very happy.

 

[Levi Garrett]

L.G. - How often do you re-focus a scope?? I never had to.

As explained in great detail, it will catch up to you Its not that bad, but the old way is a pain, you gotta unscrew it till it gets fuzzy, then back till it starts to come into focus. Much easier the new way , like 1 to 2 seconds, and your set.

 

[Dmay]

I knew it - shoulda stayed 24 yrs old - I knew more (everything) then, and all my parts worked perfectly.........at least i seem to remember it that way.........