Scopes without parallax adjustment question.
- Thread starter 45C
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- Western Manitoba
I might have it muddled - I am sure someone will correct me. A scope has a set of lenses that bring the target image to your eye. Some of those same lenses bring the image of the reticle to your eye. There is actually only one focused alignment that places reticle image directly over top of target image. Set scoped rifle on sandbags - aim at target - now move head slightly left to right or up and down - if there is "parallax error" the cross hairs will appear to move on the target. So if you have different grip, hold rifle different from shot to shot - you might have barrel pointed slightly different place, even though cross hairs appear to be on the target. So, if you have very repeatable positioning - eye in exactly same place each time, parallax error not an issue for you.
I have a number of older Leupold scopes here - except for the M8-12x, I do not think hardly any have parallax adjustments. I have a few Leupold rimfire scopes that do NOT have parallax adjustment - one does, most of them do not. The books says they are set to be error free at 60 yards. Set on sandbags in my shop and aim at knot in tree outside about 20 yards away - by moving my eye fully to right side - so I start to see some black in the eyepiece, and then moving my eye to left side same way, I can move those cross hairs off that knot (maybe size of red squirrel head) each way. At 100 yard target - my eyes are just no longer good enough to see if the cross hairs move on that target. I also notice on the scopes here that do have parallax adjustment - very large distance to move objective to go from 10 meters to 25 meters - about nothing to move to change from 500 m to infinity - so I take from those two things that parallax error is going to be much worse at a close target than for a far one - think like centerfire scope with fixed parallax at 150 yards, used on a rimfire at 20 yards.
I have a number of older Leupold scopes here - except for the M8-12x, I do not think hardly any have parallax adjustments. I have a few Leupold rimfire scopes that do NOT have parallax adjustment - one does, most of them do not. The books says they are set to be error free at 60 yards. Set on sandbags in my shop and aim at knot in tree outside about 20 yards away - by moving my eye fully to right side - so I start to see some black in the eyepiece, and then moving my eye to left side same way, I can move those cross hairs off that knot (maybe size of red squirrel head) each way. At 100 yard target - my eyes are just no longer good enough to see if the cross hairs move on that target. I also notice on the scopes here that do have parallax adjustment - very large distance to move objective to go from 10 meters to 25 meters - about nothing to move to change from 500 m to infinity - so I take from those two things that parallax error is going to be much worse at a close target than for a far one - think like centerfire scope with fixed parallax at 150 yards, used on a rimfire at 20 yards.
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Most "standard" hunting scopes don't have a parallax adjustment. They have a fixed setting, the VX3 3.5-10 is 150 yards for instance. The manufacturer has these specs. If you are looking to shoot past about 400 or so on a regular basis you may want one with adjustment but it's not like you can't hit stuff at extended range with non adjustable models.
I just watched a video and I think I got it figured out.
The Vx3 4.5-14 is set at 150 yards.
As you move out further the parallax will change by the diameter of the objective lens.
So at 300 yards, using a 40 mm objective lens, you will be anywhere inside of approximately a 3 inch circle.
Good enough for a large animal.
The Vx3 4.5-14 is set at 150 yards.
As you move out further the parallax will change by the diameter of the objective lens.
So at 300 yards, using a 40 mm objective lens, you will be anywhere inside of approximately a 3 inch circle.
Good enough for a large animal.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
"good enough" indeed! Remember, parallax error is not a "given" - I suspect what you described is about the maximum amount of error that you could attribute to parallax. There is NO parallax error if your eye is in exactly same place, as when you sighted the unit in.
If your hunting rifle and load is capable of 2 MOA - so 6" at 300 yards - and then you, the shooter, contribute an additional MOA with your trigger break - now at 9" at 300 yards, all of a sudden that maximum 1 MOA parallax error, at the worst case - is not so much ...
If your hunting rifle and load is capable of 2 MOA - so 6" at 300 yards - and then you, the shooter, contribute an additional MOA with your trigger break - now at 9" at 300 yards, all of a sudden that maximum 1 MOA parallax error, at the worst case - is not so much ...
No parallax are usually basic hunting scopes set to 100y some models slightly more, and ones labelled 'rimfire' are 50y fixed. I target shoot so I generally only buy scopes with adjustment, unless its just for plinking steel with a semi-auto...
The non adjustable scopes seem to be pretty good at any distance thats not very close, while my adjustable focus scopes need fiddling to get a sharp picture. Usually the adjustable focus is higher power but i think there is more to it in the design difference than that. The adjustable focus might be a good feature, maybe not
I'm pretty sure you can send a Leupold scope in and get the parallax set to whatever you want, so if you regularly used it at 200yds you could get the parallax adjusted to that... but for hunting accuracy within 400yds I don't think it matters.
Plus, as long as you have consistent head position behind the scope parallax doesn't matter. It only matters when you are not looking through the scope perfectly straight.
Plus, as long as you have consistent head position behind the scope parallax doesn't matter. It only matters when you are not looking through the scope perfectly straight.
If you can't get a consistent cheek weld, yes. But most of us get "good enough" consistency so that it's not an issue.
If you're really curious, the best thing to do to see how much it matters is to shoot groups at your preferred distance while intentionally pushing your cheek weld to one side. Compare to groups using your "proper" cheek weld, and you'll see how much of a difference it will make for you and your shooting. The parallax error may be significant or not, depends on too many factors to say without actually testing.
Non parallax adjustable scopes were a problem I didn't know I had until years and years after I started shooting. Of course, my main "big" rifle wore a $10 Fisher-Dietz scope. None of my gopher defence rifles have the feature. I guess I'll just keep struggling along. If I did precision shooting, I could see the need, for sure.
I always find it interesting and educating to read about the finer points of such matters. Thanks go to the people who contribute their knowledge and experience.
I always find it interesting and educating to read about the finer points of such matters. Thanks go to the people who contribute their knowledge and experience.
I have a vortex viper 3-9x40mm fixed parallax at 100 yard
I have no problem to look through it for the distance ranging from 70 to 300 yards.
Beyond 300 yards I don’t see too much anyway with 9x power, and I don’t need the scope to shoot anything closer than 50 yards
I have no problem to look through it for the distance ranging from 70 to 300 yards.
Beyond 300 yards I don’t see too much anyway with 9x power, and I don’t need the scope to shoot anything closer than 50 yards
FYI there's a parallax error calculator (for fixed parallax scopes)
https://www.lelandwest.com/parallax-error-calculator.cfm
https://www.lelandwest.com/parallax-error-calculator.cfm
you do not need parallax if your able to align your eyeball directly in the center of your scope - most centerfire scopes have a set parallax at 100 yards rimfire scopes 50. My scopes have no parallax adjustments and can shoot under MOA at 200 yards.
Most scopes with fixed parallax are, none-the-less still adjustable. That's kind of handy when you want to run a big game scope on a rimfire, or just aren't happy with the way things are.
Using Leupold as an example; look closely at the objective lens housing. The gold ring is actually just a washer; and everything in front of it is just a glorified thread protector. Un-thread that and the lens-carrier assembly is exposed. You will see two little notches where a hacksaw blade makes a good improvised adjustment tool. You may be able to just spin it by hand though. Turning the threaded tube outward brings the parallax in closer, screwing it in the opposite. A quarter turn is a lot. Put the thread protector back on and you're done.
Using Leupold as an example; look closely at the objective lens housing. The gold ring is actually just a washer; and everything in front of it is just a glorified thread protector. Un-thread that and the lens-carrier assembly is exposed. You will see two little notches where a hacksaw blade makes a good improvised adjustment tool. You may be able to just spin it by hand though. Turning the threaded tube outward brings the parallax in closer, screwing it in the opposite. A quarter turn is a lot. Put the thread protector back on and you're done.
