Parallax Adjustment

School me on parallax adjustment, Is it required for a 4-14x40mm scope? Range for shooting is out to 700m.
Reason I'm asking is I am looking at 3 scopes: VX3i in the above mag with CDS $999, the other with side focus & CDS $1200 or a Zeiss in the same mag with side focus for $1700.

Yeah, if you are shooting to 700m, get an AO scope.

I would say yes for that distance. Dont ask me to get all technical and in depth about it coz I dont know enough to be a guru. Pretty sure scopes with fixed parallax are around 200yds I think.

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Originally Posted by dogmatix

Yeah, if you are shooting to 700m, get an AO scope.

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I have a vx3 LR model. I have a 4.5-14x40 LR (30mm tube, Side focus, CDS) on my SAUM but the side focus thing is a pain on a hunting rifle. You might find one S/H somewhere

No.
Been there done that not needed, if you have a nice consistent cheek weld you will be fine and even if not back your eye out till the edges darken and center your eye.

.................................................. .....................and too many knobs to twiddle on a hunting rifle scop is not a good thing I'm learning

normally most will say when you go over 12x , para is a good thing , RE the Zeiss , I would forget it , as unless its a fancy Tac model , Zeiss have very limited travel in elevation .

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Originally Posted by ChrisF

normally most will say when you go over 12x , para is a good thing , RE the Zeiss , I would forget it , as unless its a fancy Tac model , Zeiss have very limited travel in elevation .

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Plenty enough travel for 700. Mines got enough for 1500

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Originally Posted by Gibo

Plenty enough travel for 700. Mines got enough for 1500

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I was also going to point that out but I just love Chris's stories.

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Originally Posted by ChrisF

normally most will say when you go over 12x , para is a good thing , RE the Zeiss , I would forget it , as unless its a fancy Tac model , Zeiss have very limited travel in elevation .

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Only with zero stop employed. Still I can get to 750yrds with it on.

1500ish with it off.

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Originally Posted by R93

Only with zero stop employed. Still I can get to 750yrds with it on.

1500ish with it off.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

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True true, mines 16.5 moa with zero stop in

@Timmay, here is what I was taught by the old gent that worked on a couple of my scopes (retired instrument tech)...

First off, adjust the eyepiece so that the reticle is in sharp focus. Easiest way to do this is to set the rifle up to look at a nice uniform background (overcast sky works well). Make sure your cheek position is the same as it would be when you are shooting. Do not worry about focusing the picture, just focus the reticle.

Next, sort out the parallax. Aim the rifle at a target you can focus on. Do not worry about the numbers on the objective ring or side focus, those are just indicators. Get the target image in nice sharp focus. Then "wobble" your head up and down and sideways. If the target moves, you have a parallax error. Make fine adjustments to the objective ring or side focus knob until you do not get any movement.

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Originally Posted by ebf

@Timmay, here is what I was taught by the old gent that worked on a couple of my scopes (retired instrument tech)...

First off, adjust the eyepiece so that the reticle is in sharp focus. Easiest way to do this is to set the rifle up to look at a nice uniform background (overcast sky works well). Make sure your cheek position is the same as it would be when you are shooting. Do not worry about focusing the picture, just focus the reticle.

Next, sort out the parallax. Aim the rifle at a target you can focus on. Do not worry about the numbers on the objective ring or side focus, those are just indicators. Get the target image in nice sharp focus. Then "wobble" your head up and down and sideways. If the target moves, you have a parallax error. Make fine adjustments to the objective ring or side focus knob until you do not get any movement.

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He doesnt have parralax yet, hes asking if he needs it to 700

+1 for what ebf said. You have to be able to recognise parallax before you can adjust 4 it. SF is not a must but is very useful .... assuming u know what to look 4.

Good explanation ebf [emoji106]🏿

Thanks guys. My zeiss is actually parallax free at 300y. Which was a surprise. Going to give it a whirl before committing

Parallax is only an issue at high magnifications and close range beyond 2-300 metres it is irrelevent.

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Originally Posted by Marty Henry

Parallax is only an issue at high magnifications and close range beyond 2-300 metres it is irrelevent.

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Well its not irrelevant, it puts things in focus

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Originally Posted by Gibo

Well its not irrelevant, it puts things in focus

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Sometimes correct focus and correct parralax adjustment do not coincide exactly.
This can be annoying if you worry about such things.

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Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Sometimes correct focus and correct parralax adjustment do not coincide exactly.
This can be annoying if you worry about such things.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

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Yip but I'd rather a target that's in focus than not :D

Hi Guys.

Chairgun pro 4 ballistics calculator by Hawke Optics has a maximum parallax error calculator.

@Timmay Your Zeiss characteristics show a maximum error of +/- 1.050 inches. If however the scope was focused at 100 yards the error could be +/- 4.724 inches.

Interestingly enough scope magnification does not feature in the calculation.

Attachment 48867

Attachment 48869

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Originally Posted by spada

Hi Guys.

Chairgun pro 4 ballistics calculator by Hawke Optics has a maximum parallax error calculator.

@Timmay Your Zeiss characteristics show a maximum error of +/- 1.050 inches. If however the scope was focused at 100 yards the error could be +/- 4.724 inches.

Interestingly enough scope magnification does not feature in the calculation.

Attachment 48867

Attachment 48869

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and thats the worst case , you would have to have your eye almost out of the box to achieve that error.

@spada thank you for those calculations.

So are we saying that out to say 400 yards at least for hunting purposes parallax is a non issue?

Really depends on the kill zone of your target. Where your scopes parallax is set /objective lens size and whether you are happy to have an additional cumulative error onto any others your weapon system might have.

Example 40mm scope set at 100yds error at 400 yards = 2.4 inches
Same scope set at 50 yards parallax error at 400 yards = 5.5 inches add that on to flinch, ranging error and the myriad of other things that can be wrong when the sear breaks.....?? the decision is yours.

Personally I prefer AO scopes to remove as many variables as I can before taking the shot.
Anybody wondering about their scope feel free to post the parameters and I'll run them through the calculator for you.

I was looking at a Schmidt and Bender Zenith 3-12 x 50 today. Beautiful scope. Loved the reticle and pretty much everything else about it. Of the scopes I was comparing it to (Zeiss HD 5, Bushnell LRHS Elite tactical hunter, and Leupold VX 6 ) it was the only one without parallax adjustment. I was trying to decide whether that mattered or not. Not meaning to hi jack the thread btw! Hope this is relevant to OP.

@WillB That scope has its parallax setting fixed at 300 metres. That means from 40 - 600 metres the maximum error is less than 1 inch. As veitnamcam said above all sorted by a good cheek weld.

Thanks for that- really appreciate it. I was trying to find the parallax setting on their website and couldn't.

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Originally Posted by WillB

Thanks for that- really appreciate it. I was trying to find the parallax setting on their website and couldn't.

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Found Hawke's calculator with good old Google. Available free for Android, Fruit and PC. Has reasonable rating in Android, 4.3, but latest feedback indicates it is a bit buggy now since upgrades.

Hawke UK | BRC

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Originally Posted by zimmer

Found Hawke's calculator with good old Google. Available free for Android, Fruit and PC. Has reasonable rating in Android, 4.3, but latest feedback indicates it is a bit buggy now since upgrades.

Hawke UK | BRC

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It's really an airgun ballistic calculator but with some interesting bits for powder burners in the toolbox

So does this mean with say that S&B if you are looking at a target 400 metres away and parallax is set at 300 the target will actually be slightly out of focus? Ie does parallax adjustment = focus of sight picture?

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Originally Posted by ebf

Do not worry about the numbers on the objective ring or side focus, those are just indicators.

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+1.

No it will be perfectly focussed with ajustable scopes you can make it a problem if you set the parrallax wrongly. With ao scopes or below 10x mag it really isnt an issue. Look up parrallax to get a better understanding. I have a buggered old rangefinder that used parrallax to calculate distance. Was pretty good to 400 yards then went to 50 yard steps to 600. Mind you it was only 18 inches wide.

@spada hey mate can you run the same calculations for
300y paralax setting with a target at 50m and again 100?

@Timmay

Here you go.. are you sure you wanted 300 YARD parallax setting and 50/100 METRE ranges? The resulting error is in INCHES.

Attachment 49172Attachment 49173

Yep, I bought a VX3i which I really didn't like so I'm going to put the Zeiss back on my 6.5 and just splash out and buy the HD5 for my 7mm.

That parallax error calculator is interesting. Probably is mathematically the last word on aiming error due to parallax. So, looking just at the focus issue ....

There are three situations where focus using the parallax knob is of interest:

Focussing error due to not relaxing eye to infinity while setting the reticle focus. The shooter may try to accommodate the eye to focus the reticle, but then adjusting the parallax knob to sharpen the target at the same time as the reticle results in an error in the range shown on the parallax dial. The zero parallax distance is then set to the number shown on the dial, not the nice sharp target. This is inevitable if the shooter has some shortsightedness (myopia) as he/she can't truly focus out as far as infinity. The short sighted shooter will therefore often notice a discrepancy between the ranges of sharp focus and zero parallax. A long sighted shooter can focus in a bit to see clearly at infinity, so should focus the reticle while looking at a scene close to infinity (eg 1000m), rather than staring out into a white background as is normally recommended..

The next situation is the aging shooter. Past the age of about 40, the lens in your eye hardens and it becomes gradually more difficult to accommodate and focus up close. Little muscles pull on the lens to flatten in it out and focus up closer. By the age of 60, most people need reading glasses to focus under 50cm; if you have cataract operation and intraocular lens then you can't accommodate at all. Typically the first eye done is set about 1 doiptre short so you can read in good light. However, this is myopia and the focus vs parallax error will occur. A shooter over the age of 40 or 50 will find the use of parallax adjustment to focus the target quite helpful.

Airgun shooters have a field target event where laser rangefinders are not allowed. They also have major drop issues past 30m. The solution to this is that they use the parallax knob to estimate range. Their scopes have evolved to have large (56mm) objectives and high (24x) power to accentuate focus effects. They don't shoot in low light and their target zones are typically 3 or 4 MOA so they don't need those high specs to shoot and in fact often dial down to 12x to take the shot. Even top of the range airgun scopes like Hawke and Leapers only cost about $400 so their optics aren't in the class of the VX-3 or Zeiss. At the short ranges they compete over (under 50m) focus can be dialled in very crisply and the range estimated well, providing they have trained themselves to good eye control. Field target airgun scopes have an extra large focus wheel, which the shooter calibrates to his/her own eyesight. However, for centerfire shooters at ranges of over 200m, using scopes under 12x and 40mm objective, it is actually very difficult to estimate range using the parallax knob. Crisp planes of focus are only really discernable under 100m.

Speaking from my own experience with a 3-12x50, which only has parallax adjustment down to 50m, This is a nuisance at 20m for dry fire practice - very blurry on 12x. I find that winding the power down to even 8x makes the target much sharper. For bush hunting, at 4x everything down to 10m is nice and sharp. Back in the day, we used fixed 4x32 scopes and none of this was an issue. I once used a 10x40 S&B with fixed parallax and that was noticeably blurry at 100m. A young shooter with good accommodation would probably be able to focus in on a much closer target, but then the reticle would be blurred. I also have a VX-1 2-7x32 which nominally has zero parallax at 100m (being a short range scope) but I find it is actually sharpest to my shortsighted eye at around 70m. This is fine for hunting but disconcerting when looking out at scenery in the distance.

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Originally Posted by Bagheera

That parallax error calculator is interesting. Probably is mathematically the last word on aiming error due to parallax. So, looking just at the focus issue ....

There are three situations where focus using the parallax knob is of interest:

Focussing error due to not relaxing eye to infinity while setting the reticle focus. The shooter may try to accommodate the eye to focus the reticle, but then adjusting the parallax knob to sharpen the target at the same time as the reticle results in an error in the range shown on the parallax dial. The zero parallax distance is then set to the number shown on the dial, not the nice sharp target. This is inevitable if the shooter has some shortsightedness (myopia) as he/she can't truly focus out as far as infinity. The short sighted shooter will therefore often notice a discrepancy between the ranges of sharp focus and zero parallax. A long sighted shooter can focus in a bit to see clearly at infinity, so should focus the reticle while looking at a scene close to infinity (eg 1000m), rather than staring out into a white background as is normally recommended..

The next situation is the aging shooter. Past the age of about 40, the lens in your eye hardens and it becomes gradually more difficult to accommodate and focus up close. Little muscles pull on the lens to flatten in it out and focus up closer. By the age of 60, most people need reading glasses to focus under 50cm; if you have cataract operation and intraocular lens then you can't accommodate at all. Typically the first eye done is set about 1 doiptre short so you can read in good light. However, this is myopia and the focus vs parallax error will occur. A shooter over the age of 40 or 50 will find the use of parallax adjustment to focus the target quite helpful.

Airgun shooters have a field target event where laser rangefinders are not allowed. They also have major drop issues past 30m. The solution to this is that they use the parallax knob to estimate range. Their scopes have evolved to have large (56mm) objectives and high (24x) power to accentuate focus effects. They don't shoot in low light and their target zones are typically 3 or 4 MOA so they don't need those high specs to shoot and in fact often dial down to 12x to take the shot. Even top of the range airgun scopes like Hawke and Leapers only cost about $400 so their optics aren't in the class of the VX-3 or Zeiss. At the short ranges they compete over (under 50m) focus can be dialled in very crisply and the range estimated well, providing they have trained themselves to good eye control. Field target airgun scopes have an extra large focus wheel, which the shooter calibrates to his/her own eyesight. However, for centerfire shooters at ranges of over 200m, using scopes under 12x and 40mm objective, it is actually very difficult to estimate range using the parallax knob. Crisp planes of focus are only really discernable under 100m.

Speaking from my own experience with a 3-12x50, which only has parallax adjustment down to 50m, This is a nuisance at 20m for dry fire practice - very blurry on 12x. I find that winding the power down to even 8x makes the target much sharper. For bush hunting, at 4x everything down to 10m is nice and sharp. Back in the day, we used fixed 4x32 scopes and none of this was an issue. I once used a 10x40 S&B with fixed parallax and that was noticeably blurry at 100m. A young shooter with good accommodation would probably be able to focus in on a much closer target, but then the reticle would be blurred. I also have a VX-1 2-7x32 which nominally has zero parallax at 100m (being a short range scope) but I find it is actually sharpest to my shortsighted eye at around 70m. This is fine for hunting but disconcerting when looking out at scenery in the distance.

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Very interesting.
I have focus issues @100m when my eyes are tired or in low light where either the target or recticl is blurry but not so @200M
Im long sighted?