Leupold and parallax

[JNDEER]

For those who have shot them how important would the adjustment be needed on the VX3i 4.5-14 using the B&C reticle when shooting at 500 yards?

The VX2 has the adjustment so it would make sense that it is probably something that is needed and most all other brand scopes in that price range of the VX3i have the adjustment.

I have read that you can be off several inches without the adjustment and have read others state that it will be negligible. I would like to believe that Leupold wouldn't put out this scope if you could not be consistent at longer ranges, but I have been reading conflicting accounts of general parallax information that would support the contrary.

 

[JimP]

From what I have read all big game scopes that have a fixed parallax have it set at 100 yards. I have no problems with my fixed scopes shooting out to 600 yards and the grouping stays consistent.

I also have a Leupold 6.5x20 that has a adjustable parallax and that just brings the focus at 600 yards that much clearer. I usually just leave it set at 200 yards and go shooting.

 

[fackelberry]

I always leave the ones i have on my Leupolds set at the infinity mark. I have never had an issue with close shots or far shots.

 

[JNDEER]

Jim - Which fixed scope are you using and what magnification?

fackel - that setting would be the adjustment I am referring to and I am questioning how well the scopes perform without the adjustment at higher magnifications and longer distances.

 

[fackelberry]

I do have a VX-III 4.5-14x40MM on my 25-06 that doesn't have the adjustments. I havn't shot past 500 yards with it. Really only tried a few groups at 400 and i didn't notice any difference from my scopes with the adjustments at least to that range. I actually prefer my scopes without the paralax adjustment on them. I just bought the same VX3i 4,5-14x40mm with the CDS turret, i will put that on my 25-06 this summer and put the regular 4.5-14 on my 338.

 

[JimP]

I have a number of VX2 3x9x40, a couple VX3 3.5x10x40, a VX3 4.5x14x40, and the one that I have that has the adjustment is the VX3 6.5x20x40.

 

[rammont]

It all depends on what you consider to be a good group. Adjusting for parallax will have a definite affect on group size if you are looking for MOA or better groups. At close to mid range it probably wont mean much to a typical hunter but once that hunter starts trying to shoot past 600 yards he will see the benefit - but then the typical hunter isn't going to be shooting game at 600 or more yards.

 

[Tim McCoy]

It all depends on what you consider to be a good group. Adjusting for parallax will have a definite affect on group size if you are looking for MOA or better groups. At close to mid range it probably wont mean much to a typical hunter but once that hunter starts trying to shoot past 600 yards he will see the benefit - but then the typical hunter isn't going to be shooting game at 600 or more yards.

Ya, not to mention a few more more boogymen, Magnus Effect, Spin Drift and Coriolis Effect...

 

[troybackman]

If I was only planning on using it on a hunting rifle out to 600 yds I would prefer not to have adjustable parallax for simplicity sake.

 

[JimP]

I know a couple of hunters personally that have missed out on bagging a animal just for the simple reason that they were playing around with the adjustments on their scopes.

They lost the ability to just get the cross hairs on the vitals of the animal and pulling the trigger. They have to get their range finder out and see how far away the animal is, then adjust the drop in their scope, get the wind o meter out and check the wind speed and then adjust the scope, then set the parallax where they have a perfect sight picture. By this time the animal has finished what ever he was doing and is in the next county.

 

[Slugz]

I know a couple of hunters personally that have missed out on bagging a animal just for the simple reason that they were playing around with the adjustments on their scopes.

They lost the ability to just get the cross hairs on the vitals of the animal and pulling the trigger. They have to get their range finder out and see how far away the animal is, then adjust the drop in their scope, get the wind o meter out and check the wind speed and then adjust the scope, then set the parallax where they have a perfect sight picture. By this time the animal has finished what ever he was doing and is in the next county.

That's soooo true......another issue I have with the ULR hunting crowd that doesn't get enough range time to practice it.

I'm a fixed guy and like others leave it set at 100 if I am in the dark timber or infinity if I'm in open spaces. That coincides with my mental checklist of backing off the scope in the timber or medium magnification out in the open spaces.

 

[JNDEER]

Ok, so I guess the question becomes how many inches off would you expect to be? I have read people say by many inches (putting you out of the kill zone) or are we talking about only an inch or two?

 

[badgerbob]

I have two variX-lll's. One has it, other does not. Both are 3.5xx10. The one without is the tactical model, with tall turrets. I don't see any difference in the two. Leave the setting on 200 yards. For most hunting situations I don't think it is critical. Anyway, I Haven't made up my mind about how I feel about the extreme long range hunting gaining in popularity. At what point does it become shooting and not hunting?? Like I said, haven't decided yet. To each his own I guess.

 

[JimP]

From my experience all the parallax adjustment does is make the sight picture clearer for the range that it is set at. I have never seen the point of impact change other than what I screwed up when I pulled the trigger.

 

[rammont]

From my experience all the parallax adjustment does is make the sight picture clearer for the range that it is set at. I have never seen the point of impact change other than what I screwed up when I pulled the trigger.

Parallax isn't a focus adjustment, it's a focal distance adjustment. When the focal length between the internal lenses is correct then the image will be focused in the center of the eye lens. Parallax will cause the image of the animal to be offset from the center of the eye lens which will cause you to aim away from where the animal actually is. Parallax typically will only cause an error of .5 to 1 MOA but that's from 3" to 6" off at 600 yards. Parallax alone could easily cause you to simply wound an elk along the chest if you tried a heart shot at 600 yards (6 inches low due to parallax could create a nasty flesh wound that cause the elk to suffer for days or weeks while it died).

If you are hunting with people that have missed shots due to tinkering with gadgets then maybe you ought to start picking real hunters to hunt with rather than paper punchers. A good hunter should know what the maximum point blank range is for his rifle/ammo combination and under most circumstances they'll never touch the adjustment knobs. A typical .30 cal rifle zeroed at 200 yards will usually allow for a 250 to 300 yard point blank range for deer or elk sized animals. Personally I see no reason to even try a shot on a game animal past 300 yards, I think it's unethical and simply an attempt to show off at the animal's expense. But if you feel that you have no other choice and you know how to take long range shots on game then you also know that choosing a scope for long range work usually includes a graduated reticle, not a simple hunting reticle, and a graduated reticle allows you to simply aim high the proper amount in order to compensate for the range.

 

[troybackman]

Jndeer. As long as you look through the center of the scope consistently your poi will not move even without adjusting parallax A good cheek weld to stock will help this greatly. Maybe some more knowledgeable shooters can correct me if I'm wrong.