How important is an adjustable objective?

[Buffalobob]

Here are the three things you need to know from the sticky.

1. Extreme error due to parallax is about +or - 1MOA due to eye misalignment. My personal experience is that 0.5 MOA is pretty common with a sporter rifle where the stock is not perfectly fitted to the shooter and the scope.

2. Parallax gets worse at higher magnification. Elk are likely to appear when you are not able to get into a benchrest position and have to shoot with a less than perfect stockweld. If you do not have adjustable parallax then you are introducing a lot of error into your shot (0.5 MOA )on top of bad shooting position and bad wind estimate and bad range estimate and poor bipod placement. So by spending a little money you can eliminate 0.5MOA of error from the list of errors that may occur. That is what parallax adjustment does for you- gives you one less excuse for missing.

3. Catshooter laid out the steps to set up a new scope. Like all of us he has his peculiar personality but he is one of the most knowledgeable people around when it comes to optics. Do yourself a favor and print it out and follow it meticulously when you get your new scope.

Finally, B4 gave you some very very good advice about the need to practice.

[4xforfun]

Just a thought to those of you who say that paralex only becomes a problem above X power. Now, I am not arguing with you, but....my belief is that there is just as much paralex at 4x as 32x. It's just not nearly as noticeable at lower powers. If you have 3/4 MOA deflection at 32x, there is 3/4 MOA at 4X also. It's just harder to decipher a 3/4 MOA deflection at 4X at XXX yards. I have done some "tests" (for a lack of a better term) with the target having lines every 1/2 moa. I purposely set my paralex out of wack and did the "move the head around to the edge of the FOV" thing at 32, 24, 16, and 8x. From what I could tell it was all the same. Just not as noticeable at the lower powers. One thing is clear though. As far as focus only (not paralex), the target is a lot clearer at the lower powers. But, I also noticed that no matter what power scope you use, that is the case. A 3.5 - 10 will be a clearer at 3.5 power, but so will a 12-42 be clearer at 12 power.
I could be wrong (again), but that is what my limited test showed me. And it isn't very scientific.

[silvertip-co]

Personally I hate AO. But over 10x is sort of a necessary evil (physics of light). The new sidewider scopes seem like a good compromiste to that huge knob hanging off the front of a big scope.

[NONYA]

I prefer and now use non adj pars on my scopes,my accuracy out to 1000 yard targets didnt change at all after switching to fixed power 10x non adj scopes.

[silvertip-co]

Originally Posted by NONYA

I prefer and now use non adj pars on my scopes,my accuracy out to 1000 yard targets didnt change at all after switching to fixed power 10x non adj scopes.

I actually thot about getting a Weaver T-10 for my long range hunting rifle since I have been thinking for a while that over 10x is just a lot of bother for not much value received. Maybe thats why US mil scopes are 10x or less. I dont anticipate any 1500 yd kill shots any way. And these 15-50 x 60 scopes scare me. I mean what does one DO with that much magnification???

[edge]

If you set up the scope correctly, at maximum magnification and at infinity, don't all other settings become less prone to Parallax?

edge.

[4xforfun]

Originally Posted by silvertip-co

And these 15-50 x 60 scopes scare me. I mean what does one DO with that much magnification???

Shoot very, very small groups at 1000 yds plus!!