gohring3006
Well-Known Member
I had one of those little Bushnell elite 10x40 fixed power, no parallax, it had 100 moa of travel and I hammered the 1000 yard plate with it on a 30-06 for a few years till I upgraded.
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That Steiner is a nice scope. I had 3 of the till friends and family talked me out of them. For the type of hunting you're talking about they are a very fine choice. Just put the crosshair where it belongs and pull the trigger, if you've done everything else right you should have some fresh meat for camp.Thank you for all the responses.
As some stated above, parallax is very beneficial when shooting smaller targets at longer ranges. When hitting small steel beyon 600, I absolutely use a scope with it. But I'm referring to "minute of deer" ( hate that term), when your window is only a few seconds after spotting the game anywhere from 0-600 yards. 8x-10x is enough to make an accurate shot on deer or Elk out to 600 (my eyes are still 20/20). When hunting, I prefer the least amount of magnification needed to make an accurate hit. But when target practicing, I definitely dial the magnification up.
I have a Steiner Predator Extreme 2-10x50 that I love at 23 oz, but was wondering if I would be losing something using it vs getting MK5 HD 3.8-18x44 at 26 oz. I'd like to not go any heavier, and can't afford a TT 3-15x50.
So on the Leupy, I could set the parallax at 400, 600, infinity (whichever) and take the quick shot? Or would I be handicapping myself some how?
I know parallax becomes more crucial in magnification over 10x, but assuming shooting below 10x, is it crucial to 400-600 yards?? I guess that's what I'm getting at.
Most fixed parallax scopes are set at the factory for 100-200yds. The way I get around the issue you address is by leaving my side focus scopes adjusted for about 300-350yds because that's the normal range where I generally first see game.Side focus scopes are great if you have time to adjust and focus for clarity.The issue I have is in a real life hunting situation where you have a very short time to make a decision and a quick shot,I find I don't have it properly adjusted when I take the shot because I don't want to take my eyes off the animal.I have some scopes that go up to 12x that are fixed focus that really are better in this type of situation.
Parallax adjustment is critical for long range shooting. Scopes without a parallax adjustment are set at the factory for 100 yards. Anything closer or beyond 100 yards your eye has to be perfectly centered to make a good shot. Adjustable parallax scopes internally adjust the parallax so that at the given range it;s adjusted to allows for a slight off center condition of the eye to not make a difference in the bullet impact. Notice I said slight off center. One cannot get sloppy and expect the parallax adjustment to compensate for their carelessness. If you don't have time to adjust or forget to adjust for the distance as long as your eyeball is perfectly centered it won't make a difference. The more the range varies the less off center eyeball is allowed before the bullet is going to go it's way, not the way you wanted it to go. Parallax is critical at all ranges. Eye centered in the scope eyepiece is critical at all ranges. 1/64th of an inch off center can send your bullet out to LA LA Land at 600 yards.Hello all.
I would like to get some thoughts and experiences hunting game out to 600 yards and whether or not you feel a side parallax adjustment is necessary or not. Figure Deer/Antelope to Elk/Moose. I chose 600 yards max because that is the distance I feel confident in making a cold bore shot with my 300WM. From a bipod or bench, under 10". Laying down off of a pack, under 14". This is with a NF 5-25x56, but I'dlike to get a smaller and lighter scope before heading to WY. I can't decide if I NEED parallax adjustment or not. Of course whether I shoot from other positions or not will depend on how steady I feel, wind...etc. We all know the benefits of adjusting parallax at farther distances, but this isn't benchrest.
Without getting off topic on all the variables to consider when taking the shot, let's assume the variables are there and you feel good about it. Who hunts, and consistently connects using a scope with adjusting for parallax and who uses a fixed parallax scope?
For arguments sake, take a reliable 2-10x50 fixed parallax scope and a 3-18x50 scope with side parallax.
With the 2-10x50 fixed parallax, as long as you kept your eye centered and didn't have any shadowing, you should be ok... correct??? Does anyone have experience doing this out to 600 yards?
With the 3-18x50, if the parallax is adjusted... OK. But if you forget to adjust, or don't have time to adjust, would the parallax being off make a huge difference (assuming the picture is clear enough to see)? Is an adjustable parallax a necessity?
Of course I could conduct my own tests, but time and extra ammo isn't something I have alot of. This is information gathering to see if I need to go there. I will practice extensively with whatever scope I purchase before the hunt.
What are your thoughts?
More error is induced shooting inside of the set parallax distance than beyond it, however I wouldn't do without it beyond about 12X.Is it beneficial? You bet.
On fixed parallax scopes you can even have the manufacturer set it for a specific range if you're shooting beyond 400yds.