22 scope comparison

Seemed like a vague title but you caught my interest and with the parallax note, why.

I have been thinking about this recently and how to accurately compare optics side by side in a repeatable manner. Thinking about a “V” block fixture with a camera on a linear slide so it can be set for a known amount of movement and a graduated “target” down range.

I’m not a fan of Vortex scopes but I do like the Diamondback you bought for rimfire rifles. I bet you like it.

dieselchief said:

...cdb1 I don't swallow a blanket cool aid statement on too many things including vortex.....lol okay maybe on kowa, made in USA burris. and possibly my new Athlon.....dc

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What is the point you are trying to make?

use the gun for local fun silhouette shoots. I have found the Nikon bdc only stays effective if you sight it in ahead of time on one power. i have tried 3 and 6x so far.

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Yep, we are on the same page exactly. I have a couple things in front of this but it is certainly of interest to me.

Here's an interesting chart for use in comparing scopes. You can find printable versions on line (search USAF Optical Resolution Target). Post it up, compare the resolution of the lines at various distances and make notes for each scope re: the general clarity and resolution, and what is the smallest group that you can distinguish by counting the separate lines.

A side-by-side comparison can be quite eye-opening. If you are like me, you will find that anecdotal impressions based upon no systematic testing, possibly in differing conditions, can be very misleading. I found that some of the scopes that I thought were among my clearest/highest resolution, actually were not as good as I thought. And some that I never really realized were as good as they are. One example was that my old Weaver El Paso V9 A/O is actually better than a more modern Sightron SII 3-9x42, which is better than a Redfield Revolution 3-9x40. It is kind of interesting to compare scopes when you have something that you can use to actually gauge some aspects of their performance.

Great idea

Further on scope comparisons, I've been doing another round of comparisons this week using the chart posted above. Once again, I'm reminded of the old saying, "the emperor has no clothes." If you have a selection of scopes spanning a range of age and price points, I highly recommend a systematic comparison. If your results are like mine, you will be in for some surprises in terms of optical clarity and resolution as you compare and rank your scopes. This of course doesn't test for the precision and repeatability of the adjustment mechanisms for those who need that kind of thing.

In addition to the clarity and resolution, another thing to watch for is parallax error at a given focus distance. I've found that some scopes -- even $400-$500 street price scopes -- exhibit significant parallax error even when focused in on a target at a given distance. That is, you leave the scope in position, move your eye around in the eye box, and see how much the POA shifts. When I say "significant" I'm talking about .1 to .2 MOA, which in many cases wouldn't matter, but if you are really trying to shoot your best groups and have a gun capable of very good groups, you'll want to be aware of the potential for parallax shift and be sure you aren't allowing your aim to be impacted when using a scope that does exhibit the shift.