Bought a Zeiss scope the other day, a V4 Conquest 4-16X44. First scope I've owned with a parallax adjuster. I understand parallax and how/why to adjust it. But what surprised me was that the parallax adjuster impacted focus a great deal. I started at 25 yards to get the scope sighted in. First look down the scope, the target was way out of focus. Finally realized I could get it sharp with the parallax adjuster. But I had to refocus with the adjuster at 50, 75 and 100 yards. Even with lower magnification levels.
I like the scope overall. Awesome reticle and very accurate, but being this is my first scope with an adjuster for parallax, I don't know if the focus issue is normal or not. I'm not happy about having to refocus for each of these ranges, and not sure the wife will deal with it well either. I put the scope on a nicer AR, and am not looking to shoot more than 100 yards with it.
So is this normal? Are there scopes with the parallax adjuster that do not suffer from this issue? If so, please let me know which brand/style they are.
Three pages of posts to explain something the OP understands in the first post?
Mount the scope on the rifle with the appropriate eye relief.
Remove the bolt and unload the rifle.
Turn the magnification to the highest setting.
Loosen the eye focus on the scope, NOT THE PARALLAX ring, so you are ready and it is easy to move.
Now put the rifle to your shoulder in a shooting position and look through it at a light sky.
In that first moment or so if the reticle is blurry and then clears a little the focus of the scope for YOUR eye is WRONG.
Bring the gun down, rest, relax, blink a few times and look around, get ready and put the gun to your shoulder again and look at the light sky through the scope and adjust the eye ring to make it sharp. Soon as it is STOP moving it and let the rifle down.
Repeat. Bring the gun down, rest, relax, blink a few times and look around, get ready and put the gun to your shoulder again and look at the light sky through the scope and adjust the eye ring to make it sharp. Soon as it is STOP moving it and let the rifle down.
Repeat until you lift the rifle, look at the sky and the cross hairs are instantly sharp and clear. Tighten the locking ring for it and never let any one fool with it again. Not even "an expert". (Unless you get new glasses)
NOW you are ready to address the parallax.
This has nothing to do with making any part of the sight picture "clear".
Set the rifle on a steady rest like you are taking your fist test shot to sight it in. A hundred yard target is pretty good to start. Get the cross hairs on the center of the target. Now back away so you have no contact with the gun or scope and look at the setting on the parallax adjustment. 100 yard target, should be set on 100 yards p. adjustment. Now try to look through the scope and see the target. If everything is good the cross hair should still be on the CENTER of the target. No matter if you are a little left, a little right, a little up or down. Not the circle of your field of vision, just the cross hair should stay on the target regardless.
If everything is SET for 100 yards and the X moves around on the target, then the LABEL yardages on your parallax ring are WRONG. NOT A BIG DEAL. VERY COMMON SITUATION.
Sit down SOLID like you are gonna take a shot, everything rock solid on the rest. Now instead of shooting, look through the scope and turn the P adjustment just a tiny bit. Now let your head/eye move a little and see if the X moves more or less than before. Adjust again accordingly until the X on the target stays on the bull regardless of your cheek anchor point on the stock.
NOW take note of that KNOWN distance and KNOWN adjustment point and put a dot of white out on the TRUE P adjustment for 100 yards.
Repeat as needed for your range requirements.