Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Aging, vision, and rifle scopes

56 here, light prescription now w bifocals.
Cant wear glasses to shoot. Battle getting scopes set up anymore and even when done things ain't perfect like they used to be.

My dad went through rhis yrs ago, had optometrist make a lens that went into a rubber cup, slid on back of his rifle scope.

He said he could shoot ok with it.
Til one day it popped off in the car and he didnt know what it was and tossed it lol.
Think he had it a couple yrs before the oops.

River Rider,

I may be reading what your saying wrong, but I think you may not be adjusting your scopes properly.

If so try this:

Step 1: Set your parallax knob to infinity.
Step 2: If you using a variable set to the highest power.
Step 3: Take it outside and point it up to a clear blue sky.
Step 4: Now adjust your ocular focus until your reticle (not the sky) is sharp.

Your now done. Shoot it at range to verify and stop fiddling with the dang ocular, adjust only your parallax knob and zoom as necessary for the range your shooting.

And don't rely on the ranges marked on the knob, those are often off a bit.

I'll be 70 in 4 weeks and that's what works for me with any parallax adjusting scope .

I'm sorry that you do not understand. Of course your parallax adjustment has no influence on the reticle. But if you adjust your reticle at a parallax setting at say 100 yds, or closer your target will be out of focus at all other ranges, as you adjust the parallax knob to that range. And the parallax knob can't fix the problem you created with the ocular.

But if you adjust your reticle the way I suggested your reticle will be in focus at all ranges, and you use the parallax knob to only focus your target. Since it costs you nothing to try this to fix your problem, why don't you give it a go instead of just proclaiming you know how to use your optics.

I should note that SFP scopes, like your old Leupolds, are usually much more forgiving, than FFP scopes and fixed power scopes.

What do you have to lose. If it doesn't work, then I was wrong and you can crow all about it, and you've lost nothing but a few minutes of time......

I have noticed my vision can change during the day or change from day to day. Doc said fatigue is a biggie.

So...over the last 10 years I have aged about 10 years (surprise.). Mostly it means nothing as far as I feel from day to day, but where my vision is concerned it's a different story.

I started out with cheaper El Paso Weavers (the factory was about four miles from where I grew up), a Tasco or two, and maybe a cheap Bushnell or Simmons once. As I became more affluent I began to buy Leupolds exclusively. I always found the optics to be very user friendly and clear. Over the years I have lost confidence in Leupold rifle scopes and sold them off (even though I intend to hang on to my VX-5s) and tried a few others. A few that simply have not worked well at all for me are:

Zeiss Conquest HD 3-15x (I may have the model name a bit screwed up but I think most will know what I mean)

SWFA 20x

Burris Fullfield II 6.5-20x50mm E1

My first SWFA 20x fell apart on the shooting becnh, and SWFA sent me a new one post haste. Unfortunately, I couldn't see through that sonovabitch to save my life. It even distorted COLOR (to my eyes). Swapped the new 20x for a 10x and I'm good to go with that one.

The Zeiss gave me problems getting parallax and reticle focus set correctly at the same time...I know you focus the ocular on the reticle first, then fiddle with parallax (in theory). I just could not get a good parallax setting and reticle/image focus at the same time.

The Burris, pretty much the same as the Zeiss. At first it seemed to work okay for me, though the image quality at full magnification was somewhat diminished in comparison to my long gone VX-3 6.5-20Xs. I could still aim effectively. But over a few months time, I'm experiencing the same crap the Zeiss gave me. Ocular focus screws with parallax, and parallax adjustment screws with ocular focus. They interact, where I think they should not.

I purchased a Sightron S-TAC 4-20x50mm SFP scope the other day and took it outside to play with and see how it does. I actually think it's going to work for me, but I thought the same thing about the Burris when I got it (actually, I have FOUR of them and intend to sell them here soon). I got rid of all my VX-3 6.5-20Xs about a year ago so I don't have one to compare anymore, but it seems to be about the same except for a little "grayer" image at full mag.

I just don't know whether this steadily shifting perception thing will continue to change indefinitely, or I can settle in to a brand (Sightron is looking pretty decent, and especially for the price). I have five or six of the S-II 3-9x42s and one of the 4-20x50 S-TACs at this point in time and I lke them. For now, at least.

Anyone else (gots ta be an old bastard like me) go through this crap?