Parallax adjustment with a side focus

VIDEO

Traditionally, rifle scopes had a fixed parallax set at 100 meters or 100 yards; however, with the advance of shooting sports, such an approach was not adequate anymore. Scopes with fixed parallax offered the best resolution only at one distance (100 meters/yards) at which the target was in focus. At all other distances, the picture was less sharp or even blurry. An even bigger problem with this type of scope was the fact that, when shooting at the target, not at the same distance as the scope parallax setting, the shooter had to be very careful about his eye alignment with the optical axis. If the eye is moved away from the optical axis, the reticle on the target will move, which will worsen the accuracy. Since these errors are small, the fixed parallax option is still considered accurate enough for traditional hunting. For sport shooting, though, such small error leads to poor results. Parallax errors become more pronounced with magnifications higher than 12x, and that means the majority of scopes with magnification range under this value need no parallax adjustment.

With the ability of parallax adjustment, the accuracy of the riflescope is greatly enhanced at all distances. The shooter, however, has to adjust the parallax setting before making the first shot. Such scopes usually have AO – Adjustable Objective or SF – Side focus acronym in their name.

With SF – Side focus scopes, parallax is adjusted with a rotation of the turret on left side of the main tube. Such an approach offers easy adjustment of the parallax in the prone position and is the best solution for situations when parallax must be adjusted often. Due to this reason, such scopes are usually used on tactical scopes and similar, where parallax is adjusted before each shot and distances to the targets change rapidly. Scopes, which offer parallax adjustment with a side focus, are usually bigger and heavier than counterparts with parallax adjustment on Adjustable Objective. They are also more expensive to produce. Due to the size of the internal mechanism for side focus adjustment, the majority of such scopes have a tube diameter of 30mm or more.

The easiest way to correctly set the parallax is to look at the target and gently rotate the ring on the side focus. When the target is in focus and the image offers the best sharpness, move the eye from the optical axis to any direction. If the rifle is properly supported and fixed, the reticle should not move on the target when the eye is moved from the optical axis. If it does, parallax adjustment must be fine-tuned until the reticle is still, even if the eye of the shooter is moving around the optical axis.

Do not mind the meters or yards written on the adjustable objective, since they only provide an approximate value. There is nothing unusual if these values do not correspond well with the actual target distances.

As low as $179.00

View Product

Add to compare

In stock

Sightron SIII 3.5-10x44 LR

Ask for price

View Product

Add to compare

Filters

Sort

General features of Air rifle scopes

Airgun rifles are of two types – PCP and spring-powered. The user can mount pretty much every riflescope on a PCP airgun rifle because its recoil is negligible. The situation is different when it comes to a spring-powered airgun rifle. The reverse recoil produced by a spring is harsh and goes forward and backward – not all riflescopes are designed to withstand such force. Even if the riflescope is rated for a .308 Win, the recoil of a spring-powered airgun can cause irreparable damage to it.

Recoil resistance

The riflescopes in this category are designed to withstand the reverse recoil of a spring-powered airgun rifle.

Recoil resistance is especially important when looking for a riflescope in the entry price class since the more expensive ones are often high recoil rated. One of the cheapest riflescopes available, designed especially for airgun rifles, is Hawke Airmax (even the least expensive in this category withstand reverse recoil).

There are all sorts of airgun riflescopes on the market: cheap, expensive, with different magnifications, etc.

Hawke Airmax 30 SF Compact 3-12x40 Scope

Hawke Airmax 30 SF Compact 3-12x40

Parallax adjustment with a side focus

VIDEO

Video presentation of Parallax adjustment on the objective bell

Sightron SIII 10-50x60 LR

Hawke Airmax 30 SF 6-24x50

Hawke Airmax 30 SF 4-16x50 Rifle scope

Discovery Optics VT-Z 6-24x40 SF FFP

Hawke Airmax 30 SF 4-16x50 FFP

Hawke Airmax 30 SF 6-24x50 FFP

Hawke Airmax 30 Touch 3-12x32

Discovery Optics VT-Z 4-16x40SF FFP

Sightron SIII 3.5-10x44 LR

General features of Air rifle scopes

Recoil resistance

Best manufacturers of riflescopes for Air rifles models

Payment methods

Shipping methods

Shopping

Contact us

Certificates

Follow us on

FAQ and Media

Parallax adjustment with a side focus

VIDEO

Video presentation of Parallax adjustment on the objective bell

General features of Air rifle scopes

Recoil resistance

Best manufacturers of riflescopes for Air rifles models

Your wishlist