2nd point of aim

[krwada]

Hello;
I need to know if there are any products out there that provide the following:
- Rifle level indication, (cant indicator)
- 2nd point of aim, (preferably a decal or scope cover)
.
I need these to improve the alignment of the pupil on my eye with respect to the eyepiece on my scope. Also, I am amenable to any low-tech ideas out there on improving this. I have found that I can print 1.5" groups using factory loaded ammo if I get my pupil-to-eyepiece alignment perfect. I need to find a way to assess this out on the range.

Therefore, I have purchased a mini-level with a rare earth magnet, (attached myself). I am looking into figuring out a way to attach a fluorescent decals to my Butler Creek scope covers ... or something like that.

I am also looking into purchasing an eye-piece accupoint scope cover from accupoint. It appears as if the folks over at Accupoint have figured a low tech way to integrate a 2nd point of aim in the scope cover.

www.accupoint.com

Thanks!
krwada

 

[krwada]

Whoops! I meant accucover ... not accupoint. Here is Accucover's web site

www.accucover.com

 

[krwada]

So ... you are telling me that the proper positioning of the eye to eyepiece can only be solved by proficiency in shooting. This is what I was afraid of. I was hoping that there would be a device that would allow me to to see whether my eye position, with respect to the eye piece is at a fixed constant. In this way, I was hoping to deal with the parallax problem.

I remember correcting parallax issues with telescopes by properly affixing the camera with respect to the eyepiece. Then I would calibrate the parallax by sighting in a distant object then correcting out the parallax since in this case it would be fixed by the camera positioning.

I was hoping that there would be a device that would allow me to 'fix' my eye position with respect to the scope eye piece ... thus this post. I will check out the electronic level. It looks like a really good device for long range competition shooting.

 

[LHSmith]

krwada- You can pretty much eliminate parallax with ANY scope by simply increasing the distance between the eye and the ocular lens. This will produce a phenomena called "vignetting", a black ring surrounding the sight picture. To minimize parallax simply center the sight picture in the black ring.

 

[260Ravage]

It appears were on to two diffent subjects: Levelness and paralax.
Being Level is very important for canting can and will give your shots different points of impact. I use my eyes to level the crosshairs. I think we all have levels built into our eyesight. Paralax is my biggest problem. A scope manufacture gave me the following instructions for whatever they are worth,,,it works for me and makes sense.:
On a adjustable paralax scope, place the crosshair on your target and turn the power range to a midpoint. (on a 4x14 power scope,set the power on 8) Then, set the paralax adjustment at the your shooting distance. AT this point, looking throught the scope at your target, move your eye up and down and from side to side. If the crosshair does not stay perfectly on your target the paralax is not set perfectly.
Change your paralax a bit and retry until the crosshair stays perfectly on the target no matter where your eye focal point is located. Then you may change the power to whatever you desire and shoot away. It works well for me and tightened my groups a lot.
Terry

 

[260Ravage]

I don't know how or why i got a smily on the above response,,??/ I is supposed to an '8'.

 

[jimbires]

have you thought about a cheek piece on the rifle stock ? this will help give you a better cheek weld , and this will help locate your eye to get a more consistent sight picture . Jim

 

[krwada]

To LHSMITH
Yes, I have thought about doing this. I was wondering whether or not this would work. Also, I was wondering whether or not competition shooters use a method such as this to increase the accuracy of their shots. The other thing I was considering was dialing down the zoom on my scope. I have heard that doing this also helps with the accuracy too.

 

[krwada]

To Jim Bires;
Yes, I have thought of getting a cheek weld for my rifle. I recently purchased the advanced reloader's DVD from Sierra. It was full of really good tips. One of the things I noticed was the commentator / host, who is a recognized precision shooter has some clearly defined technique with his test shots. I noticed that his eye and head position was pretty much near constant for every shot.

I suppose I need to go out to the range and work on technique too.

 

[BoydAllen]

if your range has portable target stands, or allows their use, you might try to figure out what distance your scope is focused at. If you manage to determine this, you can shoot at that distance, and there should be no parallax. For field work, or target shooting at other distances the suggestion to back up from the scope and center field of view in the black ring surrounding it is a good one. Generally, target shooters gravitate toward higher magnification scopes that have adjustments to eliminate parallax. How much parallax do you have at the distance that you normally shoot at?

 

[krwada]

I have no idea what parallax my scope has. I do know it is a fairly cheap scope. It is an old 3x9 Bushnell. It is attached to a Model-66 Mauser. The rifle is fine. I am not so certain about the scope though. I have just re-entered the shooting hobby around 3 months or so ago. I am trying to catch up on learning all the fundamentals as I am doing this.

 

[BoydAllen]

Set the rifle up on some sort of rest, so that it is aimed at a target (at the usual distance that you shoot) that has 1" squares that you can see. Look through the scope at the target, without touching the rifle in any way, and move your eye from side to side, or up and down, to the limits of being able to still see the image, and, while you are doing so note how far the cross hairs are moving on the target. That movement is the result of parallax, and the amount of total movement, from one extreme to the other is what I was asking about. It will vary with the distance to the target. Do you know how to focus your scope's eyepiece?

 

[krwada]

To Boyd Allen;
I have no idea on how to focus my scope's eyepiece. I had no idea that such an adjustment was even possible. I inherited my rifle from my Father. It is a very nice rifle, however, it has a cheap Bushnell 3x9 scope on it. I am trying to make do with this setup because I have just blown a ton of money on reloading equipment and supplies. I have managed to make all the money back by trading options ... but that is another story.

I figure I need to wait to save my money for a better scope later on.

Please tell me how to adjust the focus on the eyepiece.

Thanks!

 

[BoydAllen]

In basic terms, the eyepiece is focused on the reticle (cross hairs). To do this, you don't want to be looking at a target, or anything else that your eye can focus on, through the scope. On 9X a featureless ceiling. or cloudless section of sky should do. The trick is that if you stare at the cross hairs for anything longer than an instant, you eye will compensate for a slight error in eyepiece focus, so you need to get in position, with the scope pointed correctly, and very briefly look through the scope, and then close your eye. By making small adjustments and comparing what you last saw, with what you saw the time before, you should be able to arrive at a point of adjustment where when you first look at the reticle, it is sharp and black. One more thing....I imagine that your scope has a thin lock ring to keep the eyepiece from moving after it has been properly focused. You will have to back this ring off, so that it is out of the way while you are adjusting, and then retighten it when you are finished. You should always wear something over your eyes when shooting...no exceptions or excuses. If you wear glasses or contacts, you should wear them when adjusting the scope. If they are bi or trifocals, you should be looking through the part of the lens that is designed for distance vision.

 

[krwada]

OK ... now that I know what to do; I will do it.

Thanks Boyd Allen