Reticle goes in and out of focus

[TroyMN]

I always thought it was just my eyes. I focus the reticle on a blank or white wall in the house, call it good. I screw it out and start turning it in. Close my eyes most of the time, just open them to check the reticle, screw it in again and repeat. I thought I read if you keep your eyes open you can accommodate, causing it to turn out incorrect. I do not mess around with it after that. Multiple scopes same issue. Most of the time it is great but it seem to fade out sometimes.
Thanks for your input
Troy

 

[jrm850]

Are you looking through your dominant eye?

 

[stool]

when was the last time you had your eyes checked and your blood ?
eyes are the fastest tiring item on your body...loosing focus is easy if blood sugar is low, you have not eaten.

and start with the scope all the way in...and back out( unless for some reason you always find focus at the tail end of the adjustment.

don't look at the wall look at the cross hairs themselves

 

[riverwolf1]

I have a friend that has mega problems with focusing reticle's. His biggest problem is himself, as stool indicated blood or in my friends case blood sugar is the problem, he even has new glasses and still blames the groups he shoots on the rifle or the load when in reality its his diabetes thats the culprit. You can beat people in the head with facts and sometimes they never get it, and thats also my friends problem. His other problem is no matter how many times you tell him that each time you change yardage with a scope that has an adjustable objective lens, you must refocus the objective to remove Parallax.
Always try to check the focus of the occular each time you shoot, once I set my occular I rarely have to change it.

 

[TroyMN]

..loosing focus is easy if blood sugar is low, you have not eaten.
and start with the scope all the way in...and back out

I will try the all way in and back out...focusing equipment eye pieces at work you are to start all the way out and turn in, just a habit I must have transfered to the rifle scopes.
When I get to go shooting who has time to eat? I will think about that. Eyes have been checked very recent. Blood sugar should be good, never been told it was a issue and I am at a way healthier weight than couple years ago.

Regarding parallax, I adjust to remove all reticle movement on the target. I do not adjust for clearest target. Usually they are very close, but it only worry about parallax, maybe that is an issue, but I would not want to change that process, would I?

 

[Immike]

Heavy recoil can cause focus problems as well. Does this get worse after several shots or later in the day? The jarring can slow down the eyes ability to refocus. You may want to give a shoulder pad a try to test that. I can see my cataracts in the scope now and that is annoying. I kept trying to clean the lens and it took awhile to figure out it wasn't on the scope.

 

[Lapua40X]

I have the same problem. My eye doctor tells me I have the start of cataracs; what he would refer to as "mild". But "mild" is a major PITA for a shooter. Not worthy of eye surgery yet but, eventually, that'll be necessary. It took a while to discover the catarac ... perhaps your eye doctor can help you either confirm or eliminate that possibility.

 

[bheadboy]

same problem, and finally cataract surgery, two lens implants and the problem went away until I shoot a heavy recoil a number of time, so I have been cutting down on caliber and bullet weight to reduce recoil

Bob

 

[TroyMN]

Heavy recoil causing it.... I will pay more attention to how many rounds before it happens. I do not really have heavy recoil the .308 is almost a 14 lb gun the others kick less.
Not cataracts, yet give me a couple years.

 

[Smalltruck]

I can relate to this problem. And yes blood sugar (which fluctuates) and a lack of food, don't do the snickers bar to make up for it, will make your eyes go fubar in the scope. Add a tight or hard hold on the gun with a tight cheek weld and you affect your eyes focusing ability.

The cheek weld really took me awhile to realize until I was shooting with a stuffed up nose. Then it got so bad I could barely lay my cheek on the stock with out going out of focus.

So running to the range after work without eating a quality meal (not Macdonalds) and sinus problems or allergies may be the issue your having...

 

[brian427cobra]

Setting Reticle Focus
NOTE: To prevent the natural tendency of the eye to adjust
and compensate image clarity, do not fixate on a particular
object for a prolonged period of time.
1. Set the scope magnification to the highest magnification level.
2. Rotate the eyepiece counter clockwise until it stops rotating.
3. With both eyes open, point the scope toward the sky. Do not stare at a particular object.
4. Rotate the eyepiece clockwise until the reticle is clearly in focus.
5. When the reticle is in focus close your eyes for 10 seconds, then
reopen them. The reticle should still be clear and sharp. If not,
repeat steps 1 through 4 until the desired image clarity of the
reticle is reached.
6. Set the magnification to its lowest level to confirm that the
desired image clarity of the reticle is achieved.


If your scope has a Parallax knob(its not a side focus) set it to Infinity

 

[jhn]

Totaly agree with Brian.

After you done that,this side note, youre eyes needs allot of oxigan and rest.

I use a 5 breath cycle, between shots, (i do load single shot all my rifles btw)

1 Nose in, breath out trough mouth, (meanwhile taken out emty brass)
2 same, Loading new raund
3 same finding zero.
4 same with closed eyes.
5 half in and slow out, shoot.

Couple weeks ago a fellow shooter had the same problems as topic starter, i sad down next to him
and watched his techieks, (i teach sometimes)(or guide).
He wasned breathing, and didnt blink,

Hoped this would help

friendly greetings Johan

 

[TroyMN]

He wasned breathing, and didnt blink,

Hoped this would help
friendly greetings Johan

This could be true for me, I will need to think about that.

 

[Jeff A]

I have had this problem for the last couple of years. It occurred to me recently that this didn't happen to me while hunting ground squirrels in NorCal, just at the range. I determined I was holding my breath too much. While varmint hunting I have to shoot quickly so I'm not holding my breath very long.

 

[CaptainMal]

Agree with everyone else. It's YOUR eyes for whatever reason.

I get it also. It's especially difficult for me with some binoculars. One pair of Steiners have to be re-focused constantly. My Cannon ones never have the issue. Some form of eye strain is causing it. It's your job to find the personal solution.

 

[snakepit]

I have the same problem. My eye doctor tells me I have the start of cataracs; what he would refer to as "mild". But "mild" is a major PITA for a shooter. Not worthy of eye surgery yet but, eventually, that'll be necessary. It took a while to discover the catarac ... perhaps your eye doctor can help you either confirm or eliminate that possibility.

I have the same early stage/mild cataracts and you are right that even though it is mild it is a PITA for a shooter. The doctor said he cannot do any thing about it at this stage because Medicare and most other insurances will not pay for the surgery until it reaches a more severe level.