Scope Question -- Thin Reticle Lines

[rebs]

when you adjust for zero parallax does the cross hair still move ever so slightly when you move your head behind the scope or should it stay perfectly on target ?

 

[BoydAllen]

It should stay perfectly still, and if you do not have that I can talk you through getting there.

 

[rebs]

It should stay perfectly still, and if you do not have that I can talk you through getting there.

I have tried several times and the cross hair still moves just a little bit and the vertical cross hair is not as black or pronounced as the horizontal cross hair. I sure would appreciate your help.

 

[KY_Windage]

Look at scope Sightron SIIISS832X56LRDT/TDT for the right one I was referring to. It is .012. crosshairs and a .125 dot. I don't want to get in a pissing contest, but I just want to get the right information out there and not have people get the wrong information. I'm sure you agree. I hope this helps you.

No, Steve, I have wasted enough time on this already. I looked at evey 8-32 scope Sightron makes. There is NONE with a .012 crosshair.

If you think there is, POST THE LINK.

 

[KY_Windage]

I have tried several times and the cross hair still moves just a little bit and the vertical cross hair is not as black or pronounced as the horizontal cross hair. I sure would appreciate your help.

That is usually an indication you do not have your ocular adjusted right, but it can happen that the scope is defective. I recently had to send an 8-32 NXS in to NF because I could not keep the crosshair from moving no matter where I turned the parallas knob.

 

[newbieshooter]

found these online:

LRFCH: https://sightronusa.com/product/siiiss832x56lrfch/



LRTD: https://sightronusa.com/product/siiiss832x56lrtd/
LRTD/TDT https://sightronusa.com/product/siiiss832x56lrtdtdt/

 

[Steve Donlon]

found these online:

LRFCH: https://sightronusa.com/product/siiiss832x56lrfch/

View attachment 1198586

LRTD: https://sightronusa.com/product/siiiss832x56lrtd/
LRTD/TDT https://sightronusa.com/product/siiiss832x56lrtdtdt/

View attachment 1198587

Thanks, Maybe he will listen to you.

 

[Brians356]

It should stay perfectly still, and if you do not have that I can talk you through getting there.

I guess it's time to just, um, yeah ... go ahead and reprint in full my essay on scope adjustment.

To wit:

Scope manufacturers' instructions are woefully inadequate. WRT parallax error, they generally advise adjusting objective focus until the target image is sharp. However that requires that the ocular (eyepiece) is already focused on the reticle plane. And their procedure for focusing the ocular is itself dicey: "Point the scope at the blank sky, glance quickly at the reticle (don't stare at it!)", adjust focus, repeat, etc. You are required to fight you eye's innate ability to bring the reticle into focus over a very wide range of adjustment.

There's a more precise, comprehensive approach, based on first principles: The only condition under which parallax error will be zero and target image sharp is when both objective and ocular have been focused on the reticle plane.

The easiest way to adjust for both zero parallax error and sharp target/reticle focus (making no assumptions about the scope's adjustments whatsoever) is as follows:

1. Adjust objective (side focus or AO) for zero parallax error, i.e. no apparent reticle movement on target while moving your eye around behind the eyepiece. (Disregard target image sharpness or focus.) Now the objective is focused on the reticle.

2. Adjust ocular (eyepiece) for sharpest target image focus (and, coincidentally, reticle focus - since they are now in the same plane). This is much easier than focusing on the reticle alone with a bright blank background, but you should still glance at the image for short periods, and trust your eye's first impression, which will also avoid eye fatigue.

Usually, a second iteration of the above two steps pays dividends in fine adjustment, since detecting parallax error (reticle movement on target) is easier once the image is more sharply focused.

Once you get the eyepiece focused on the reticle plane, and locked, thereafter focusing the target image for sharpness should also minimize parallax error, but I never trust that on the bench when accuracy testing - I always move my eye around behind the ocular to make darned sure there is no parallax error.
-

 

[BoydAllen]

Here is how I do it. First do the standard ocular focus to get to a decent starting place, then, at the range set up the rifle with a normal target, at a distance that is within the scopes objective or side focus range. Then I focus the objective or side adjustment to peak target sharpness, check for parallax, and if it is present make a very small ocular adjustment, refocus the objective or side adjustment to sharpen the target, and then check to see if parallax has improved. If the parallax is worse, I made the ocular adjustment in the wrong direction, so I go back to where I started and make a small adjustment in the opposite direction, refocus the objective or side focus for peak image sharpness and reevaluate for parallax. I keep doing this, eyepiece, front or side focus, check for parallax, until I get to the point where I have peak target sharpness, and absolutely no parallax. At that point I know that the ocular is focused precisely in the plane of the reticle, and that no matter what distance, if I focus the objective or side adjustment for peak target sharpness that there will be no parallax. I have done this with many scopes over the years.

 

[Brians356]

Here is how I do it. First do the standard ocular focus to get to a decent starting place, then, at the range set up the rifle with a normal target, at a distance that is within the scopes objective or side focus range. Then I focus the objective or side adjustment to peak target sharpness, check for parallax, and if it is present make a very small ocular adjustment, refocus the objective or side adjustment to sharpen the target, and then check to see if parallax has improved. If the parallax is worse, I made the ocular adjustment in the wrong direction, so I go back to where I started and make a small adjustment in the opposite direction, refocus the objective or side focus for peak image sharpness and reevaluate for parallax. I keep doing this, eyepiece, front or side focus, check for parallax, until I get to the point where I have peak target sharpness, and absolutely no parallax. At that point I know that the ocular is focused precisely in the plane of the reticle, and that no matter what distance, if I focus the objective or side adjustment for peak target sharpness that there will be no parallax. I have done this with many scopes over the years.

Our methods are essentially the same, and with reiterative fine tuning, the difference boils down to where we jump into the loop. Next time I'll start as you describe.
-

 

[BoydAllen]

Our methods are essentially the same, and with reiterative fine tuning, the difference boils down to where we jump into the loop. Next time I'll start as you describe.
-

I put mine up because you shared yours. Most of the time I handle this by PM and phone because in the past, on a couple of forums, some "expert" who claimed universal scope knowledge would berate anyone who mentioned adjusting the ocular to resolve this issue, essentially behaving as if the typical, simplified manufacturers' instructions were the last word, and should be followed to the letter. After a while I realized that I really had no need for discussion, since I had done the procedure so many times, and that all I really wanted to do was to help those who recognized that they had a problem, that they wanted help with.

 

[Steve Donlon]

No, Steve, I have wasted enough time on this already. I looked at evey 8-32 scope Sightron makes. There is NONE with a .012 crosshair.

If you think there is, POST THE LINK.

Here is the link
https://sightronusa.com/product/siiiss832x56lrtdtdt/

 

[Steve Donlon]

Never could understand staring at a blank bright sky to set your retical focus without something there to focus on at the same time so your eye could move back and forth to make corrections. As long as the target was not to complex. Like a barn door or the side of a house, garage door. But not a blank space in the sky. Just to empty for me. You guys made a lot of sense, thanks

 

[BoydAllen]

There is good reason for staring at blank sky, or an out of focus featureless wall. You do not want your eye to be drawn away from what you are trying to focus, the reticle.

One other thing that I forgot to mention is when you are doing the preliminary eyepiece focus, using the empty sky or wall method, you should only glance at the image for a half second at a time, because you do not want to give your eye time to adjust. You glance, look away, decide if it is sharp, try an adjustment one way or the other, glance again, decide whether you see an improvement, make another adjustment and so on until you are satisfied that the reticle is as sharp and contrasty as possible. If you stare, there eye's ability to focus and compensate for the eyepiece being focused slightly out of the plane of the reticle will result in there being a rather wide range of adjustments within which the reticle will appear to be correct. That is not what you want. You want to narrow the adjustment as much as possible before fine tuning on a target. For that operation,since you are dealing with target sharpness and parallax, you do not have to glance. You can take your time.

 

[rebs]

Here is how I do it. First do the standard ocular focus to get to a decent starting place, then, at the range set up the rifle with a normal target, at a distance that is within the scopes objective or side focus range. Then I focus the objective or side adjustment to peak target sharpness, check for parallax, and if it is present make a very small ocular adjustment, refocus the objective or side adjustment to sharpen the target, and then check to see if parallax has improved. If the parallax is worse, I made the ocular adjustment in the wrong direction, so I go back to where I started and make a small adjustment in the opposite direction, refocus the objective or side focus for peak image sharpness and reevaluate for parallax. I keep doing this, eyepiece, front or side focus, check for parallax, until I get to the point where I have peak target sharpness, and absolutely no parallax. At that point I know that the ocular is focused precisely in the plane of the reticle, and that no matter what distance, if I focus the objective or side adjustment for peak target sharpness that there will be no parallax. I have done this with many scopes over the years.

I will try it this way,

 

[KY_Windage]

Here is the link
https://sightronusa.com/product/siiiss832x56lrtdtdt/

Thanks, Steve. That does indeed say it has a .012 reticle at 32x. I agree with you that is going to be very difficult for most people to see except in optimal conditions on a mostly white target.

I want an opaque sky to focus an ocular. I focus on something outside the scope (trees, whatever) at a distance, then move my eye to the reticle. I go back and forth, adjusting until the reticle is in focus when I first move to it.

 

[Steve Donlon]

Thanks, Steve. That does indeed say it has a .012 reticle at 32x. I agree with you that is going to be very difficult for most people to see except in optimal conditions on a mostly white target.

I want an opaque sky to focus an ocular. I focus on something outside the scope (trees, whatever) at a distance, then move my eye to the reticle. I go back and forth, adjusting until the reticle is in focus when I first move to it.

Sorry I was so persistent in informing you about this. I guess we are both just stubborn. It just seemed very small and that is why I thought that could be rebs problem, not just a focus problem. Maybe both!