Double check the steps from Vortex's site (I posted them below for you) and if you've done them, call Vortex Support or don't.
Before sending your Vortex product in for warranty service, please review the following customer concerns. After reading through our troubleshooting tips, you may feel your Vortex product needs warranty service or evaluation, visit the VIP Warranty page for our return procedure.
vortexoptics.com
Why won’t my riflescope properly focus?
- Shooting at a target too close. Verify your particular riflescope’s parallax focusing capability. For example, a riflescope with fixed 100-yard parallax or 50 to infinity parallax may have some distortion when shooting at 10 or 25 yards, because the target is too close for the rifle’s focusing capability.
- Mirage is a heatwave-like distortion that may cause significant distortion on targets at a long distance. It can occur in a variety of different temperature patterns but will be most noticed when shooting at extended distances with a high-magnification riflescope. Sometimes backing off the magnification can help alleviate this issue.
- Barrel or Suppressor Mirage. This effect is similar to mirage observed downrange but originates from the barrel or suppressor getting hot after several rounds have been fired. The shooter can alleviate this by letting the rifle cool or installing an anti-mirage suppressor shield/ barrel mirage band.
How do I properly focus my riflescope?
Adjust the reticle focus.
Note: If the scope is a fixed power unit, skip steps 1 and 2.
- Turn the magnification ring to the highest power.
- Turn the parallax focus to ‘Infinity’. Note: Side focus parallax adjustment knobs mar or many not have distances marked.
- Turn the ocular bell/eyepiece all the way in.
- Aim the scope at a blank white wall or up at the sky with no cloud coverage.
- Look at something nearby, then look at the reticle through the scope. If the reticle is out-of-focus, turn it slightly to begin focusing the reticle but look away from the scope. Make sure to look away from the reticle after a few seconds to ensure your eye doesn’t naturally try to bring the reticle into focus. You want to look through the scope and see a sharply focused reticle immediately with your eye relaxed.
- Once this adjustment is complete, it won’t be necessary to re-focus every time you use the riflescope. However, as eyesight may change over time, we recommend re-checking this adjustment periodically
- Only complete this step if your riflescope has a side focus parallax adjustment or adjustable objective (AO) feature. These riflescopes feature a separate focus which should be used to fine-tune the image focus. When the image is sharply focused, parallax error will also be eliminated.
- Be sure the reticle is correctly focused.
- Turn the side focus knob or AO until the target image is as sharp as possible. The yardage numbers referenced should somewhat match the actual yardage to the target, but keep in mind these are not exact and are more of a guideline than a concrete reference point.
- Check for parallax error by moving your head back and forth while looking through the scope. The focus is correct if there is no apparent shift of the reticle on the target. If you notice any shift, adjust the focus knob slightly until all shift is eliminated.
Warning: Looking directly at the sun through a riflescope, or any optical instrument can cause severe and permanent damage to your eyesight.
Over-tightened rings can restrict movement of the parallax cell and cause the parallax knob to turn hard or not even change the focus of the image at all. We recommend 15-18 inch pounds on most ring sets, but please feel free to call and ask if you have questions about your specific rings.
