School an SWFA Newb

[Chris_in_Idaho]

I recently purchased my first SWFA, a 10x42 SS MilQuad. I shot with it for the first time yesterday.

When I mounted it I adjusted the eye piece until the reticle was perfectly clear, which happened to be screwed all the way in.

Yesterday at the 100 yard range I adjusted the parallax ring to 100 but the target seemed slightly out of focus, to the point I had difficulty spotting 30cal holes in the red part of the paper. While looking through the scope I twisted the ring until I had the clearest image, and that ended up being at the 200 mark.

So my question is, are the settings simply marked a little off and the parallax adjustment is correct at 100 when the image is clearest, or does the actual parallax adjustment follow the markings and not quite match up to the same distance the lenses focus at?

Or, option 3, does this mean my eye piece adjustment is wrong? I adjusted it inside my house looking at a blank wall so I would only see the reticle. I'm pretty sure I had read to do this, but I'm no expert. Would fiddling with the eye piece help bring the image and reticle into focus together while the parallax is also adjusted for the correct distance?

Help.

 

[blkqi]

The yardage markings on a parallax dial are never accurate on any riflescope. Parallax is not constant, but affected by external variables like atmospherics. Use your eyes to adjust the parallax.

 

[Chris_in_Idaho]

Use your eyes to adjust the parallax.

Just to make sure I understand correctly, you're saying the crosshair will be in the same plane as the target, eliminating error due to eye position, when the target appears to be in the sharpest focus?

And are you also saying this somehow changes with conditions? I don't quite understand that part.

 

[blkqi]

Just to make sure I understand correctly, you're saying the crosshair will be in the same plane as the target, eliminating error due to eye position, when the target appears to be in the sharpest focus?

And are you also saying this somehow changes with conditions? I don't quite understand that part.

Yes- for a quick adjustment, turn the parallax dial to focus the target image.

You can also observe the parallax error directly by moving your eye around and watching the reticle's position relative to the target image.

 

[Evlshnngns]

I agree with ignoring the marks, adjusting it to were it works. Pretty common to have it a bit off on lower end scopes.

Clarity does change with atmospheric conditions, I don't know how parallax would be effected.

 

[blkqi]

Clarity does change with atmospheric conditions, I don't know how parallax would be effected.

Thermodynamics. The entire optical system is affected by changes in temperature.

 

[black dawg]

You adjusted the eyepiece by looking away and then back at the reticle, over and over?

I struggled with this a little on mine, took a few times of very minor adjustments until reticle and target were crisp, with parralax setting reasonably close.

Never had any difficulty with this with other scopes, but my eyes are getting older.......

 

[MJW]

I recently purchased my first SWFA, a 10x42 SS MilQuad. I shot with it for the first time yesterday.

When I mounted it I adjusted the eye piece until the reticle was perfectly clear, which happened to be screwed all the way in.

Yesterday at the 100 yard range I adjusted the parallax ring to 100 but the target seemed slightly out of focus, to the point I had difficulty spotting 30cal holes in the red part of the paper. While looking through the scope I twisted the ring until I had the clearest image, and that ended up being at the 200 mark.

So my question is, are the settings simply marked a little off and the parallax adjustment is correct at 100 when the image is clearest, or does the actual parallax adjustment follow the markings and not quite match up to the same distance the lenses focus at?

Or, option 3, does this mean my eye piece adjustment is wrong? I adjusted it inside my house looking at a blank wall so I would only see the reticle. I'm pretty sure I had read to do this, but I'm no expert. Would fiddling with the eye piece help bring the image and reticle into focus together while the parallax is also adjusted for the correct distance?

Help.

Think of the parallax as a focus knob. The yardage marks will get you in the ballpark then fine tune the focus. You will also want to make sure your reticle focus is adjusted properly, to do this, set the parallax on infinity, look into the clear blue sky and adjust the ocular focus until the reticle is crisp and clear. Open and close your eyes during this process, when adjusted properly, when your eyes are opened the reticle should appear crisp Immediately. if not repeat until it does.

 

[Chris_in_Idaho]

You adjusted the eyepiece by looking away and then back at the reticle, over and over?

Can you expand this a little? Do you mean pointing at a blank wall so I only judge the clarity of the reticle? Or do you mean when looking at a target so I'm comparing the reticle clarity with the target image clarity?

And no, I didn't look away and look back. That sounds like a good idea though so my eyeball sort of resets itself.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Here you go... Read my post there and ask any questions you may have here.

Swfa 3-9 diopter adjustment

Yes please. I should have some time in the stand tomorrow to work on it. The biggest enemy when adjusting the diopter (reticle focus) is staying "in the reticle" too long... If you're looking at the reticle for more than about 2 seconds when adjusting for focus, that's too long. Our eyes are...

rokslide.com

 

[JGRaider]

Can you expand this a little? Do you mean pointing at a blank wall so I only judge the clarity of the reticle? Or do you mean when looking at a target so I'm comparing the reticle clarity with the target image clarity?

And no, I didn't look away and look back. That sounds like a good idea though so my eyeball sort of resets itself.

Point your scope up to the sky.....no background.....focus the reticle as sharp as you can get it and leave it alone. Use parallax to focus targets and forget what the yardage says.

 

[MJW]

Can you expand this a little? Do you mean pointing at a blank wall so I only judge the clarity of the reticle? Or do you mean when looking at a target so I'm comparing the reticle clarity with the target image clarity?

And no, I didn't look away and look back. That sounds like a good idea though so my eyeball sort of resets itself.

A plane wall will work but the sky is better. You just want a neutral back ground so you are just focusing on the reticle. Be sure the scope is set to infinity on the parallax yes you don’t want to stare at the reticle while focusing the ocular lens adjustment. You don’t necessarily have to look away if you’re in a comfortable position just close your eyes and relax and then open them again.

 

[Chris_in_Idaho]

A plane wall will work but the sky is better. You just want a neutral back ground so you are just focusing on the reticle. Be sure the scope is set to infinity on the parallax yes you don’t want to stare at the reticle while focusing the ocular lens adjustment. You don’t necessarily have to look away if you’re in a comfortable position just close your eyes and relax and then open them again.

Excellent, thank you. I did not have the parallax on infinity. I'll do it again just like you described.

 

[newbie_123]

I have a similar experience with my 10x42 SS MilQuad. At 100 yards with focus/parallax knob adjusted to minimize parallax the target was is no longer in focus. I asked a veteran long range guy about it and he said wasn't uncommon for cheaper scopes.

I have a second 10x42 that I've been meaning to check out to see if it has the same issue but I lent it out to a friend.

The only other scope I have to compare with is my Razor LHT 3x15. I've had no issues with the razor's focus when minimizing parallax.