neolithic hunter
03-21-2007, 12:53 AM
i just read this on another form and it is the best explanation i have ever read about how to set a scope up properly. i've done it for years like this but i didn't know all of the reasons i did it this way till i read this. thought ya'll mite like to read it also.
HOW TO SET UP A SCOPE!
This is the only way to do it...
First, screw the eyepiece out (CCW) all the way, until it stops.
(i have had scopes that don't have a stop on the eye piece so be careful)
If you wear glasses, put them on.
Hold the scope up and look OVER the scope at the sky, and relax your
eyes.
Then move the scope in front of your eye.
The reticle should look fuzzy
Turn the eyepiece in 1/2 turn, and do the same thing again. You will
have to do for a while before the reticle starts to look better. When
you start getting close, then turn the eyepiece 1/4 turn each time.
Do this until the reticle is fully sharp and fully BLACK immediately
when you look through the scope.
Than back off a turn and do it again to make sure you are in the same
place.
Then LOCK the ring on the eyepiece, and leave it alone forever!
Second.
Set the scope down on something sold, where it can see something at a
long distance... half a mile of longer is good.
It can be on the rifle, and rested in sand bags at the range... but
pick something at least 1000 yds away... even further if possible.
If the scope has an "AO" Adjustable objective, then set it for
infinity, and look at the distant object, and move your head from one
side to the other, or up and down if you prefer.
If the reticle seems to move, there is parallax.
Change the distance setting and try again... if you are very careful,
you can move your eye, and adjust the distance at the same time, seeing
which direction gets better.
With front objective adjustments, you can turn them either way without
worry... BUT with side adjustment scopes, like the MK4-M3, the M3-LR,
or the other LR family of scopes, the adjustment must ALWAYS be made
from the infinity end of the dial. Turn the adjustment all the way
until it stops (past infinity), and then start turning it in a little
at a time, until there is no parallax.
If you "overshoot" the proper setting, you can't just turn back a
little, you must go back to stop at the end of the dial, and start over
again.
While "AO"s dials are locked in place, and if the indicated distance
doesn't match the real distance, there's nothing you can do about it...
... the side focus dials are not locked in place.
Once you have found the setting for infinity on the side focus models,
then (CAREFULLY) loosen the screws, and set the dial so that little
sideways infinity symbol is lined up with the hash mark, so it is
calibrated. You can also make little marks or put on a paper tape for
other ranges instead of using the round dots that don't match any
range.
Now you can set it to infinity, but remember that you MUST turn the
dial all the way past infinity to the stop, EVERY TIME before going
from a close range to a longer range.
If you are set for 500 yds, you can go directly to 100 yds, but if you
are set for 100 and want to set it to 500, you MUST go all the way back
to the stop, and then go to 500
This is because there is a fair amount of backlash (aka SLOP) in this
wheel linkage to the focusing cell, so you can set it only from one
direction to make sure the slop is always on one side.
The other problem with it is, even if you decided that you wanted to
calibrate from the other end... the recoil will push the cell back. SO
you must ALWAYS set these dials from the infinity end of their scales.
To make it easy to not have to remember... I always start from the end
stop, when I change range, no matter which direction I'm going in... it
adds about 0.023 seconds!
Now... you gots a friend that says to set up a scope a different
way???...
... he don't know doodly-squat about scopes.
The guy at the range said to do it a different way... he don't know
**** either.
Some guy who's in the Marines says something different... he don't know
crapola!
You got a friend that shoots benchrest and does it different... he
doesn't know **** about optics either.
This is the way, the only way, there is no other way.
... as Rush Limbaugh would say... this is from GOD-da .
--------------------------------------------------------
So,there are two focus' in the scope. One for the eye, that should be
set once, and one for the target that should be adjusted often.
In a perfect world, manufacturers would ALL call the eyepiece
adjustment "FOCUS", and call the objective adjustment "PARALLAX"... but
many companies call the the target adjustment "focus" so there will
never be an end to this.
:cool:
HOW TO SET UP A SCOPE!
This is the only way to do it...
First, screw the eyepiece out (CCW) all the way, until it stops.
(i have had scopes that don't have a stop on the eye piece so be careful)
If you wear glasses, put them on.
Hold the scope up and look OVER the scope at the sky, and relax your
eyes.
Then move the scope in front of your eye.
The reticle should look fuzzy
Turn the eyepiece in 1/2 turn, and do the same thing again. You will
have to do for a while before the reticle starts to look better. When
you start getting close, then turn the eyepiece 1/4 turn each time.
Do this until the reticle is fully sharp and fully BLACK immediately
when you look through the scope.
Than back off a turn and do it again to make sure you are in the same
place.
Then LOCK the ring on the eyepiece, and leave it alone forever!
Second.
Set the scope down on something sold, where it can see something at a
long distance... half a mile of longer is good.
It can be on the rifle, and rested in sand bags at the range... but
pick something at least 1000 yds away... even further if possible.
If the scope has an "AO" Adjustable objective, then set it for
infinity, and look at the distant object, and move your head from one
side to the other, or up and down if you prefer.
If the reticle seems to move, there is parallax.
Change the distance setting and try again... if you are very careful,
you can move your eye, and adjust the distance at the same time, seeing
which direction gets better.
With front objective adjustments, you can turn them either way without
worry... BUT with side adjustment scopes, like the MK4-M3, the M3-LR,
or the other LR family of scopes, the adjustment must ALWAYS be made
from the infinity end of the dial. Turn the adjustment all the way
until it stops (past infinity), and then start turning it in a little
at a time, until there is no parallax.
If you "overshoot" the proper setting, you can't just turn back a
little, you must go back to stop at the end of the dial, and start over
again.
While "AO"s dials are locked in place, and if the indicated distance
doesn't match the real distance, there's nothing you can do about it...
... the side focus dials are not locked in place.
Once you have found the setting for infinity on the side focus models,
then (CAREFULLY) loosen the screws, and set the dial so that little
sideways infinity symbol is lined up with the hash mark, so it is
calibrated. You can also make little marks or put on a paper tape for
other ranges instead of using the round dots that don't match any
range.
Now you can set it to infinity, but remember that you MUST turn the
dial all the way past infinity to the stop, EVERY TIME before going
from a close range to a longer range.
If you are set for 500 yds, you can go directly to 100 yds, but if you
are set for 100 and want to set it to 500, you MUST go all the way back
to the stop, and then go to 500
This is because there is a fair amount of backlash (aka SLOP) in this
wheel linkage to the focusing cell, so you can set it only from one
direction to make sure the slop is always on one side.
The other problem with it is, even if you decided that you wanted to
calibrate from the other end... the recoil will push the cell back. SO
you must ALWAYS set these dials from the infinity end of their scales.
To make it easy to not have to remember... I always start from the end
stop, when I change range, no matter which direction I'm going in... it
adds about 0.023 seconds!
Now... you gots a friend that says to set up a scope a different
way???...
... he don't know doodly-squat about scopes.
The guy at the range said to do it a different way... he don't know
**** either.
Some guy who's in the Marines says something different... he don't know
crapola!
You got a friend that shoots benchrest and does it different... he
doesn't know **** about optics either.
This is the way, the only way, there is no other way.
... as Rush Limbaugh would say... this is from GOD-da .
--------------------------------------------------------
So,there are two focus' in the scope. One for the eye, that should be
set once, and one for the target that should be adjusted often.
In a perfect world, manufacturers would ALL call the eyepiece
adjustment "FOCUS", and call the objective adjustment "PARALLAX"... but
many companies call the the target adjustment "focus" so there will
never be an end to this.
:cool: