parallax while lamping? do you use it?

[kennym]

Hi Im fairly new to lamping with my HMR/.22LR. I tend to use my .22 more with subs to keep the noise down, my gun has a pretty good MTC scope but I struggle with target aquisition in the dark with having to adjust the focus,

 

my thoughts are to change to a set mag with set parallax on my .22 & use it as a dedicated night gun.

 

with all the experiance on hear it would be silly not to ask what the rest of you do.

 

SO..... what do the rest of you do?

[rwade545]

Decrease the level of magnification and more will be in focus, so set parralex to usual distance and6-8x mag and a fair amount will be in focus. Lower may will also help you find target quicker.

[cal 7888]

what objective lens size have you got? if its 50mm the highest mag you can go to, to get the best picture is 7x. this is because the eye works best with 7mm diameter beam of light coming into it!

what ever your objective lens size is just divide it by 7 and you will get the highest mag you can go to, to get the best picture!

 

atb

c

[wymberley]

Decrease the level of magnification and more will be in focus, so set parralex to usual distance and6-8x mag and a fair amount will be in focus. Lower may will also help you find target quicker.

+1

The best level is the lowest setting that you are comfortable with. Also, not only will you find the target quicker, there's a better chance that it'll still be there and not in the next county if you're having to flash all over the place with an excessively high mag. Your eye works according to the light available by altering the pupil diameter which will not dilate more than 7mm which is insufficient to see in the dark. Consequently, what cal 7888 has said is correct in the dark but you may just be able to up the mag ante a little if the intensity of whatever lamp you're using is such that your pupil does not need to fully dilate. You can check the parallex error by taking an aim and very slightly moving your head - if the target stays still in relation to the sight all is well.

[stubby]

Id say, what have you zero'd the scope too?

mines on 60yds, and never bother with paralex, anything upto 60yds is shot, anything over is left, or I try to get closer, knowing distances on your permission helps, the reason for not shooting further is I dont want to walk that far

[kennym]

Very helpful thanks for the replies

[Dekers]

If your eyes are half decent and at general HMR and .22lr night shooting distances then Parallax will not be an issue to most at sensible magnification.

 

Obviously the quality of the scope glass/coatings comes into this, objective lens size is all very well but you need to be realistic about the quality of that big objective lens, some smaller lenses on more expensive scopes have better light transmission. It then also comes down to any illumination in the area, dusk/dawn, moonlight, lamping kit and nightvision.

[fox slayer]

as stubby says mate shoot only whats in focus .

[Deiseboy]

I have had 2 4-16x50 scopes on my hmr and found if I leave it on 10x normally I can leave the parallax at 85 and shoot all distances comfortably. Its only past 10 when it gets parallax fussy.

[bicykillgaz]

Mine is left on 100yrds and I use it on 4.5x for lamping out to 100yrds I use higher mag during the day and higher again for zeroing. As long as there well lit up high mags not that important at night.

[thepasty]

in short...

 

no...

[Bewsher500]

i ditched all my variables in favour of fixed mag for all rifles

 

when you have missed a few opportunities at night because you had to faff around with a zoom that had moved or parallax you realise that you won't shoot more at 10x, 12x or 14x variable than you will at 6x or 8x

[welshwarrior]

i ditched all my variables in favour of fixed mag for all rifles

 

when you have missed a few opportunities at night because you had to faff around with a zoom that had moved or parallax you realise that you won't shoot more at 10x, 12x or 14x variable than you will at 6x or 8x

Seconded s&b 6x42s or 8x56 on all my rifles now.

[Dead-Eyed Duck]

I have used a 2.5 x 10 Swaro on my foxing rifle(s) for years. This has no parallax, and as long as I leave the zoom fixed at 10 I have never had any problems. I have shot foxes from 40 yards out to nearly 300.

 

Ditto the scopes on my 22 rimmy and 17 hmr.

 

You can get too fixated about the gimmicks and bells and whistles.

 

I would say get the best optics that you can afford, and then all you have to worry about is the distance and the possible need for bullet drop allowance.

 

The lower rates of zoom are handy for dusk when a drop in zoom will improve light pick up. However, once I start lamping I have never messed about with the zoom. The less you have to worry about the better - there is enough pressure on the shooter at night without piddling about with parallax and other gimmicks.

[kent]

This all comes from the progression of air rifle FT. Forget PA adjustable scopes for field use on RF and variables at that, I use a 6x42 S+Bender on the .22 lr these days and its a thousand times better than any twiddly bits scope I have used (for field use). Some of my rifles carry bigger PA adjustable / dialable turret scopes (which are fine for sitting and waiting) but for walking about they just get put down to 6-8x (or lower) and left as is.

Lamping especially you need to stick to the KISS principle.