I’ve settled on buying an Athlon Heras 6-24x56 SFP APLR7 MOA for HFT and now looking at parallax wheels. The JD Custom wheels seem to be used by a lot of shooters. Is the magnetic attaching system it uses reliable, i.e., when removed and then reattached do the hold points on the wheel return to their correct position? Does it solidly att to the scope? Are there better options available? Thanks, Tom
Parallax Wheel
- Thread starter TomJ
- Start date
I have been happy with mine. What complicates things for range wheels on this scope is that the range ring is right next to the illumination switch ring and one shouldn’t interfere with the other. The magnetic feature is flawless, and well thought out.
I did have an issue with a machined piece eric supplied to fit over the (scope works) range wheel. I couldn’t get it to tighten down enough so I rigged up a piece of Parmesan lid instead and then screwed it down with the supplies grub screws and it hasn’t moved since I put it on in February. It’s on my HW50s which has shook a bunch of other stuff loose, but not the range wheel! The second photo shows where I put the piece of the Parmesan lid. I’m living in Wisconsin, so cheese had to get involved.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Newbie question: What's the deal with the big parallax wheels on air guns (specifically)? I've never seen this in the powder burner world.
I put the wheel that came with my Hawke scope on, just because it looks like the "fashion" for air rifles. But what is the real / practical reason for it?
I put the wheel that came with my Hawke scope on, just because it looks like the "fashion" for air rifles. But what is the real / practical reason for it?
Upvote 0
Ideally, I would like a wheel that solidly attach to the scope, but can be removed when going to and from the range. Is one preferable to the other, Scopewerks vs JD Customs?
Upvote 0
A larger diameter parallax wheel makes fine tuning your focus easier to do.
Instead of settling for "close enough," you can fine tune a larger wheel much easier than trying to micro-adjust a small 'wheel' like those stock ones.
A finer focus helps eliminate double parallax, which can/will throw shots off from intended POA.
mike
Instead of settling for "close enough," you can fine tune a larger wheel much easier than trying to micro-adjust a small 'wheel' like those stock ones.
A finer focus helps eliminate double parallax, which can/will throw shots off from intended POA.
mike
Upvote 0
I actually misspoke. My set up was from Eric at Spokewerks. I’ve corrected my post. I realized that when I saw Cavedwellers photo. FYI, I like the scope so much I’ve bought a second one for my Beeman R9. Cavedwellers excellent reviews of a wide range of scopes helped me in this decision.
Upvote 0
Both JD Garland and Eric Sanders of Scope Werks make excellent magnetic parallax wheels. Scope Werks uses a aluminum compression ring / hub material which "spreads the force" applied against the scopes parallax knob out better = circumfrentially; once installed it stays put and no retightening is required. Whereas synthetic compression hub materials tend to place the stress more directly beneath the 3-4 grub screws points of the synthetic ring being used and they sometimes require retightening. That said, both methods work very well. I prefer the aluminum compression ring method to the synthetic ones because i am constantly moving things around and that tends to wear the synthetic rings out. You can't go wrong with either choice. Magnetic Parallax Wheels are a very Niche market and the makers are very clever and constantly upgrading their oferings which is amazing considering the number of scopes out there and the variety of sizes with small clearances they have to work with. Recently some Hybrid wheels are coming out which use aluminum hubs with 3D printed wheels - this saves some cost to the consumer.
Upvote 0
all good but for hunter field target / field target application you need a LARGE wheel that you can easily mark to calibrate the wheel to your eyes focus point at given distances.I did away with all my big wheels, I just 3D print mine now.
Upvote 0
As one who has been "into" long distance precision shooting with powder burning rifles, I'm very familiar with parallax and how it affects POI. I've never had any issues with the normal sized adjustment on scopes.
But I was curious why air rifle shooters need or want a bigger wheel. I understand the mechanical advantage for smaller adjustments. But I still wonder why it seems only air rifle shooters have the affectation of the giant wheel. The principles of how scopes are work and are used are exactly the same for both shooting disciplines (air and firearms).
Thanks!
Upvote 0
Oh! I agree they are very useful for FT? When you need to easily find your focus point for the distance, but as mentioned people seem to be obsessed with them, I used to use them but discovered for target work they are more of a hindrance and a smaller wheel that's easy to grip is easier to use and quickly change focus for the required distance.
Upvote 0
@Racer88 - the best way to understand the wheels is to attend a field target match. We use the scope in a way they were never intended to be used. We use the parallax feature to determine the actual distance to a target from 10-55 yards. This requires a wheel which is large enough to tape and mark or "calibrate" to a users individual eyes on a pre-set course of objects to focus on. By the 1/2 yard is preferable from 10-20 yards then by the yard thereafter. Once a user has marked their wheel on a "known" distances range, they can go to an unknown range and determine pretty darn close if a target is 10 yards or 10.5 yards away and if your off.... you WILL miss. At 16X power or HFT we are limited to 16X magnification so after 35 yards on all scopes there is a lot of educated guessing going on. hope this explanatiion helps.
Upvote 0
@Croxton63
It appears, from your picture, that you are "missing" the required aluminum compression ring required for your Wheel!
Contact Eric at scope werks and he will correct !
Upvote 0
Perfect explanation. Thanks. I will not likely ever attend any competitions. I've tried a few (along with my daughter) in the PB world and did NOT like the vibe. A bunch of jerks, really. Old farts (and I'm close to being an "old fart" myself) obsessed with rules and zero desire to help newbies. I'll just leave it at that. No competitions for me. I'll just "compete" against myself and enjoy shooting just for the relaxation benefits of shooting.
Upvote 0
Cavedweller, he sent one after asking me the dimensions and it didn’t fit. I didn’t want to be a pain-in-the-butt and hence the reason I went with the parm lid.
Upvote 0
@Croxton63 hmmm .... Eric is very responsive... call or email him. He doesn't mind doing whatever it takes to get it right. Example, I have had the same model athlon scopes with slightly diff dia parallax knobs and Eric ending up making a one off compression ring to fit it... its what he does.
Upvote 0