Tip for improving scope clarity at higher power settings

[zebra]

I have found my PA FFP scope to be pretty good and I was happy with it but it had some things which I thought I just needed to put up with on a lower price scope....until today....


Specifically, the clarity and brightness at the higher power settings. I never expected 13x or 14x to be usable. I followed the limited instructions when I first installed it. I spent all of 6 seconds adjusting the front focus dial and then, as the instructions told me, I used the side focus / parallax wheel to focus thereafter.

It didn't occur to me that it was worth going back to tweak the initial settings in a real world environment (I.e. not my bedroom) and spending more time checking it at different power settings. The front focus dial was covered with a lens cap and forgotten about. 

Anyway... today I was shooting a target at 50 - 75 yards on my trusty Cricket and I remembered about that dial. I just changed my contact lens prescription and things weren't looking as sharp as I remembered. Adjusting it in front of a typical target in the setting I normally shoot in made a huge difference. We are talking night and day, black and white, Hillary and Donald different. 

I can now clearly see the pellet impact on a dark tree 75 yards away as clear as if I was a reactive target at 15 yards. 

I feel like I am a happier person because of this. I think you could be too if you rushed the initial focus set-up thing like me. Once you get used to the scope, spend a little more time fine tuning that front wheel. 

I feel like I've gone from SD to HD and I'm like "I didn't know that squirel had so many wrinkles" n stuff. 

 

[Saltlake58]

I have the BSA version of the Primary Arms scope. Very bright, very clear. I'll revisit the focus on all of my scopes. My vision is changing as I get older, so double checking can't hurt.

 

[zebra]

"Saltlake58"I have the BSA version of the Primary Arms scope. Very bright, very clear. I'll revisit the focus on all of my scopes. My vision is changing as I get older, so double checking can't hurt.

They aren't the same scope but the principle should be the same.

I think part of the initial focus using the front wheel is adjusting it for your eyesight. If your eyesite gets worse over time (as mine does), it makes sense to go back and make sure it's still optimal. 

I recomend doing it during the afternoon when it's bright out and using a 50 yard target. Then check the focus at 14x, 10x and then make sure it's still crisp at 4x when you are done. 

I wish I had this extra focus wheel on some of my other scopes too now....

 

[Saltlake58]

When I say I have the BSA Version, it's the same scope body, from the same factory. Specs on glass and reticle may be different, but same mil-dot turrets. There are many versions of the scope out there, though fewer are available as time goes on. You can tell by the shape of the body at the turrets. Sort of oval-ish, combined with a 4-14x44 specification. One thing about the Chinese, once they setup for production, unless it's a name brand, you might see the same thing under numerous name brands, using the same parts (then again, even if it's a name brand, you might see it under many brands). It's easy to take the same product and just stamp a different name on it.

The focus ring on the BSA version and Primary Arms version, so far as I can tell, work exactly the same way. I'll also revisit my 40 year old Redfield Widefield (back when Redfield was on top of their game), as well as the newer CenterPoints, BSA's and other brands.

While I don't wear contacts, like you, my eyes are changing. Just paid for the Eye Doctor, and a new prescription for glasses. Probably should check focus annually or so at my age. Getting old is literally a pain in the butt.

 

[zebra]

Lots of scopes use the same outer shell. It is not unusual for $1000 scopes to look the same as $100 scopes but that doesn't mean it's just another version of the same scope.

The PA FFP is a better scope than the BSA. The BSA is not a version of the same scope with a different brand. 

Lots of scope are made in the same factory but they are just contract manufacturers making a product to each brands specs. 4-14x44 is a common generic formation. That's all. Lots of scopes use it at various price ranges. 

 

[zebra]

I changed the title of this thread because I just did the same thing on my Clearidge scope. 

I didn't even realize the Clearidge had a front focus as it's not labeled. I'm an idiot.... it is so much clearer now on 9x that it's a different scope.... 

I remember reading on another forum where a few people said they couldn't make this scope focus properly so they sent it back. It didn't make sense because mine was so clear. I am now convinced that it's because they didn't know to use the front wheel to adjust for their eyesight.

I want to buy one of those opticians letter charts now to see what line I can read up to when I compare scopes. "Is that better, worse, or about the same!". 

 

[Saltlake58]

Judging from the Clearridge web site, the front objective is for Parallax focus, not sharpness focus.

It is my understanding that, "Side Focus" or "Front Focus" is kind of a misnomer. Every scope I've had, has the ability to "Focus" to your eye for sharpness at the eyepiece. Even my 40 year old Redfield scope focuses by screwing the eyepiece in or out on on threads, then tightening a lock nut to hold the eyepiece in place. That's the real "Focus" for sharpness. My ancient 4X rimfire scopes, new CenterPoint scopes, and new BSA Scopes I own work the same way.

The other focus for Parallax simply aligns or focuses the image on the cross hairs inside the scope. This doesn't impact sharpness at all. It determines whether the cross hairs wander across the target. Properly focused parallax means the cross hairs don't wander. Fixed parallax scopes are typically focused at 50 or 100 yards (some exceptions of course), but for hunting this isn't a problem as maximum wander is under an inch at 100 yards. For precision target shooting, it's an issue, but for hunting deer at 50 to 100 yards, no, the target zone is much bigger.

The above link will take you to a decent explanation of the Parallax.

You should be able to download an opticians chart. Any decent laser printer will put out a chart sufficient for rifle scope sharpness. Bing lists thousands: focusing.http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=eye%20exam%20chart%20printable&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=eye%20exam%20chart%20printable&sc=8-24&sp=-1&sk=

 

[Saltlake58]

Zebra - please send source for the comparison of the BSA to PA. Curious on my end, of course!

 

[zebra]

"Saltlake58"Judging from the Clearridge web site, the front objective is for Parallax focus, not sharpness focus.

It is my understanding that, "Side Focus" or "Front Focus" is kind of a misnomer. Every scope I've had, has the ability to "Focus" to your eye for sharpness at the eyepiece. Even my 40 year old Redfield scope focuses by screwing the eyepiece in or out on on threads, then tightening a lock nut to hold the eyepiece in place. That's the real "Focus" for sharpness. My ancient 4X rimfire scopes, new CenterPoint scopes, and new BSA Scopes I own work the same way.

The other focus for Parallax simply aligns or focuses the image on the cross hairs inside the scope. This doesn't impact sharpness at all. It determines whether the cross hairs wander across the target. Properly focused parallax means the cross hairs don't wander. Fixed parallax scopes are typically focused at 50 or 100 yards (some exceptions of course), but for hunting this isn't a problem as maximum wander is under an inch at 100 yards. For precision target shooting, it's an issue, but for hunting deer at 50 to 100 yards, no, the target zone is much bigger.

The above link will take you to a decent explanation of the Parallax.

You should be able to download an opticians chart. Any decent laser printer will put out a chart sufficient for rifle scope sharpness. Bing lists thousands: focusing.http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=eye%20exam%20chart%20printable&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=eye%20exam%20chart%20printable&sc=8-24&sp=-1&sk=

I'm not talking about the parallax adjustment. I'm talking about the other end (the rear of the scope - I.e. The end you look through). 

The instructions on my PA scope tell you to adjust it once when you first get it and then leave it alone. You use the parallax adjustment to focus (and correct parallax) after that.

The instructions probably make sense if you spend the time to set it up properly initially but I rushed it and then forgot about it. From memory, I think I set it in my bedroom and then forgot about it. 

It's the sort of thing that is probably second nature and elementary for any experienced shooter but very easy to overlook for people who are new to the hobby, or people who don't read instructions properly (like me). 

It's worth a try for anyone who is having a hard time achieving a sharp image on higher power settings using just the parallax wheel. 

I had assumed that it was not possible to get a sharp image on power 8-9 on the Clearidge or 12-14x on the PA but both are crystal now. 

Normally, on something like this, I might assume that I was the only one and keep quiet about it because it seems so obvious now, but some of the things I have read suggest that I'm not alone....

A good test is to zoom in on something with text like a news paper. If it's set right, adjusting it will make the text less clear instead or clearer. 

 

[Saltlake58]

You are correct, it's really easy to overlook the initial focusing step. And you are also correct that most of the time, set and forget is the best plan. It only gets to be a big deal when, like me, your eyes begin to change. I might need to refocus several times over the years until my eyes settle down to whatever they end up at in old age. For now, my scopes are focused and clear. We'll see about that next year as well.

 

[Goodtogo]

I must be missing something? I've always been told to aim at a white wall or the sky to focus the crosshairs in a scope for your eyes. I know you can look at a target and mess with that but isn't that really for making sure the crosshairs are in focus?


Edit: and of course every time someone else shoots your rifle they will change that adjustment.

 

[zebra]

"Goodtogo"I must be missing something? I've always been told to aim at a white wall or the sky to focus the crosshairs in a scope for your eyes. I know you can look at a target and mess with that but isn't that really for making sure the crosshairs are in focus?


Edit: and of course every time someone else shoots your rifle they will change that adjustment.

I had no issue with the crosshairs being in focus. It was everything else at higher power settings. It just wasn't as crisp as it should be until I set it up properly.

I used a news paper because the small print won't be in focus (along with the crosshairs) unless it is set up properly. If I just point the scope out the window to do it, I have no reference to know if it optimal or not. 

It was like when the optician says "better, worse or about the same?", sometimes you aren't sure which is better until you get home and find that your new lenses give you migraines because you guessed wrong. Using a news paper made it a fairly binary exercise. If you can read it, it's clear. If you can't then it's not. 

 

[zebra]

"zebra"

"Goodtogo"I must be missing something? I've always been told to aim at a white wall or the sky to focus the crosshairs in a scope for your eyes. I know you can look at a target and mess with that but isn't that really for making sure the crosshairs are in focus?


Edit: and of course every time someone else shoots your rifle they will change that adjustment.

I had no issue with the crosshairs being in focus. It was everything else at higher power settings. It just wasn't as crisp as it should be until I set it up properly.

I used a news paper because the small print won't be in focus (along with the crosshairs) unless it is set up properly. If I just point the scope out the window to do it, I have no reference to know if it optimal or not. 

It was like when the optician says "better, worse or about the same?", sometimes you aren't sure which is better until you get home and find that your new lenses give you migraines because you guessed wrong. Using a news paper made it a fairly binary exercise. If you can read it, it's clear. If you can't then it's not.

When you occasionally get someone who is claiming a scope is not clear when everyone else gave it good reviews, my bet is that there is a good chance that this is the issue (assuming the scope is not defective). 

 

[Saltlake58]

Was talking to a gent at the local Sportsmans Warehouse gun counter a few months back. He told the story of a customer bringing a scope in claiming it was blurry. The gent behind the counter took the scope and began to focus the crosshairs until they were crisp and sharp for him. The customer was amazed, as he didn't know that was part of scope setup.

A few years ago I obtained a couple refurb airguns on the cheap. The only problem was that the scopes on the guns needed to be focused, and the elevation turret shot about 2 feet low at 20 yards. I believe the scopes were 1/4 inch per click at 100 yards, meaning 1/20th inch per click at 20 yards. (why airgun manufacturers would ever put that on an air rifle shooting at 25 yards is beyond me). My bet is that between being out of focus, and requiring about 100 clicks to get the elevation correct, the buyer thought the scope was completely defective so sent it back. The rifles shoot like a dream, just needed some work on the scope to make it all work together.

Yes, I'll bet most scopes being sent back are due to user not understanding how to set the scopes up.

We all live and learn through time, and usually the school of hard knocks. I've always been grateful when people are willing to share knowledge they gained through hard knocks, so maybe I can avoid a few of those knocks.

I've never paid much attention to initial focus because I've always had good eyes that compensated for me, never needed glasses until a couple years ago. Now, the focus on the scopes is much more critical for me, so being reminded to double check once in a while was very good. Good on Zebra for starting the thread.