How Important Is Side Parallax for 0-600 Yard Hunting?

[gohring3006]

I had one of those little Bushnell elite 10x40 fixed power, no parallax, it had 100 moa of travel and I hammered the 1000 yard plate with it on a 30-06 for a few years till I upgraded.

 

[WildRose]

Thank you for all the responses.

As some stated above, parallax is very beneficial when shooting smaller targets at longer ranges. When hitting small steel beyon 600, I absolutely use a scope with it. But I'm referring to "minute of deer" ( hate that term), when your window is only a few seconds after spotting the game anywhere from 0-600 yards. 8x-10x is enough to make an accurate shot on deer or Elk out to 600 (my eyes are still 20/20). When hunting, I prefer the least amount of magnification needed to make an accurate hit. But when target practicing, I definitely dial the magnification up.

I have a Steiner Predator Extreme 2-10x50 that I love at 23 oz, but was wondering if I would be losing something using it vs getting MK5 HD 3.8-18x44 at 26 oz. I'd like to not go any heavier, and can't afford a TT 3-15x50.

So on the Leupy, I could set the parallax at 400, 600, infinity (whichever) and take the quick shot? Or would I be handicapping myself some how?

I know parallax becomes more crucial in magnification over 10x, but assuming shooting below 10x, is it crucial to 400-600 yards?? I guess that's what I'm getting at.

That Steiner is a nice scope. I had 3 of the till friends and family talked me out of them. For the type of hunting you're talking about they are a very fine choice. Just put the crosshair where it belongs and pull the trigger, if you've done everything else right you should have some fresh meat for camp.

 

[skipglo]

Fixed parallax scopes are a different animal and if you are over 50...was all that was available....Just like BUZZ LIGHTYEAR SAID..." TO INFINITY AND BEYOND". But if you have a parallax adjustable scope....set it to Ten yards...set your target at 200 yards....and you will have your answer to your question. Think of your fixed scope as a pair of eye glasses...now think of your parallax scope.
...as a pair of Binos

 

[baldhunter]

Side focus scopes are great if you have time to adjust and focus for clarity.The issue I have is in a real life hunting situation where you have a very short time to make a decision and a quick shot,I find I don't have it properly adjusted when I take the shot because I don't want to take my eyes off the animal.I have some scopes that go up to 12x that are fixed focus that really are better in this type of situation.

 

[Philward]

If you feel confident taking cold bore shots to 600 yards one would assume you had the parallax thing sorted. I only have 2 scopes on hand that have adjustable parallax and they seem to be inaccurate between the dial and rangefinder. Never shot anything I needed to adjust parallax for.

 

[blvette75]

The side focus parallax, is something I now have on the all of my scopes currently in use, when I am at the range I use it a lot. When I am in the field, it is as many have said, if I have time to use it I probably will. I will state when I purchase a scope now I only purchase scopes that have the side parallax focus option. I am an older guy and way back when the scopes I had in the 70s and 80s and early 90s did not have this parallax option or many of the other options I use today for the price I was willing to pay back then. I used those scopes and had success out to a bit over 400 yards back then my farthest shot was a bit under 500 yards. My rifles then were zeroed in at 400 yards. If you are confident in your setup to shoot at 600 yards you should be good to go.

 

[Aussie Hunter Steve]

Not needed to 600yds. I've often chosen scopes for hunting rifles with a Max power of 12x to avoid having the parallax feature. A quality 12x scope will still let you shoot small targets and small groups at this range.

 

[Plinker147]

If one doesn't have time to
Adjust parallax probably shouldn't be shooting 600 yds. You can shoot MOA of an elk with fixed non adjustable.

Easiest way to decide if it's important is to shoot a group at 600 yds with parallax adjusted correctly and then another without, that will answer your question.

If I read OP first post correct is saying he is shooting 10-14 inch groups at 600yds at the range? Add in a in field shooting situation that's a big group. Probably need get that down to at least MOA at the range. Also sounds like lack of good parallax adjustment could be part of the cause of large group?

Just a few things to think about.

 

[WildRose]

Side focus scopes are great if you have time to adjust and focus for clarity.The issue I have is in a real life hunting situation where you have a very short time to make a decision and a quick shot,I find I don't have it properly adjusted when I take the shot because I don't want to take my eyes off the animal.I have some scopes that go up to 12x that are fixed focus that really are better in this type of situation.

Most fixed parallax scopes are set at the factory for 100-200yds. The way I get around the issue you address is by leaving my side focus scopes adjusted for about 300-350yds because that's the normal range where I generally first see game.

 

[CrankyYankee]

Plinker147... The 14" group was with a NF ATACR with the parallax properly set, then plopped down on a backpack when tried to simulate field conditions. When i shot from the bench with a rest or prone from a bipod, I was sub 10" (remember, these are cold bore shots regardless of time of year. I've recorded data from more than 10 shots from 30° to 90°, rain or shine, regardless of wind). If I could do that with my Steiner 2-10x50, I'd be all set. But before I do that, I'm just gaining some info to see if I'm kidding myself and NEED a scope with side parallax, or if the Steiner is do-able. As others stated above, it's 1 more thing to consider when taking a shot, but if i don't NEED it, I'd rather not have it on the scope. I've had buddies make bad shots when the side parallax knob got rolled somehow.

WildRose... that's another thing to consider.

Again, thank you everyone for all the replies. More knowledge through discussion is better to make an informed decision than ignorance.

 

[Teri Anne]

Hello all.

I would like to get some thoughts and experiences hunting game out to 600 yards and whether or not you feel a side parallax adjustment is necessary or not. Figure Deer/Antelope to Elk/Moose. I chose 600 yards max because that is the distance I feel confident in making a cold bore shot with my 300WM. From a bipod or bench, under 10". Laying down off of a pack, under 14". This is with a NF 5-25x56, but I'dlike to get a smaller and lighter scope before heading to WY. I can't decide if I NEED parallax adjustment or not. Of course whether I shoot from other positions or not will depend on how steady I feel, wind...etc. We all know the benefits of adjusting parallax at farther distances, but this isn't benchrest.

Without getting off topic on all the variables to consider when taking the shot, let's assume the variables are there and you feel good about it. Who hunts, and consistently connects using a scope with adjusting for parallax and who uses a fixed parallax scope?

For arguments sake, take a reliable 2-10x50 fixed parallax scope and a 3-18x50 scope with side parallax.

With the 2-10x50 fixed parallax, as long as you kept your eye centered and didn't have any shadowing, you should be ok... correct??? Does anyone have experience doing this out to 600 yards?

With the 3-18x50, if the parallax is adjusted... OK. But if you forget to adjust, or don't have time to adjust, would the parallax being off make a huge difference (assuming the picture is clear enough to see)? Is an adjustable parallax a necessity?

Of course I could conduct my own tests, but time and extra ammo isn't something I have alot of. This is information gathering to see if I need to go there. I will practice extensively with whatever scope I purchase before the hunt.

What are your thoughts?

Parallax adjustment is critical for long range shooting. Scopes without a parallax adjustment are set at the factory for 100 yards. Anything closer or beyond 100 yards your eye has to be perfectly centered to make a good shot. Adjustable parallax scopes internally adjust the parallax so that at the given range it;s adjusted to allows for a slight off center condition of the eye to not make a difference in the bullet impact. Notice I said slight off center. One cannot get sloppy and expect the parallax adjustment to compensate for their carelessness. If you don't have time to adjust or forget to adjust for the distance as long as your eyeball is perfectly centered it won't make a difference. The more the range varies the less off center eyeball is allowed before the bullet is going to go it's way, not the way you wanted it to go. Parallax is critical at all ranges. Eye centered in the scope eyepiece is critical at all ranges. 1/64th of an inch off center can send your bullet out to LA LA Land at 600 yards.

 

[sobrbiker]

Is it beneficial? You bet.

On fixed parallax scopes you can even have the manufacturer set it for a specific range if you're shooting beyond 400yds.

More error is induced shooting inside of the set parallax distance than beyond it, however I wouldn't do without it beyond about 12X.
Also, the method of checking wind mirage by focusing short of target (as mentioned previously) is the most reliable method I've found for judging wind as well.

 

[CrankyYankee]

Correct Sobrbiker. I listened to a podcast a few months ago where a Leupold Tech was talking about how to calculate max parallax error. I'll see if I can find it. Surprised me that there were some things that were opposite of what I previously thought.

 

[biff's reloading]

You can shoot an adjustable scope without adjusting it, but you cant adjust a scope without it. I use it quite a bit. Cant imagine a situation where I'd be too rushed to roll it in and out quick to clear up the picture, and at low light, every bit of crispness helps out. Unless you're just deer hunting with a stock gun and regular old 3-9x40, it's nice to have