That’s how I prefer it.

I cannot remember how many times I have heard put it 1” high at 100, and your dead on at 200. I can’t think of a rifle I have where that is the case, and all are different.

I cannot remember how many times I have heard put it 1” high at 100, and your dead on at 200. I can’t think of a rifle I have where that is the case, and all are different.

And factor in that sometimes a fellow only has seconds to make the shot. No time for a RF or dialing. I have been in that situation many times, but mostly in hunting on narrow pipelines in heavily wooded areas. Here in wide open Texas a fellow may have more time.

Probably the biggest deer I ever shot was in my view for maybe 4 seconds. I looked left and there he was, almost across the road. I raised the rifle, put the crosshairs on his chest and fired. Caught him in the heart. 268 yards, ranged later. I had let one get away in a situation like that the previous season, when I spent too long thinking and fiddling with the binoculars.

Ive got another thread going in Firearms about buying a scope but I realized I needed to first learn a little more about parallax. I think a separate thread is worthwhile cause I dont want to confuse the other considerations on that thread. If yall can educate me, then I hope to go back and apply that to the other thread.

I think I understand enough about the basics of what it is. I just want yall to explain what I need to know in order to make an informed decision on which scope to buy.
>Question #1...Ive always used a 2.5-8 scope out to 250+ and havent had any trouble hitting what I want. Was I just lucky parallax didnt bother me???
- No, parallax error at 8x and below is minimal
>Question #2...Is there a certain magnification where parallax isnt much of a factor? 8x, 10x, 12x, 14x???
- IMHO, by the time you get to 12x, it becomes slightly real. By 15x a bit more. At 20x and any sort of distance (300+ yards, if you're not adjusted properly and off-center on the scope, the error is extremely real)
>Question #3...Is there a certain shooting distance where parallax isnt much of a factor? 250 yds? 300 yds? 350 yds???
- Hunting-level accuracy, I'd say 300 is minimum it would be very relevant unless you're horribly off-center
>Question #4.. Are there scopes available WITHOUT any adjustments for AO or parallax that are better than others at eliminating parallax???
- No, it's physically impossible for a scope without adjustment to be inherently better at eliminating parallax error than a scope with adjustment that's adjusted properly.
>Question #5...If I plan to never make physical scope adjustments for parallax would there be any downside to getting a scope that did have the ability to adjust? Im of the mindset that "less can be more" (KISS) so dont get something you dont use. More to confuse or break.
- No, there's nothing wrong with having an adjustable scope and leaving knob alone

And factor in that sometimes a fellow only has seconds to make the shot. No time for a RF or dialing. I have been in that situation many times, but mostly in hunting on narrow pipelines in heavily wooded areas. Here in wide open Texas a fellow may have more time.

Probably the biggest deer I ever shot was in my view for maybe 4 seconds. I looked left and there he was, almost across the road. I raised the rifle, put the crosshairs on his chest and fired. Caught him in the heart. 268 yards, ranged later. I had let one get away in a situation like that the previous season, when I spent too long thinking and fiddling with the binoculars.

Fireman said "spend enough time behind a mil reticle....". I dont even know what a mil reticle is and have spent zero time behind one. I agree if and when I do that then you are probably correct. 2023 that may happen. Maybe.

One thing for sure though, is that you need the right equipment to hunt in the fashion that you choose. But if someone tells me that they shot a deer/elk at 600 yards, it won’t impress me with their hunting skills. I will actually think less of them.

I'm not a hunter, so I don't know the answer to this. But is it possible a bow hunter would look at someone shooting at 200-300 yards and say the same thing?

The more you expand your skills and equipment to give yourself the best chance to end the hunt with a successful and ethical kill, the more respect I have for you. I don't base my respect on how much people artificially limit themselves in the name of what they subjectively do or don't deem hunting.

One thing for sure though, is that you need the right equipment to hunt in the fashion that you choose. But if someone tells me that they shot a deer/elk at 600 yards, it won’t impress me with their hunting skills. I will actually think less of them.

I hunted for some years in South Texas and had a few leases west of I35, so I know what open spaces look like. I have a personal limit of about 350 or maybe 400 yards for deer. Past that I won’t shoot.

A lot of people will say that a good hunter will get closer before shooting, or not shoot. For a number of years I drove guys around in jeeps to get them close to deer. It wasn’t hunting, in my opinion, but it was good for business.

One thing for sure though, is that you need the right equipment to hunt in the fashion that you choose. But if someone tells me that they shot a deer/elk at 600 yards, it won’t impress me with their hunting skills. I will actually think less of them.

I'm sure some will immediately take this as argumentative, but it's not meant that way at all. Just a realistic point of view is where I'm coming from. I'm all for modern technology, perfecting your skills, trying new equipment, etc. It's a lot of fun and quite the learning experience. I love the mil/mil setup and have loads of fun with it. That being said, This is my 51'st hunting season coming up, and 90% of it has been in Texas West of I35. I've hunted all over the Trans Pecos region....from Valentine, to Van Horn, to Marfa, out to the Marathon/Sanderson area. Th number of times I've been pressed to shoot over 400 yards is miniscule. This includes deer, antelope, aoudad (culled over 100 of the vermin). I also have considerable experience over lots of NM, West Texas, and up through the TX and OK Panhandle. Same story with shot distances. Maybe it's my hunting style, as I like to get closer rather than farther.

I'm not a hunter, so I don't know the answer to this. But is it possible a bow hunter would look at someone shooting at 200-300 yards and say the same thing?

Yesterday afternoon I experimented for you. Night Force at 10X focused at 100 yards. Then looked at 400 yards. Not terrible, but it needed the focus adjusted. At 15X it definitely needed the focus adjusted.

So many people talk a whole lot about glass clarity being so important, and if you are going to get over 10X having the ability to adjust focus is a tool that let's you retain your glass clarity.