Very Important! An accomplished BR shooter taught me to stabilize on a bench and adjust the parallax until zero movement, but often the focus is not clear when doing so. Then adjust the eyepiece to achieve clarity (focus) and lock it down, and in this manner achieve both objectives. Otherwise the old instruction to simply adjust the eyepiece to get a sharp reticle on a blank background is not the best method and often causes one to sacrifice the parallax vs focus compromise.
Okie dokie, I have shot precision rifles since the 80s, and that is the best explanation of parallax I have ever heard! You should copyright that two pieces of paper part.
Thank you thank you thank you! This is one of those questions I would have never known to ask about or how to even articulate as a frustration. I can’t wait to get out on the range and try these tips, Josh.
Thank you for publishing this video, I thought it was well done and informative. If you want to do a part 2, I'd like to see you set the parallax at say the midrange (150 yd and shoot targets at 120, 150 and 180 yards to show "practical accuracy" and then for "precision" and see that time wasted for trying to perfectly optimize parallax is going to cost in time and points in a competition.
Excellent, thanks... For my homemade cheek riser I use a cutdown piece of pipe insulation and tape it on with insulation tape... Good height, comfortable and not as cold as cardboard.
Good video - thanks. Always wondered if the shooter needed corrective lens (glasses - but doesn't have them on) - does he then adjust paralax for a clear image to his eyes? And he then has a faux paralax setting? I lay awake at night pondering these kind of topics...LOL.
I was very disappointed when quite a few years ago, when starting shooting, the chap at the gunshop sold me a not-so-cheap scope that had a fixed parallax at 100m and I told him I wanted it to shoot 22LR at 50m! Sad to see so many mistakes happen at gunshops. Great explanation.
Great explanation ive tried to drive this home with friends but its hard to get them to understand that if its set properly its almost like shooting a red dot and you can have a shadow and your still gonna shoot to point of aim.
This was a brilliant video on two aspects , first it explained exactly what parallax and how it is caused, but also from a hunting perspective , the slight margin of error caused is negligible.
Good point! I often have to consciously remember to shift my mindset, from my precision competitive target experience in my youth, to 'Minute of 8" Pie Plate' (i.e. deer vitals area). "Good enough" is good enough in that context.
Great video, I'd add that mirage at distance will make your aim point change, sort of like a bend in light, best way I can describe it, if you stick your finger in a pool of water, and look at the submerged part of your finger, it's totally in a different place. If you set your rifle in a bench rest at 9am pointed directly at the target, by noon, your aim point will be off the target.
HeyJosh, excellent video! Excellent knowledge and tips, as always. A really great follow up video, would be guidance on how to get proper (physical) positioning, at least in benchrest, behind the rifle? New shooters could use this 🤘 Thank you for all you do, you and your team are amazing!
While most people dislike a tight depth of field (side focus / parallax) as it makes distances closer and further more blurry, it forces you to correct your side focus to get your parallax lined up. Another thing I like to do is set the optic just a smidge forward than what I'd like as it gives me a little shadow that shows me if I am out of alignment (think ACSS vulcan).
The other good explanation I've heard was looking at an analog speedometer from the passenger seat vs the driver's seat 55mph looks like 40mph to the passenger. For fixed parallax, I've heard old timers say they used to use scope shadow like a peep sight and the reticle like a front sight. Just back your head off till the shadow tightens up, keeping good consistent cheek weld, center the cross hairs in the shadow, and send it. On a gross scale, you can put your cheek in the same place. The shadow peep sight method allows you to get the fine scale correct too. This also seems to help with eye focus, try it with a spotting scope to see tiny holes at long range.
I have been saying for years that the best explanation for people claiming “a particular gun can shoot better at 700 yards than 100yards. “ Parallax is more dramatic at close distances
So glad you touched on this well actually made a whole video on it thanks Josh! Actually is this different from lets say when shooting the top of a target getting the same poi as the poa and then same target same distance shooting the bottom of the target getting a different poi from poa?
This man is struggling to shoot poor groups, lol. Seriously though, great explanation of parallax, an under appreciated variable in precision shooting.
Best explanation of parallax I ever heard. Two quick questions. First, what is the minimum scope elevation moa or mils, you would by for a 22 lr rifle for 200 yards. Second is it best to use an moa / mil scope mount and why?
Hey Josh, thanks for another informative video. Been watching your videos for a couple of years now and you always seem rock solid "on the gun". Do you have some sort of system for setting up your scopes as far as eye relief and differences in clothing as the season changes. Partly due to watching your channel I have several different guns and I have trouble getting my head position repeatable from gun to gun and depending on whether it's summer and I am just wearing a light shirt or winter and I have 3 layers on. I pretty muchly use my parallax as a fine focus and hope that the parallax is correct. At my range I shoot off a portable table that I made and wind is usually an issue. 22 degrees here in Spokane WA this morning, probably will pass on a trip to the range.
I set up eye relief to work best in a kneeling position. The rest is just getting a lot of reps in, that will make you more consistent than anything else
Getting the comb set up correctly helps with parallax also, so your head is closer to the same position every time instead of getting up and down movement
I've been using the parallax knob as a focus knob. I set it to see the target as sharp as possible and then get shooting. I've no idea if that also equals "good" parallax. Next time, I'll move my head around to see.
They are the same thing. Also called a depth of field adjustment. It can be argued what it's supposed to be called all day long, but the results are the same. Get your reticle crisp and clear with your ocular adjustment and then adjust your DoF to make the target in (it's most) focus. Now your parallax is correct at that distance. Now some people like to have their parallax set for closer than the target as it makes it easier to see bullet trace, but that's a different topic.
I've had many hunting situations when taking the time to focus the scope has cost me the shot! Because of that, now I leave the focus knob at a spot where it's pretty good from 20 yards to 70 or so, and don't seem to have any problems with accuracy. I was gonna ask, at what range do you really need it focused perfectly to avoid a major poi issue? Thanks! ✌️
I ran into this recently trying to shoot precision (Captain America Challenge) with a Sig Whiskey 3 scope at 50 yards. Probably an inch of parallax at that range at full zoom.
And I thought, having looked through a couple scopes before recently buying my first one, that the difficulty of seeing through the scope was due to the construction itself. I didn´t know the parallax affected this. I thought it was just about the focus.
Josh, if you have to choose between crisp target focus and a slightly mobile POI, vs a slightly fuzzy target but perfect parallax with the POI stationary as you move your head, which error should you accept? Thanks again for bringing up this topic, I've been thinking about this question for a while now.
@@scottprice3127 if I'm shooting groups I'd take the parallax and out of focus image. For prs style shooting I'm likely shooting with both wrong due to time but when I make a correction it's a fast correction for focus
If the parallax and focus doesn't come together is this a sign of a bad scope? In other words, if you can adjust the parallax to zero but the image is out of focus to where it is hard to see the aim point is it time to shop for a new one? This is the biggest issue I have with the XTR II scope I own Burris says it's within specs my eyes don't. It is not for targets much less than 75 yards at distance the parallax corrects better and is focused along with it at longer distances. I hate this scope.
Quick question what height are your rings to clear the mdt control bridge w that 56mm objective? I'm going with the area 419 tac mount (they're in stock now) and my gun is going to be done in about 2 weeks. I have an elite and a tract toric 4.5-30x56 and impact 737r action. 419 only have 2 sizes a 32mm (1.26") and 39mm (1.54").
Hey! Me and my friends shot at targets to 300 meters with my rifle. I shot dead center heightwise, next one shot maybe 3-4cm high and last one 6-8cm high. First we though it might be parallax, but me and #2 shot with same parallax but #3 fiddled with it. We tried again the other day but in reverse order (I get hot barrel) and same parallax for everyone (I set what felt right for 300m) Same thing happened. Is this just because the rifle is zeroed for my eyes? I'm the only one that needs glasses but I shoot without them (Gotta test with glasses next I guess)
I noticed you said something about sitting with the round in the chamber for a minute and to not expect much out of the first one. Does it being chambered for longer than necessary make a difference?
Rem 541, nonadjustable comb,LEUPOLD 6.5-20EFR, parallax on objective bell. Move head left right para looks good. Group has vertical string.!! later as you pull your head off the stock you see you :have vertical parallax:OR parallax pretty close rifle is off, but you just move your head a little. Stuff you just don't think about.
I think I'm having a similar problem, my first day shooting my new sh4j arken and my parallax would look off. I'd go to touch or adjust it then all the sudden my vision cleared right up. It was very weird to say the least
It's depth of field, which is often called parallax or focus. If your parallax is off, then the target will look less crisp. It can also be an issue with the optic as Arkens aren't known for having the best QC.
A deep depth of field is actually a negative as you think your parallax is correct, but you are actually off. What you want is a March as those have pretty shallow depth of field. That being said, both of these can be solved by doing what is the most important when it comes to accurate shooting... Repeatability. Same head placement, every time. That's what matters.
@ I agree and disagree for prs style shooting larger depth of field helps when your not otherwise going to move the parallax anyways. Lots of guys setting parallax at a happy medium across 5-10 targets at different distances. Is it the right way, nah, but it may be the only way to get it done in the allotted time.
No. It gets better out at distance. So shooting 600, 1000, 1500 yards, it becomes less and less of an issue. To learn more about it, look up videos explaining depth of field. Optics are very similar to camera lenses.
My question now that you opened a box that should have stayed shut forever! LOL If you have a budget optic, that will not parallax perfectly! Meaning cannot get reticle movement completely out of it ... wtf do you do?? 😁😉 serious question now that I checked after this video!! 🧐😳 Please don't say buy a better optic brother? I'm broke!
You can try using scope shadow, either move the scope forward a touch or move your head back until you get just a little bit of scope shadow. Just make sure you have an even amount of shadow.
Some day people will look back thinking about how outdated our optic technology is when they all have digital processing with parallax correction, light enhancement, auto drop and windage adjustments and auto ranging features lol You're looking at a LCD screen with a thermal now, Why not apply that concept to day time image reproduction. Won't need to worry about Japanese glass transferring light when your scope has a built in lumen detector and automatically adjust the brightness and sharpness for you lol Come on Nightforce... get with the times man lol
bonus point - your diopter will also throw off your parallax. If you're on the right setting on the side or objective and still suffering from shift you'll need to tune the diopter focus
Different tools for different uses. I'm sure a professional logger would take a similar view towards a chainsaw set up for chainsaw carving. That you don't understand that makes you the idiot, not the person who owns a tool specific to their needs.
One of the best and easiest explanations of parallax on the tube Josh!!! will defiantly help people!!
The two pieces of paper with holes was a great visual lesson.
Also need to consider diopter setting and how zoom can impact parrallax
Very Important! An accomplished BR shooter taught me to stabilize on a bench and adjust the parallax until zero movement, but often the focus is not clear when doing so. Then adjust the eyepiece to achieve clarity (focus) and lock it down, and in this manner achieve both objectives. Otherwise the old instruction to simply adjust the eyepiece to get a sharp reticle on a blank background is not the best method and often causes one to sacrifice the parallax vs focus compromise.
Okie dokie, I have shot precision rifles since the 80s, and that is the best explanation of parallax I have ever heard! You should copyright that two pieces of paper part.
@@brianmoore1164 haha much appreciated brother.
Great video Buddy . Perfect explanation
Thank you thank you thank you!
This is one of those questions I would have never known to ask about or how to even articulate as a frustration.
I can’t wait to get out on the range and try these tips, Josh.
Thank you for publishing this video, I thought it was well done and informative. If you want to do a part 2, I'd like to see you set the parallax at say the midrange (150 yd and shoot targets at 120, 150 and 180 yards to show "practical accuracy" and then for "precision" and see that time wasted for trying to perfectly optimize parallax is going to cost in time and points in a competition.
Excellent, thanks... For my homemade cheek riser I use a cutdown piece of pipe insulation and tape it on with insulation tape... Good height, comfortable and not as cold as cardboard.
Good video - thanks. Always wondered if the shooter needed corrective lens (glasses - but doesn't have them on) - does he then adjust paralax for a clear image to his eyes? And he then has a faux paralax setting? I lay awake at night pondering these kind of topics...LOL.
Should have set parallax at infinity and adjusted the focus with the diopter. That would give a great explanation on why it's so important!😅
I was very disappointed when quite a few years ago, when starting shooting, the chap at the gunshop sold me a not-so-cheap scope that had a fixed parallax at 100m and I told him I wanted it to shoot 22LR at 50m! Sad to see so many mistakes happen at gunshops. Great explanation.
Valuable information. Great video Josh!
Great explanation ive tried to drive this home with friends but its hard to get them to understand that if its set properly its almost like shooting a red dot and you can have a shadow and your still gonna shoot to point of aim.
Best explanation I’ve seen on this! Thank you.🙏
This was a brilliant video on two aspects , first it explained exactly what parallax and how it is caused, but also from a hunting perspective , the slight margin of error caused is negligible.
Good point! I often have to consciously remember to shift my mindset, from my precision competitive target experience in my youth, to 'Minute of 8" Pie Plate' (i.e. deer vitals area). "Good enough" is good enough in that context.
Josh - now I understand parallax. Thank you.
Great video, I'd add that mirage at distance will make your aim point change, sort of like a bend in light, best way I can describe it, if you stick your finger in a pool of water, and look at the submerged part of your finger, it's totally in a different place.
If you set your rifle in a bench rest at 9am pointed directly at the target, by noon, your aim point will be off the target.
Excellent explanation and demonstration! This is the best I have seen. Thank you very much.
Great explanation, Josh. I was not aware of this. I am looking forward to experimenting with this at my range
HeyJosh, excellent video! Excellent knowledge and tips, as always.
A really great follow up video, would be guidance on how to get proper (physical) positioning, at least in benchrest, behind the rifle? New shooters could use this 🤘 Thank you for all you do, you and your team are amazing!
While most people dislike a tight depth of field (side focus / parallax) as it makes distances closer and further more blurry, it forces you to correct your side focus to get your parallax lined up. Another thing I like to do is set the optic just a smidge forward than what I'd like as it gives me a little shadow that shows me if I am out of alignment (think ACSS vulcan).
Thanks fer sharing great info. on a REALLY overlooked fundamental.
This, I believe, just helped me out tremendously. Thank you sir!
Once again, Great content! I always come away better informed. Thanks !
Great video! I wish it was up yesterday. Just went through 600 rounds today. Going to try this later this week.
Nice video josh , nice to watch when it’s 10below zero in South Dakota
Oh my gosh. I cannot wait to try this exercise to determine good or bad parallax. I was trusting the marked settings.
@@porkbelly8489 never trust the marked settings 😁. Some are very accurate, most arent
Great analogy, Josh It helps me understand. Thank you.
The other good explanation I've heard was looking at an analog speedometer from the passenger seat vs the driver's seat 55mph looks like 40mph to the passenger.
For fixed parallax, I've heard old timers say they used to use scope shadow like a peep sight and the reticle like a front sight. Just back your head off till the shadow tightens up, keeping good consistent cheek weld, center the cross hairs in the shadow, and send it. On a gross scale, you can put your cheek in the same place. The shadow peep sight method allows you to get the fine scale correct too. This also seems to help with eye focus, try it with a spotting scope to see tiny holes at long range.
I have been saying for years that the best explanation for people claiming “a particular gun can shoot better at 700 yards than 100yards. “ Parallax is more dramatic at close distances
Yup. It's kind of backwards thinking if you don't know any better. The further out you go, the less you need to adjust your parallax.
Very clearly explained, thanks
Great explanation. Thank you gor the video.
Well i feel like a different man after that. That made so much sense!
So glad you touched on this well actually made a whole video on it thanks Josh! Actually is this different from lets say when shooting the top of a target getting the same poi as the poa and then same target same distance shooting the bottom of the target getting a different poi from poa?
Great video Josh I need to play with this next time I'm at the range. How do you recommend to adjust the diopter correctly on a scope.
Great video 👏 best explanation and demonstration I've seen
This man is struggling to shoot poor groups, lol. Seriously though, great explanation of parallax, an under appreciated variable in precision shooting.
Lmao thanks brother
Best explanation of parallax I ever heard. Two quick questions. First, what is the minimum scope elevation moa or mils, you would by for a 22 lr rifle for 200 yards. Second is it best to use an moa / mil scope mount and why?
This was the hardest thing to explain to someone who didnt know something like this existed when i was selling eye box glow
Excellent explanation! Thanks for the video.👍🏽👍🏽
Hey Josh, thanks for another informative video. Been watching your videos for a couple of years now and you always seem rock solid "on the gun". Do you have some sort of system for setting up your scopes as far as eye relief and differences in clothing as the season changes. Partly due to watching your channel I have several different guns and I have trouble getting my head position repeatable from gun to gun and depending on whether it's summer and I am just wearing a light shirt or winter and I have 3 layers on. I pretty muchly use my parallax as a fine focus and hope that the parallax is correct. At my range I shoot off a portable table that I made and wind is usually an issue. 22 degrees here in Spokane WA this morning, probably will pass on a trip to the range.
I set up eye relief to work best in a kneeling position. The rest is just getting a lot of reps in, that will make you more consistent than anything else
Really enjoyed this explanation! Thanks 👍🏼👍🏼
Getting the comb set up correctly helps with parallax also, so your head is closer to the same position every time instead of getting up and down movement
I've been using the parallax knob as a focus knob. I set it to see the target as sharp as possible and then get shooting. I've no idea if that also equals "good" parallax. Next time, I'll move my head around to see.
They are the same thing. Also called a depth of field adjustment. It can be argued what it's supposed to be called all day long, but the results are the same.
Get your reticle crisp and clear with your ocular adjustment and then adjust your DoF to make the target in (it's most) focus. Now your parallax is correct at that distance.
Now some people like to have their parallax set for closer than the target as it makes it easier to see bullet trace, but that's a different topic.
Great Explanation! Thank you sir!
Fuzzy target = Bad
Got it.
Would sure like to know what camera you have hanging on your scope. Good video and explanation. 21:15
@@LouisKerhlikar that's the triggercam 2.1
Great Video. Thank you for the information
awesome video Josh.
I've had many hunting situations when taking the time to focus the scope has cost me the shot! Because of that, now I leave the focus knob at a spot where it's pretty good from 20 yards to 70 or so, and don't seem to have any problems with accuracy.
I was gonna ask, at what range do you really need it focused perfectly to avoid a major poi issue? Thanks! ✌️
great job explaining it buddy
Great video and content, no bs thank you
I ran into this recently trying to shoot precision (Captain America Challenge) with a Sig Whiskey 3 scope at 50 yards. Probably an inch of parallax at that range at full zoom.
And I thought, having looked through a couple scopes before recently buying my first one, that the difficulty of seeing through the scope was due to the construction itself. I didn´t know the parallax affected this. I thought it was just about the focus.
Good stuff.
Josh, if you have to choose between crisp target focus and a slightly mobile POI, vs a slightly fuzzy target but perfect parallax with the POI stationary as you move your head, which error should you accept? Thanks again for bringing up this topic, I've been thinking about this question for a while now.
@@scottprice3127 if I'm shooting groups I'd take the parallax and out of focus image. For prs style shooting I'm likely shooting with both wrong due to time but when I make a correction it's a fast correction for focus
If the parallax and focus doesn't come together is this a sign of a bad scope? In other words, if you can adjust the parallax to zero but the image is out of focus to where it is hard to see the aim point is it time to shop for a new one? This is the biggest issue I have with the XTR II scope I own Burris says it's within specs my eyes don't. It is not for targets much less than 75 yards at distance the parallax corrects better and is focused along with it at longer distances. I hate this scope.
Quick question what height are your rings to clear the mdt control bridge w that 56mm objective? I'm going with the area 419 tac mount (they're in stock now) and my gun is going to be done in about 2 weeks. I have an elite and a tract toric 4.5-30x56 and impact 737r action. 419 only have 2 sizes a 32mm (1.26") and 39mm (1.54").
How does zoom effect parallax and are you better off setting parallax at a certain magnification level?
Which Tactacam are you using ? 🤔
Interesting video
Hey!
Me and my friends shot at targets to 300 meters with my rifle. I shot dead center heightwise, next one shot maybe 3-4cm high and last one 6-8cm high.
First we though it might be parallax, but me and #2 shot with same parallax but #3 fiddled with it.
We tried again the other day but in reverse order (I get hot barrel) and same parallax for everyone (I set what felt right for 300m)
Same thing happened.
Is this just because the rifle is zeroed for my eyes? I'm the only one that needs glasses but I shoot without them (Gotta test with glasses next I guess)
Would you say 25 to infinity is good enough for NRL22? Looking at the ZCO but see some people say need even less than 25M parallax
@@ryandavidson3010 no thats totally fine. I know guys running scopes with 50 min parallax and doing fine
@@PursuitofAccuracy Thank you!
Thanks much needed
I noticed you said something about sitting with the round in the chamber for a minute and to not expect much out of the first one.
Does it being chambered for longer than necessary make a difference?
If the barrel is hot it can heat soak the round. Can't recall specifically but could have been referring to it being a cold bore shot as well
@PursuitofAccuracy got ya! Thanks for the info. Still learning all this stuff so I was curious lol
Rem 541, nonadjustable comb,LEUPOLD 6.5-20EFR, parallax on objective bell. Move head left right para looks good. Group has vertical string.!! later as you pull your head off the stock you see you :have vertical parallax:OR parallax pretty close rifle is off, but you just move your head a little. Stuff you just don't think about.
What rifle and scope combo?
Good stuff 💯
I think I'm having a similar problem, my first day shooting my new sh4j arken and my parallax would look off. I'd go to touch or adjust it then all the sudden my vision cleared right up. It was very weird to say the least
It's depth of field, which is often called parallax or focus. If your parallax is off, then the target will look less crisp. It can also be an issue with the optic as Arkens aren't known for having the best QC.
Good explanation
And now we know why we pay 3500 buck for an atacr with a wider forgiveness window of paralex
@@JohnW-d9v that's definitely a consideration of the higher end glass
A deep depth of field is actually a negative as you think your parallax is correct, but you are actually off. What you want is a March as those have pretty shallow depth of field.
That being said, both of these can be solved by doing what is the most important when it comes to accurate shooting... Repeatability. Same head placement, every time. That's what matters.
@ I agree and disagree for prs style shooting larger depth of field helps when your not otherwise going to move the parallax anyways. Lots of guys setting parallax at a happy medium across 5-10 targets at different distances. Is it the right way, nah, but it may be the only way to get it done in the allotted time.
Qual marca e essa luneta que vc uza no vidio
Is parallax error effected by power? Is it worse at 5X than it is at 25X?
No. It gets better out at distance. So shooting 600, 1000, 1500 yards, it becomes less and less of an issue.
To learn more about it, look up videos explaining depth of field. Optics are very similar to camera lenses.
Happy Tuesday, PoA
I think eye relief is a bit more important then this, eye relief is that one thing that can screw every shot up
Yes, eye relief, then parallax..👍
My question now that you opened a box that should have stayed shut forever! LOL If you have a budget optic, that will not parallax perfectly! Meaning cannot get reticle movement completely out of it ... wtf do you do?? 😁😉 serious question now that I checked after this video!! 🧐😳 Please don't say buy a better optic brother? I'm broke!
You can try using scope shadow, either move the scope forward a touch or move your head back until you get just a little bit of scope shadow. Just make sure you have an even amount of shadow.
@stevemcquesten9911 I will try that. 😉
Thats a good video
@@philcashin5482 thanks brother
Wait till ya get old and have to deal with multi focal point glasses at the same time....
Shouldn't you include in this discussion how to focus the scope using the ocular lens?
This is not an issue with my day/night Sightmark scope.
👍
What gun is that?
@@OriginalThisAndThat Rimx by dpg
@@PursuitofAccuracy Thank you
Some day people will look back thinking about how outdated our optic technology is when they all have digital processing with parallax correction, light enhancement, auto drop and windage adjustments and auto ranging features lol You're looking at a LCD screen with a thermal now, Why not apply that concept to day time image reproduction. Won't need to worry about Japanese glass transferring light when your scope has a built in lumen detector and automatically adjust the brightness and sharpness for you lol Come on Nightforce... get with the times man lol
bonus point - your diopter will also throw off your parallax. If you're on the right setting on the side or objective and still suffering from shift you'll need to tune the diopter focus
😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
apparently paralax error doesn't apply to Josh.
@@professorXPM lol
Other than shooting off a bench what is that set up good for....only an idiot would tote around a gun like that. It's an expensive toy
That setup is meant for competitive shooting in prs and nrl style shooting matches. It's one of the fastest growing shooting sports right now.
Different tools for different uses. I'm sure a professional logger would take a similar view towards a chainsaw set up for chainsaw carving. That you don't understand that makes you the idiot, not the person who owns a tool specific to their needs.
First