Parallax woes on vx6 3-18

I bought a VX6 3-18 and still can’t figure out the parallax.None of my other scopes have this adjustment. At the range it seems like I will have to adjust the parallax for every shot depending on what magnification I am at... I don’t feel like I have this kind of time in a hunting situation.

Does Randy use scopes with parallax adjustment?

Seems like a hassle and currently wishing I had purchased a 4-12 or 2-12 with no parallax adjustment. Am I wrong in my thinking?

I wanted a lightweight setup with CDS good to 600 yards.... but the parallax has really messed me up.

I'm a magnification junkie and have parallax adjustment on many of my scopes, including the same scope you're talking about. I would suggest setting the parallax where you feel a typical shot might happen. For example if you adjust it for a 200 yard shot, it should cover a pretty good range over & under that yardage. If you're taking a longer shot you'll have the time to adjust parallax. If you still don't like the scope, it's just about Christmas and I accept gifts from complete strangers, just saying.

This may or may not help.
http://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/understanding-and-correcting-parallax/

Im not sure of what you are asking. You don't know how to use it or it isn't working right? As far as adjusting, if you are taking a shot long enough to worry about it you should have time to adjust it.

I have that same scope and I leave it on 100. Any shots further than that I have had time to adjust it if it was distorted. Most of the time I don’t notice it.

Fishing4Sanity is right, leave the parallax at the same distance you're zeroed in at. Mine is zeroed at 200 so I leave the parallax at 200.

I just got back from Montana, I was lucky enough to get to set up a few times before I finally got the deer I was hoping for. Every setup past 250, there was enough time to set the parallax to the correct value. I have a VX6 in 3-18 as well. If you have a faster shot opportunity at a shorter distance, the 200 yd setting will be fine

Did you have to adjust the parallax dial from how it came set by Leupold? Just seems like I have a lot of parallax at the factory positions and corresponding yardages.

All scopes have parallax, the non-adjustable ones are just set at a fixed distance. So you could technically set it at say 200 and forget it.

A few things. As timeontarget mentioned, all scopes will have some parallax error, only some have a parallax adjustment to help control it for multiple ranges.

There are various factors that will influence parallax, range is not the only one. As such, the range indicated on the parallax adjustment is really a "best guess". The range indicated on some scopes is nearly spot on, on others it can be pretty far off. Some manufacturers don't put range markings on the parallax knob so that it can't be wrong! In that situation I always would wrap the knob with white tape and make my own marks, which were always in the ballpark despite changing atmospheric conditions. This option remains open to anyone who has a scope with adjustments that are pretty far off.

The lower the magnification, in general, the less the parallax error. Note that high power scopes almost always have parallax adjustment, and low power scopes very rarely do.

Some optical designs are just more forgiving regarding parallax than others. I'm not very familiar with the 3-18 Leupold (never used one) so I can't weigh in there.

I confirm the parallax on my scope at the range, and then trust it to be close enough to what I verified when using it in the field. I'm never taking the time to test out and dial in the parallax adjustment on a longer shot when in competition or hunting, it would take way too long, I just trust my prior measurements. Also, there's a lot of "good enough" going on with parallax adjustment (this is how ALL scopes with no external adjustment work, they pick a middle ground they like for you). If I'm shooting a competition stage with targets ranging from 300 to 1000 yards, the parallax gets stuck somewhere between 500 and 700 and left alone, good fundamentals will help minimize what error there is. When hunting, I'm usually between 350 and infinity (which are quite close on my hunting scope), and won't really adjust it for any situation. If I have a shot at 100, I can afford the very minor error present.

For those with Leupold scopes — did you have to adjust the knob from the factory way it was set?

Life support, I think you are correct about the higher magnification. Above about 12x, there is very little value in a hunting situation.

3855WIN said:

Life support, I think you are correct about the higher magnification. Above about 12x, there is very little value in a hunting situation.

Click to expand...

For me yes. For long range shooters no. Don’t want to start a debate here.

Regardless- for those with Leupold scopes with parallax adjustment did you adjust the knob from factory setting?

The OP makes it sound like the parallax changes with magnification which is a bigger issue than what the responses are addressing. Is that the case OP?

Parallax error will be seen at different distances and yes you will move the knob from where it was when new, that's why it turns.
Raise and lower your head slightly to see the cross hairs move, adjust till it stays in place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-ied67wwHY