I have both of Leupold's EFR scopes (3-9×33 AO & 6.5-20×40 AO) but am looking for a faster objective adjustment. In other words, taking the scope from 10m – 40m in a quick few turns. I mainly use my rig for pesting and hunting and want a faster AO to go from feeder shots to fence line shots.
Any suggestions on other scopes of similar quality that I should check out? I'd like to keep the ability to adjust parallax down to 10m or less.
No input but I'll be watching with interest. The side focus models get from point to point quicker but I have next to zero experience with longevity, the only model I ever tried I returned to PA defective.
IMHO, you have two of the finest airgun scopes ever made. The glass is superb and the size and weight are just right. Heavy, clunky tactical style scopes aren't really needed on a pest busting air rifle.
I actually prefer an AO over SF as the AO has one less lens and since the adjustment knob on a SF is so small, a larger wheel is necessary for precise focusing. There are more things to go wrong and the extra lens can degrade brightness.
You could try a ring and knob like some folks use on their magnification ring or just set the AO at 50 yds so that you only have to turn the AO ring half the distance one way or the other if the 50 yd setting doesn't suit a particular shot. For a lot of reasons, the yardage numbers on an AO won't match what YOUR eye sees. I usually put a tape over the numbers and mark it for 10, 15, 25, 50 and 75 yds and simply turn the AO to whichever most closely corresponds to the target range.
Try ditching the AO. Most of my hunting rigs have fixed magnification and are non-AO. The ultimate in quick adjustment since there aren't any.
I experimented with my SWFA and as extremely off-center as I could get and still see through the scope I was still making one hole, although it was larger CTC than the Bushnell 4200. Well within minute-of-squirrel accuracy.
I am with 912 on this one with the non AO scopes. One caveat is my max yard range is 35. On my .22 R1 and my FWB 124 I have Leupold 3-9 compacts. Small and light. Leupold can reset the parallax for you if you can't do it yourself. I have mine set at about 20-25 yards which suits my needs. Real close shots with scope on 3-4 power are still quite clear. These sit in low rings which I also prefer.
JW – thanks for the input! Indeed, I agree that the glass is stellar as are the specifications of these two scopes. I had not thought of your suggestion of turning the AO up – perhaps not to 50 yards but even 15 or so would go a long way to a compromise solution (should be less than maximum possible parallax error of 8mm at 7 yards according to an old calculator that I found).
I do think I’ll have to give up the 6.5-20 as it’s simply more scope than I need and really challenges me on the close up shots. However, I can definitely see upgrading the 3-9 to a mil-dot (currently have a fine duplex reticle).
Rescue912 & sd5782 – thanks, I’m not sure I’m ready to give up AO, but I’m definitely leaning towards a compromise setting.
I have seen videos of guys that added electric motors and switches to rotate their AO. Seems like a lot of trouble but some guys love to kinker with stuff.
If I understand you correctly, you want to be able to move the front AO quickly into position.
Would something like this work?
I 3-D printed a larger ring for FT use, but you can pre-set the distances between "feeder and fence-line" pertty quickly without having to completely reset. I like the front facing yardage markers that I merely printed on some weatherproof vinyl and attached on the face of the ring.
I will try to dig up the video but these Britts use a zip-ty kinda thing that has a short stubby handle and it's reusable. When making their ratting videos they zoom in real quick and back out again.