AO vs Side Focus, and Coyotes

Buy once, cry once.

I have both side focus and adjustable objective scope. I favor the side focus and any new scope I buy will be side focus. For me it is just easier to adjust it to a clear image with the focus closer to me on the side, instead of having to reach all the way to the end of the scope. It seems my adjustable objectives are always hard to turn. The side focus ones are easier to adjust and in a more convenient location. But for hunting at close range like you are it may not really matter. If target shooting 500-1000 yards it make a huge difference, as well as hunting at longer ranges. The scope on my hunting rifle has a fixed objective and I use it for inside of 150yds, works great. If you ever plan on moving the scope to a different rifle the side focus may come in handy, but if not save yourself the $60 and get some more bullets or something. For prairie dogs I like the side focus just because they are usually 200+ yds away and they are so small.

I very well may do some 500+ yard shooting, but it will mostly at the range and an occasional p-dog (most of them where I hunt are in the 200-300 yard range). I doubt I'll try to take any other animal at that distance.

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Then I would pay the extra $60 for the side focus. Its not really that much more. If it was a few hundred different then that would be different.

If much of your shooting will be off a bipod or bags, spend the extra $60. It will be worth it, especially so when looking at the total cost of the scope. JMHO.

I've got two AO scopes. You don't need to fiddle with them much. Mine are marked at 25, 50 and from 100 yards on, in 100 yard increments.

Sorta drifty, but my .243 wears an old Leupold Vari-X II from 1982. 2-7. I use 2X when walking hunting, and 7X on prairie dogs to 300 yards. Never had any parallax or focus problem on the bench at my 100-yard target. Many and many a sub-MOA group.

FWIW, folks who wear glasses can have real problems getting the reticle and target both in focus while eliminating parallax. This is especially true of us folks with presbyopia. I have both side focus and AO scopes. The side focus is nice to do just that, focus the target. The parallax may or may not be removed. When I get the parallax removed the "yardage" marks on the SF knob are way off. This is true of my Nightforce, S&B, and Zeiss scopes. For general all around hunting I prefer to set the AO in the ball park and carry on.

My prairie dogging was some 80 miles east of Colorado Springs. Grasslands. The mounds were quite visible. Looked like a teenage pasture: Acne problems.

I don't know that I'd call it a problem, but there's a lot of neat stuff with which I'm rather unfamiliar. That's because my guns and scopes are sorta old. But, since they still let me do what I want to do, why bother to "upgrade"?

Overall, I like the 3-9x40 scopes. 3X for walking hunting for Bambi, 9X for sight-in and for little critters like prairie dogs. I have the 2-7 on my .243 because it just sorta "seemed right" for the little carbine.

I had an occasion to make a shot on a buck that was a fair way up a hillside. I held about six inches of daylight above his back. Hit him low in the ribs, the bullet going up though the heart/lungs. He quit right there. I glanced at the scope; it was set on 3X. Okay, so 3X works at 350 yards. But little critters like prairie dogs demand a bit more precision.

Were I to plan on reaching out to 400- and 500-yard prairie dogs, I'd build a dedicated rifle. .22-250 or .220 Swift. Probably a 4-14 or possibly more, "depending". Since it would be daylight shooting, I'd stick with a 40mm objective. Because I found I could shoot sub-MOA at a 500 yard target with a 1997 vintage Simmons 44Mag 3-10 scope, I'm sorta lacksadaisical about any high-end scopes. Nothing wrong with them; I just don't need them for what I do. All in all, old Leupolds work just fine.

But I say, "I dunno...." a lot.

My suggestion for a reasonably modest priced scope with side focus would be the Bushnell Legend. I was quite surprised of the clarity of the 4x16x42 Bushnell legend and its performance. I put one on a Model 70 Winchester .225 caliber rifle that I restocked with an HS Precision stock and it has been a great performer for coyote hunting. The scope is also available in a 3x9x40 with side focus.

I have a couple of side focus Leupolds and while the knob is closer, it is harder to get it adjusted JUST right. For known range target shooting or for hunting set and forget, I would go AO. If for a field course type match with small targets at unknown ranges, I would get side focus... but not Leupold.

I have a dedicated p-dog rifle. It is a 6mm BR built on a Remington by Krieger Barrels. The scope is a side focus Nightforce NXS 5.5-22. For a whole lot less money you can get a good side focus scope with elevation and windage turrets that tracks like a champ in the form of a Ziess Conquest. I have shot a boatload of p-dogs at 400 and over with a Zeiss 4.5-14 scope and the optic worked fine.

Here is my best effort to date.

OP:

Leupold's side adjustable scopes used to have a problem. I don't know if it has been corrected. It used to be that one had to run the adjustment all the way to farthest setting to "reset" the scope before adjusting to a new distance. I read of this years, and years ago. For that reason, I went with the Leupold 4.5-15 with AO, not side adjust. I'm not trashing Leupold; they are excellent scopes. That stated, the AO isn't needed for my deer rifle, an M70 in .270 Win, with a Leupold 3.5-10.

Geno

Geno said:

OP:

It used to be that one had to run the adjustment all the way to farthest setting to "reset" the scope before adjusting to a new distance. I read of this years, and years ago.

Geno

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My understanding is that that is how all side-focus scopes worked, even if it wasn't explicitly stated by the manufacturer. There is always some lash in the system caused by clearances betwixt the components of the system. If there were no clearances, there would be too much tension and wear in the system.

I could be completely wrong, but that's what I've heard. I'm actually ordering a Bushnell Legend 4.?-16x44 for a dedicated varmint/target AR this weekend so this thread has been very informative.

Matt