cheap scope cost me a deer last night

taxman · Post by **taxman** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:42 am

ive posted this before--but it happened last night. had a huge doe at 10 yards but could not find anything in the scope. there was at least 10 more minutes of good light left. i have a 10 pt 3x --3 line scope. today, im putting a 2x wide angle redfield scope on it. i took it off 1 of my older rifles. i have to buy some new rings for it. man im pissed.

back to the story--everything in the scope was grey. sure the 10 pt scope is great at 10 am. but when you really need it--it failed. i wish that i had my bow tech in my hands last night. the fiber optic pin would of been a piece of cake to see.

Woodsman · Post by **Woodsman** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:18 pm

Cheap scope or wrong scope? Using a crossbow scope that is parallex free at bow ranges makes all the difference. I don't hear too many complaints from using the VariZone by Excalibur. I love mine!

GaryL · Post by **GaryL** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:26 pm

Can't say much to this post, have never had that problem with any of my scopes....

Digger · Post by **Digger** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:48 pm

I've always used a scope made for crossbows and never had bad Excalibur scope, even if they were made off shore.

DOXNUT · Post by **DOXNUT** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 7:04 pm

I have that problem, when my eyes are tired. I tend to loose the crosshair and other references, when I put the scope on dark targets. At times I wish they didn't make the crosshairs black...............Grrrrr

DOXNUT · Post by **DOXNUT** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 9:39 pm

Thanks for the info. I'll definitly have to look into getting one. Not sure if it's legal here for hunting, I'll have to read the regs.

ninepointer · Post by **ninepointer** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 10:16 pm

Woodsman wrote:Cheap scope or wrong scope? Using a crossbow scope that is parallex free at bow ranges makes all the difference. I don't hear too many complaints from using the VariZone by Excalibur. I love mine!

IMHO Taxman's problem had nothing to do with parallax. Parallax refers to how the crosshairs appear to drift across the target as you shift your head slightly from side to side or up and down. Taxman's problem was either too much magnification for such close range or poor light gathering ability or both.

Ninepointer

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 7:48 am

taxman,
I use a red-dot sight and it seems to be good in low-light for me. I have thought of trying the TenPoint scope on my Exocet, though. Be happy to trade you a red-dot for the scope

Woodsman · Post by **Woodsman** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 8:00 am

You're right with your statements ninepointer. My wrong!

Parallex was most likely not the problem. I didn't initially see his "10pt 3x" as a Tenpoint crossbow scope.

My point on parallex was to highlight that scopes suited for rifles(usually parallax free at 100 yards) are designed to be used at longer distances and are lousy at at 10 yard use and could have caused a blury view. Although parallex isn't directly related to bluriness or focusing, parallex could be the end result of using a scope designed for a different distance use. A parallex adjustable scope with a front adjustable lens, does make the view sharper by turning the lens to where the target is sharpest at given ranges/distances. Many better high power scopes have a forward adjustable lens for these varying distances. (My dad has an old Weaver steel variable scope 3 x 9 with this parallex/focus ring on his .300 Win. mag. It's a super sharp scope that can be adjusted down to 50 yards on the dial ring. )

Here is what I found at:

http://www.pyramydair.com/site/articles ... /#Parallax

"To use a parallax ring, which many scope manufacturers call an AO (for adjustable objective) ring, turn the ring until the target appears sharp in the scope. The true distance to the target may not always agree with the numbers etched on the parallax ring of the scope, but the scope is adjusted when the image is at its sharpest."

I agree though, probably "too much power or poor light gathering or both".

You would think that Tenpoint would have looked at this when they started selling this scope. Nice looking product anyway.

http://www.tenpointcrossbows.com/images/prod_a_ss.jpg

ninepointer · Post by **ninepointer** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 11:16 am

bstout wrote:Woodsman is correct. Parallax also has to do with the scopes ability to focus both the crosshairs and the target simultaneously at a given distance. Rifle scopes are all 75 yards or more. They work poorly at close range for this reason. My Simmons crossbow scope has adjustable parallax from 8 yards out to infinity. This is a wonderful option.

It also has BIG FAT crosshairs that are a snap to find fast in low light.

Bob

bstout & Woodsman,

Since my my knowledge of parallax comes from rifles (at rifle distances) I have never experienced the problem of simultaneous focusing. Thanks for teaching me something me something that I did not know about parallax

.

Ninepointer

buckeye · Post by **buckeye** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:07 pm

Some scopes are just better in low light than others. I have a bushnell an older Weaver a Redfield and a Leupold. The bushnell and Weaver are about the same with the edge a little toward the weaver, but at the same time in the late afternoon set on the same magnification setting the Redfield is much brighter and clearer. My Leupold is the best of all four. The difference between the Leupold and the Bushnell is stagering.

GaryM · Post by **GaryM** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:57 pm

I've used my Exocet since '97 and have never mounted a scope on it, and I won't in the future. At least not until such time that my vision starts to fail. I prefer the open peep sights. I limit my shots to 20-25 yds or under, no exceptions, and have always gotten my share of deer.

On another note, are you sure the AO (adjustable objective) on that 3-9X Weaver adjusts the parallax too? I'm betting it only changes the focus, not the point of impact like a parallax adjustment would. I used to have one years ago on a .222 Rem.

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 1:12 pm

Gary Merlie wrote:I've used my Exocet since '97 and have never mounted a scope on it, and I won't in the future. At least not until such time that my vision starts to fail.

Gary,
I like the peep & fiber optic front sight, but the fiber optic becomes fuzzier each year

I went to a 2x red-dot for that reason only. The Excal scopes are good, but they have too many yardage marks to suit me. I have missed a couple deer simply because I used the wrong yardage mark. The 20 yard crosshair held on the vitals of a 30 yard deer puts the arrow just under it's belly

GaryM · Post by **GaryM** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 1:27 pm

Hi Wabi. I'm 51, and my eyes are starting to slip a bit. No problems yet, but it probably won't be too long.
Which kind of eye deficiency is the worst for open sights with a bow...being near sighted, or far sighted? I'm getting far sighted,
(I think) I can see distance fine, but up close for reading is what I'll be dealing with.

The Pistoleer · Post by **The Pistoleer** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 4:43 pm

Bob, where did you get that Simmons scope?

Pete