USA -(Ammoland.com)- You can’t fill your deer or elk tag if you can’t see the deer or elk. So you purchased a Styrka rifle scope. Smart move! But, as with any optic, a few adjustments can make all the difference between a successful hunt and one that leaves you shaking your head.
So, once your Styrka rifle scope is mounted, consider these tips for getting the most out of your scope, at the range and in the field.
The Right Magnification:
People often assume the highest magnification setting on their scope is the way to go. Not necessarily.
The strength of your shooting eye, the field of view, the distance of the target and lighting conditions are all factors that can make one magnification superior over another.
So try this:
When you are doing your 100-yard zeroing at the range, start at the lowest magnification, address your rifle and position your eye behind the eyepiece or so that you obtain a full field of view within the scope.
Now slowly dial up the magnification and you will notice that as the magnification increases your field of view will decrease. You will also notice that the position of your eye needed to obtain the maximum field of view within the scope may need to be adjusted slightly.
This is especially true at the highest magnifications. Do the same for 50, 150 and 200 yards (common hunting distances) to get a sense of where you and your eyes best line up with the available magnification range of your scope.
In hunting situations you do not want to be in a position of having your scope set too high and missing a shot because you are not able to find the animal due to a narrow field of view.
If that deer or elk is out there far enough that you need the extra magnification, you will generally have the time and ability to get away with the movement to increase the magnification of the scope for that shot.
Fine Tuning:
Fine tune your reticle by adjusting the eyepiece-that serrated circle at the very end of your scope. All Styrka scopes have a fast-focus eyepiece for quick adjusting.
Much like a diopter on a binocular, the fast focus eyepiece allows you to focus the reticle to your eyesight. To focus the reticle look at a blank white wall, target or the sky and turn the fast focus ring until the reticle is clear and sharp.
Parallax:
There’s a lot of confusion about what parallax is and is not, and the actual definition is quite technical.
So just remember this: it is quite possible, especially at longer distances, for your crosshairs to appear to be on your target when actually they are a little to a lot off.
To check for parallax, line up your target in your scope, and then slightly move your head up, down or side to side. If parallax is present, your reticle will seem to shift off your target slightly.
As long as your eye is centered correctly behind the eyepiece, parallax should not be an issue but in those critical situations we don’t always address our rifle properly.
The good news? All Styrka S7 rifle scopes and many of the S5 and S3 line up have side focus parallax adjustment knobs.
Estimate the distance of that deer or elk, and turn the parallax knob to that distance setting. Done. You are now set for that shot to be parallax free!
Scopes without adjustable parallax are set to be parallax free at a fixed distance, typically 100 yards.
Dawn to Dusk:
When the light is poor, your illuminated reticle- available on Styrka S7 scopes -helps greatly to set off your crosshairs against your target.
But your scope will also draw in more light at lower magnifications.
As evening dusk increases, notch down the magnification for better vision and clarity. At dawn? Start at your lowest magnification and increase as the light improves.
About Styrka:
Launched in 2015, Styrka offers a dynamic line up of hunting scopes, binoculars, red dots and spotting scopes. The Styrka philosophy is simple but non-negotiable: make high quality optics at affordable prices; always tell your customers the truth about what optics can and can’t do; and, stand behind your products 100-percent, forever. Styrka Pride. Styrka Strong.
To learn more about Styrka Optics, please visit https://styrkastrong.com/.