Rifle Scopes my APT looks better than my PST..??????????

GSRswapandslow

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Minuteman
Dec 13, 2008
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North Carolina, Hudson (28638)
I bought a used 6-24x50 PST recently, and just today went and finally shot with it. The very first thing I noticed is that it's really dark at 24x... I bump it down to 12x and it's a LOT better, but still...I expected it to be brighter at 24x for sure..But, that's liveable, for sure..

The big issue is focus. I could NOT get the rifle to focus at only 200yds. My mueller apt focuses fantastic, at 10x, out to 200yds...and was considerably more crisp as well.

Is this a common issue with PST's...or is this something I should have looked at??


Thanks
 
Re: my APT looks better than my PST..??????????

make sure the reticle is in focus with the rear eyepiece first, then use your side focus to bring the reticle and target into the same plane. if that doesnt work, call Vortex or see your eye doctor.
 
Re: my APT looks better than my PST..??????????

that's exactly how I always do things....ocular focuses the reticle and then the side focus brings the picture into focus...but I really couldn't get a clear picture in the PST....but, like I said, I had no issue what-so-ever on the APT focusing
 
Re: my APT looks better than my PST..??????????

My APV surprises me sometimes, I don't look through it too often so I forget. The Mueller has better than you would think clarity.
 
Re: my APT looks better than my PST..??????????

Compare them both on the same magnification. When you double the focal length (magnification) you cut the light coming out of the eyepiece in half.
 
Re: my APT looks better than my PST..??????????

Here is my 4-16X50 at 100 yards...4X, 8X, and 16X. The square on the target is 1 mil....3.6 inches.

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Re: my APT looks better than my PST..??????????

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Temp9</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Compare them both on the same magnification.</div></div>

That is the only fair comparison. All scopes look worse the greater the magnification.

Also, those pictures are not very helpful. Just looking at the house to the left, not through the scope, it is obvious that there are focus and exposure changes.
 
Re: my APT looks better than my PST..??????????

They are cell phone pics.....and they are focusing on the reticle 3 inches, not the house to left 100 yards away.

This shows the brightness deviation between magnification.
 
Re: my APT looks better than my PST..??????????

Folks that "side focus" is actually a parallax knob that puts the reticule in the same plane as the target. The intent is not to use it as a focus, although it helps, but to adjust for movement of your eye so that the reticule stays in the same place as the target.

A good way to think about this is how something's position looks directly in front of you and then looking at it from an angle and noticing it might have moved right or left depending on which side you look at it from.