Perimeter of scope fuzzy at the 12 o'clock?

[nikonNUT]

Hey scope gurus I need some assistance. I put a Bergara B14R together using a EGW HD 30MOA rail, Vortex PMR 34mm rings (1.0"), and an Athlon Ares ETR I had laying around. It shoots great but if I look at the perimeter of the scope image it shows a crisp delineation between the image and the black everywhere but the top at approx 10 to 1 on a clock where it goes a bit soft . The image is sharp as is the reticle. I feel like I have the scope position for and aft and the cheek piece height correct. Any ideals on the issue? Too much cant i.e. not looking thru straight thru the scope but looking up at an angle? Bum scope? I have a 20MOA rail I can try and see if flattening the cant out a bit helps but any suggestion are greatly appreciated!

 

[srt-4_uk]

Dial it down 5 mil and see how it looks.

 

[nikonNUT]

Dial it down 5 mil and see how it looks.

Dialed down five and it looks the same but I dialed up seven which is my 200 yard dope and it got nice and crisp all the way around. Thoughts?

 

[srt-4_uk]

Sorry I meant up. Sounds like you might just be really close to the elevation extreme, which is odd considering you are just using a 20moa base.
With my Meopta Optika6, if I dial to the extreme, it doesn't just get fuzzy, I have visible black on the edge.

 

[nikonNUT]

So I put the 20MOA base on and took it to the range. Still fuzzy at the top at 50 but when I dial in 1.9 (StrelokPro dope at 100) everything is nice and crisp. I can live with that. As for the elevation extreme with the 20MOA rail I can still dial down 9MILs so I don't think I'm maxing anything out? Definitely a head scratcher. I thought about putting the 30MOA rail back on but the gains are minimal regarding distance. Assuming 85% of available travel a 20 MOA rail gives me 17.6MILs aka 360 yards (with local weather) and 30MOA gets me 18.8MILs aka 385 yards so not sure the taller rail is worth it?

 

[nikonNUT]

Just an FYI... Got off the phone with Athlon and it was confirmed that with my 50 yard zero and the 30MOA rail I am not so much looking straight thru the scope but up at a slight angle and the fuzziess I am seeing is due to the curvature of the lens at the very tippy top of the image. Hoping the 20MOA rail and some lower rings with help mitigate the issue. Plus side is it isn't a bum scope!