22 scope parallax? Does it matter?

[1950KID]

I have a 4X Leupold scope that I'm thinking about putting on a 22 rifle. Does it make much difference in accuracy that the scope is not a rimfire scope, and the parallax is not set for shorter distances?

I found out the hard way it makes a big difference. Bigger than most people think. If you do the math, it can be significant, but alot of factors are involved like F factor, and focal length, distance between the lenses and more.

I had a muzzleloader scope on my muzzleloader with parallax set to 60 yards before. It shot 1" groups at 50 yards and 2.2" groups average at 100 yards.

So I had the bright idea to put a Vari X III 1.5-5X20 on it. Parallax set to 150 yards. My groups at 50 yards opened to 2.5" groups. But at 100 yards stayed at 2.2" or so. Very consistently. This gun is rock solid. But I was looking thru my scope and moving my head around, and sure enough, at 30 or so yards the POI on the target is moving around 2" or more. I put back my old junk scope back on. And everything went back normal.

I am going to chip in the 30 dollars to have the parallax set to 50 yards.

[loner]

i am no expert,but will give you my experience with scopes.i have leupold,swift and tasco scopes.i do not or will ever will own a .22 scope.i have a tasco 3x9x40 on my rem 597 and a fixed power 4x on my marlin 39a .while parallax can be a major problem,most all of mine are set at 50 yards and the problem is at greater distances.i set my 3x9x40 on 6 power,sight it in at 50yds and leave it on that power.it is clear as can be and has no parallax problems.once your focus on the eyepiece is set at 50 yds,you should not have a problem.if you have a scope that the crosshairs seem to move up and down by nodding your head while looking through the scope,set the scope on a power where this stops and focus the eyepiece on that power,sight in and leave it there.i rarely need more than the 6x on mine when hunting squirrels or plinking so it is not a problem .hope these tips help your problem.you should not have a problem with the 4x leupold since it is probably set at 50yds anyway.set up a target at 50yds and adjust your eyepiece and sight in.

Loner, may be right on target here. I really see the parallax issue with short scopes, this may be a Focal length problem. Like my 1.5-5X20. You can plainly see parallax in action. But others, its kinda hard. Maybe the power issue too. 90% of other scopes are 3-9 or greater.