Make a Leupold focus for air rifle distances!

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acorneau
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Make a Leupold focus for air rifle distances!

Post by acorneau »

I recently made a tool to adjust the AO distances on my older Leupold scopes (a Vari-X III and an M8 24X). I wanted to get them to focus down to 25 yards for target practice and still be in focus for smallbore silhouette distances.

I have been thinking of rearranging some scopes on my air rifles and had the thought to try the adjustment on the extra M8 scope to see if I could get it down to air rifle silhouette distances (20 to 45 yards). Sure enough I got it to focus to those ranges, although I need to get it to the range to double check.

The procedure to change the AO focus range on these scopes isn't difficult once you do it once but having the right kind of tool sure helps.

I just wanted to pass this little bit of info along since it can open up some options for anyone looking for an appropriate air rifle scope.
Allen Corneau
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Re: Make a Leupold focus for air rifle distances!

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Sounds like it's time for you to make a Youtube tutorial. Image
I am NOT Danny Hatch. Image
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ppkny
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Re: Make a Leupold focus for air rifle distances!

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Are you going to tell us how ? Please
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acorneau
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Re: Make a Leupold focus for air rifle distances!

Post by acorneau »

I'll do my best to describe the procedure...

Inside the bell you'll see a black locking ring with two small notches cut into it adjacent to each other. You'll need some kind of tool to span those notches so you can turn it. (I don't have the one I made available at the moment but I'll try to get some measurements tonight.)

Unscrew the locking ring until it comes all the way off (lefty-loosey!). Behind the locking ring is the adjustment for the AO focusing lens. Use the same tool to change the focus to the desired range. Adjusting this lens a bit will not break the seal and let out the argon or whatever gas they put in there. Just don't get crazy with it and unscrew it a lot.

I've found that if you set the AO ring to it's closest setting (bottomed out) and adjust the focus lens for 25 yards you can barely get the maximum focus out to 100 meters. Same for 20 yards out to 45 yards (still need to verify this but I'm pretty sure it's there).

You can also use this technique if you just want to get your AO ring markings to accurately line up with the real focus length. When you're done adjusting the AO lens put the locking ring back in to a snug fit. These are very fine threads so don't get hamfisted with the tool or cross-threading the locking ring.

As always, experiment with this at your own peril. 8-x
Allen Corneau
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