Originally posted by sigfreund:
I put the 3200 back on the rifle mainly because I had it, it was what I used it for a long time, and also “vintage” and all that.
When I bought the scope in the 1970s it was state of the technology for what “target” rifles were used for: smallbore competition at fixed distances. It could be focused for precise distances, it tracked well with positive adjustment clicks that would be the envy of some scopes today, and had a fine crosshair reticle for precise aiming. Mine has a reticle with central crosshair dot which was an advantage as well.
Although it may seem strange that a 20× scope could be used for 50 foot (16.7 yard) indoor competition, it was actually very suitable for the purpose. The 50 foot targets I shot at were very small, and precise aiming was a benefit.
Today, though? Adjusting the focus distance with the objective ring is not nearly as easy as using a side focus/parallax adjustment that permits seeing what the image is doing during the process. The threads of the 3200 focus adjustment are very fine and it often takes a lot of turning to see any difference. Now that I have mine set for 50 yards, I will probably never change it again.
The difficulty I was having was probably partially due to the scope’s age and because it had been a long time since I did anything with the focus setting. One annoyance while trying to get it set yesterday was that the tightening (front) ring actually came off because I loosened it too much. I thought, okay, the tightening ring is off, I’ll leave it off until I have the focus set and then put it back on. When I did, though, the focus was way off again. Grrr!
The other disadvantage as compared with a good modern scope is its very tight eye box. That doesn’t matter for the type of use it was intended for, but limits other applications. One of my drills is to engage small steel targets at unknown distances and with that rifle I’ll have to go back to a different scope with a calibrated reticle and easy parallax adjustment.
It’s neat to use the 3200 for the type of shooting I was doing yesterday at a single array of targets set at one 50 yard distance, but beyond that, not so much. And as a single shot the rifle itself is usable for only certain types of shooting. If I decide to see what the rifle and ammunition (and I) can do at longer ranges, a different scope will go back on the gun.
