Rifle Scopes Visibility issue when holding towards the bottom of the scope

[Andy T]

A few weeks ago, on the range, I was shooting out to 500 with my .223. It has Leupold MK5 3.5-18 with H59. Close to 500 yards, I needed to hold closer to the bottom. However, I noticed issues with image quality and shadow while trying to center my eyeball at the bottom part of the scope. No issues when using center cross hairs.
Any suggestions on how to overcome/work with this issue?

 

[Gohring65]

It’s the lenses in the scope. Whenever you get towards the edge it gets distorted in some scopes. Surprised it’s happening with that particular scope but I’m not familiar with Leupold mk 5 glass quality. You could try dialing it might keep the center cross hair out of the suck zone of the lenses. If you’re running a 20 moa or greater rail you could try a zero moa rail that might put the reticle closer towards the center after zeroing.

 

[ma smith]

OP you are learning the definition of 'edge to edge clarity', eg

1-distortion/ low geometric fidelity
2-blurr/ low resolution detail
3-vignetting/ low light transmission

 

[smoothy8500]

Close to 500 yards, I needed to hold closer to the bottom.

Any suggestions on how to overcome/work with this issue?

Quit shooting Wolf 55gr fmj and you won't need 6 mil of elevation....