scope /eye releaf
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Beanfieldrifle
Member
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2005
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- 23
It all depends on the scope, the rifle, the use and the caliber.
I eye relief between 3.75 and 4 inches on my M70 in 270WSM. It is light enough to give you a whack if you crawl the stock much. On my .22LR guns, I am not that picky, you won't get whacked by them.
I would use a scope with less than 3.5 inches of eye relief on a big game rifle. One thing to keep in mind is how much the eye relief changes as you change power settings on a variable. The higher the power on the scope the shorter the eye relief. Scopes are getting better about this and even some of the mid level scopes are pretty stable across the power range. Bushnell Elites are pretty good.
Some scopes have larger "eye boxes" than others, this is the closest and furthermost from the scope your eye can be and still see the entire sight picture. Most manufacturers don't advertise this but it makes a difference because it gives you some leeway in with regards to the different positions. If you are only looking to reach out and will be shooting from prone only this is less of concern.
I eye relief between 3.75 and 4 inches on my M70 in 270WSM. It is light enough to give you a whack if you crawl the stock much. On my .22LR guns, I am not that picky, you won't get whacked by them.
I would use a scope with less than 3.5 inches of eye relief on a big game rifle. One thing to keep in mind is how much the eye relief changes as you change power settings on a variable. The higher the power on the scope the shorter the eye relief. Scopes are getting better about this and even some of the mid level scopes are pretty stable across the power range. Bushnell Elites are pretty good.
Some scopes have larger "eye boxes" than others, this is the closest and furthermost from the scope your eye can be and still see the entire sight picture. Most manufacturers don't advertise this but it makes a difference because it gives you some leeway in with regards to the different positions. If you are only looking to reach out and will be shooting from prone only this is less of concern.
johnnyk
Well-Known Member
Your question is pretty vague, but I think I know what you're asking. The eye relief (ER) of a scope usually depends on the quality of the lens system. That being said, most all scopes have 3-3.5" of ER. Like the last guy said, ER of one scope can vary depending on power settings (i.e., at 6.5X ER is 4.5", at 20X ER is 3.0"). Just the nature of the beast.
The way I mount a scope, with regards to ER, is after bases and rings are installed and aligned, I then take the top half of the rings off. There are different types of rings so try to mentally picture this. My rifle is usually setting in some type of rest. I lay the scope in the bottom half of the rings and ensure it doesn't touch the barrel and has necessary clearance. I've usually checked out the ER beforehand so I have an idea of what it's like. I lay the scope in the rings, install the top half but don't snug down the screws, close my eyes, gently bring it to my face and see what the sight picture looks like. From here I know whether the scope needs to go forward or backward in the rings or if it needs to be tilted left or right. ER should be "natural" when the rifle comes up. If not you'll either be stretching your neck or backing off to see.
With regards to leveling the crosshairs; I make sure table, rest and rifle are level. I use a sticky note and put it across the house on another wall. I take my torpedo level and draw a level line (horizontally) on the sticky note and align my crosshairs up with that level line. Very simple, but works. Sometimes, if the room is long enough, I put a red dot on the sticky note and bore sight the rifle/scope. I have put the red dot on the back privacy fence and pointed the rifle through my sliding glass doors. Hope this helps. JohnnyK.
The way I mount a scope, with regards to ER, is after bases and rings are installed and aligned, I then take the top half of the rings off. There are different types of rings so try to mentally picture this. My rifle is usually setting in some type of rest. I lay the scope in the bottom half of the rings and ensure it doesn't touch the barrel and has necessary clearance. I've usually checked out the ER beforehand so I have an idea of what it's like. I lay the scope in the rings, install the top half but don't snug down the screws, close my eyes, gently bring it to my face and see what the sight picture looks like. From here I know whether the scope needs to go forward or backward in the rings or if it needs to be tilted left or right. ER should be "natural" when the rifle comes up. If not you'll either be stretching your neck or backing off to see.
With regards to leveling the crosshairs; I make sure table, rest and rifle are level. I use a sticky note and put it across the house on another wall. I take my torpedo level and draw a level line (horizontally) on the sticky note and align my crosshairs up with that level line. Very simple, but works. Sometimes, if the room is long enough, I put a red dot on the sticky note and bore sight the rifle/scope. I have put the red dot on the back privacy fence and pointed the rifle through my sliding glass doors. Hope this helps. JohnnyK.
ok mine is a .06 LA 700 with a 3-9x40 blistik plus rit. right now if I set it at just under 4 power the black ring (on the in side) you can barley see it and if I turn it up all the way it still dont wack me with only tshirt on can I go close and what would it do / so when it is turned down all the way slide it just untill the ring is visable righ This would give me the bigest sight pitchure and I could creep up when the power goes up ? ( I am going to bring it in to a smith and have my scope ring check out zeroed(1 peace low mount lepu. I think it is a vary rock solid ring set up I am vary hard on my equipment on my bow my 60 50 and 40 yard pins are bent now from hunting no bummer I got to shot my bow nowif U want to talk bow I can go on )
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Buffalobob
Well-Known Member
One more thing to think about is the stockweld. If you are shooting prone your head winds up in one place on the stock and it you are shooting standing it winds up in another.
What I do is set the scope in the bottom ring and get down on the floor with the rifle on a bipod and move it back and forth at low and high magnification to find where I want it for prone. Then I do the same thing in a standing position. I then make a decision on which position is more important to me and then install it in that location.
What I do is set the scope in the bottom ring and get down on the floor with the rifle on a bipod and move it back and forth at low and high magnification to find where I want it for prone. Then I do the same thing in a standing position. I then make a decision on which position is more important to me and then install it in that location.
