Eye relief with scopes

Hunter 08

Hunter 08

Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2017
Messages
406
Location
Nebraska
Last summer after I got my PSA PA10, I bought a Vortex Diamondback 4-12x44 scope for it. I got it because at the time and price, it seemed pretty good. Got the scope with a Vortex cantilever mount, because the guy at Scheels said it's best to buy same company scope mounts because of machining and whatever other crap...think he just wanted the extra $120 that day because sales. Anyway, went back there like a week later to have them mount and bore sight the scope to the rifle, while at the same time I looked for a case for it. After they had mounted and supposedly bore sighted the scope, when I have shouldered the rifle, it seems like I don't have enough eye relief. I have to pull my head closer to the scope. I think they had mounted the scope with the stock fully collapsed.

So now I have a Vortex Venom 3-15x44 that I'll be mounting on the rifle at some point and putting the Diamondback on my Mossberg 800a .308. This Venom supposedly has better eye relief. When I bring it in to have it mounted and bore sighted, should I have them do it with the stock fully adjusted out, or does that not matter and I'm just complaining? When I had held the scope in the store, I had no issues with looking through it clearly, but mounted, it's all blurred and I really struggle getting a good picture through it.

Would mount it myself, but I don't have a vise or any of the tooling to do it.
 
You should be present to look through the scope to have it set for you . The fellow mounting the scope should have you look through the scope for adjustment. And bore sighting may or may not be close . So site in close range maybe a large sheet of paper or severance paper targets . Best of luck Bob
 
I set up scopes after I get comfortable with stock length of pull (If using adjustable stock) and head position. Then I slowly slide the scope back until I have a nice big field-of-view picture for my eye. I repeat this a few times while moving scope back and forth to get the center sweet spot of eye relief for the scope.

Using this method, even scopes with tighter eye box like Vortex Strike Eagle 4-24x50 hasn't been much of a problem for me.
 
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Shooterbob said:
You should be present to look through the scope to have it set for you . The fellow mounting the scope should have you look through the scope for adjustment. And bore sighting may or may not be close . So site in close range maybe a large sheet of paper or severance paper targets . Best of luck Bob
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I agree. However, the guy doing it told me that I won't be long. So I was like okay, I'll be over by cases. Far as I know, most of them mounting, will rarely if ever ask for you to look through the scope. Maybe I've just been going to the wrong places to have optics mounted.
 
Hunter 08 said:
I agree. However, the guy doing it told me that I won't be long. So I was like okay, I'll be over by cases. Far as I know, most of them mounting, will rarely if ever ask for you to look through the scope. Maybe I've just been going to the wrong places to have optics mounted.
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Not to be "that" guy, but yeah you have.
If the optic isnt set up for YOU then (imo) its wasted time and money on mounting. You can get away with being off by having an adjustable stock, but IMO thats a backwards way of making it work.
@LiveLife noted the way most of us do it, tho id also lightly tighten the rings and check how it feels from field positions as well as multiple mount dismounts of the rifle. This will also tell you if your head position is inconsistent, see sometimes and not others, you're heads moving around.
 
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LoonWulf said:
check how it feels from field positions as well as multiple mount dismounts of the rifle. This will also tell you if your head position is inconsistent, see sometimes and not others, you're heads moving around.
Click to expand...
Yes, true. I do most of my shooting from the bench so forgot about others (Hunters, etc.) who must shoot from field position.

And that's what you pay more for in scope that has more "comfortable" and generous eye box with higher quality/grade of lens that maintain clearness/sharpness regardless of viewing position/angle.
 
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This is why I’ve never understood having someone mount a scope or bore sight any of my rifles.

Ever since my first rifle in my teenage years I’ve done that myself. There’s not way to have a scope aligned perfectly for oneself with our making adjustments as one is mounting the scope.
 
Hunter 08 said:
Maybe I've just been going to the wrong places to have optics mounted.
Click to expand...
LoonWulf said:
Not to be "that" guy, but yeah you have.
Click to expand...
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Yeppers, I'm another "that guy." ;)
I do have the tools for mounting scopes though (I get by without a vise), so I usually mount them myself. After all, I'm the one that's going to be shooting the rifle - not some guy that works behind the gun-counter in Sportsman's Warehouse - which is a 35-mile drive from home anyway.
For that matter, I mount my wife's scopes on her rifles as well. But when I do, my wife is standing right there and checking eye-relief and such as I work.
BTW, my dad gave me an old bore-sighter years ago, and that makes things go a little faster when it comes to the initial "sighting in." However, before I had a bore-sighter, I used to cut a cardboard box so that I could wedge the rifle down into the slots. I'd then set the box (with the rifle wedged in in) on top of the dining room table, peer through the barrel, and adjust the position of the rifle until I could see the top of a burned off fence post (200 yards behind the house) through the rifle's barrel. Then, without moving the rifle, I'd carefully adjust the scope until the crosshairs were on that burned spot on top of the fence post. That was it - the rifle was "bore-sighted" - at least it was "on paper" at 200 yards. 😁
 
No way a scope can be set at proper eye relief if it has a collapsible stock and be correct for both extended and collapsed. It's got to be one or the other. And if you stayed there you should have checked it before paying, and told them it wasn't right for you so they could loosen it and set it right for you.
 
mm93 said:
No way a scope can be set at proper eye relief if it has a collapsible stock and be correct for both extended and collapsed.
Click to expand...
Yep. :thumbup:
mm93 said:
And if you stayed there you should have checked it before paying, and told them it wasn't right for you so they could loosen it and set it right for you.
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Absolutely. Nobody else can mount that scope in the right place for you. It's your rifle and scope, they're your eyes, and you're the one that's going to be holding that rifle and looking through that scope.
As I said in my previous post, I mount my rifle scopes myself. However, I can't mount a scope for anyone else (not even my wife of 53 years) and expect the scope to be in the right place when she pulls that rifle up to her shoulder. It doesn't work that way - that's why my wife has to be standing right there and periodically checking the position of the scope as I mount it on the rifle.
 
I use a locking bipod, and a set of feeler gauges to mount scopes, of course an inch pound torque wrench too. You must certainly be part of the process! Watch out for scopes with a wide range of eye relieve through the power range. It might be comfortable set at 4X, but twist it up to 16X, and now your stretching your neck out. I had a very nice Leupold I got rid of, because of this, it varied up to 1.75". Another thing is to get comfortable behind the rifle, in your desired shooting position, with your eyes closed. Open your eyes, see if your centered in the scope. Do that drill a few times to be sure you get the same result, and if needed, move the scope so it's perfect for you.
 
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Hunter 08 said:
PSA PA10 ... Vortex Diamondback 4-12x44 ... Vortex cantilever mount ... Scheels ... have them mount and bore sight the scope to the rifle ... After they had mounted ... when I have shouldered the rifle, it seems like I don't have enough eye relief. I have to pull my head closer to the scope. I think they had mounted the scope with the stock fully collapsed.

now I have a Vortex Venom 3-15x44 ... When I bring it in to have it mounted and bore sighted, should I have them do it with the stock fully adjusted out, or does that not matter?
Click to expand...
This time, YOU want to be there when they mount the scope so it is set to YOUR adjustable stock's length of pull, YOUR head position and eye relief/eye box of scope set to YOUR eye at MAXIMUM zoom as expressed below ... So when YOU shoulder the AR10, YOU should see a nice and big and clear field of view through the scope without having to adjust YOUR head much.

JDGray said:
LiveLife said:
I get comfortable with stock length of pull (If using adjustable stock) and head position. Then I slowly slide the scope back until I have a nice big field-of-view picture for my eye. I repeat this a few times while moving scope back and forth to get the center sweet spot of eye relief for the scope.
Click to expand...
get comfortable behind the rifle, in your desired shooting position, with your eyes closed. Open your eyes, see if your centered in the scope. Do that drill a few times to be sure you get the same result, and if needed, move the scope so it's perfect for you.
Click to expand...
👍
 
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Is there room to move the mount back on the flattop?
The salesguy may have just aligned the crosshairs and figured you could move the mount as needed later.
Be easier to diagnose/remedy if you could post a picture of the setup.
 
Hookeye said:
Is there room to move the mount back on the flattop?
The salesguy may have just aligned the crosshairs and figured you could move the mount as needed later.
Be easier to diagnose/remedy if you could post a picture of the setup.
Click to expand...
There might be some room left. However the one on there now is going on my Mossberg 800a and the Venom will be taking its place.
 
One piece scope mounts on an AR are probably the easiest to set up.
I've used business cards between the mount and the bottom of the scope to get it level.
I picked up a scope level kit a while ago though and it works well.
Gone up a bit since I got one.
arisakadefense.com

Optic Leveler Combo

The Optic Leveler is an inexpensive, easy-to-use tool for leveling scopes mounted in rings or one-piece mounts.
arisakadefense.com arisakadefense.com

As far as bore sighting.
I just use a small target at 5 yards or so, look down the bore and center the target in it.
Then dial in the windage and set the elevation to whatever the bore height is, about 1.5" - 2" high.
If mechanically zeroed it should be really close.
 
Hunter 08 said:
Since I bought the scope and rings there, mounting was free.
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That'd be like asking the salesman at Scheels to try on pants before you bought them. It's not really helpful, even if it's free and there's certainly no reason to assume that he knew what he was doing. If he did, he'd have told you that the eye relief needed to be set for you, not for him. Given that and the BS he fed you about using the same brand of rings, I'd say there was a very high chance that he didn't know what he was about.
 
All I had planned on doing the day I got the scope, was just that, no rings. Wanted to get the Midwest Industries QD ones. Anyway, I'll be getting those for this scope and have it done elsewhere. Only reason I'm having someone mount for me is because I don't have anything to do it. The last time I tried it myself 13 years ago, it didn't go well.
 
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