Generous eye relief scope centerfire

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horsey300

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I'm looking for scopes that would be mounted on a .243 .260 type rifle (so not exactly TONS of recoil here) with variable power and wide fov either duplex or bdc reticle types (but not Nikon predator) with fine cross hairs. This will be used for targets to prairie dogs to deer at under 300 yds for kids and otherwise inexperienced shooters. I have looked at quite a few but don't get the time to run to a larger store to pick up and ogle at tons of them so I'm trying to narrow it down some. I would prefer optimum low light clarity, but that's not a deal breaker as we'll be just as focused on ethics of taking an uncomfortable/imperfect shot as we will be on marksmanship and have no problems saying, "wait, we'll try again tomorrow." I'd like the longer (but not necessarily scout configuration) eye relief to help with finding the picture easily and keep the recoil motions further from their face and thus avoid flinches when possible.
 
For lower cost options take a look at bushnells legend ultra HDs with their bdc reticles. I have 2 scopes that use that reticle, a 1.5-5x32 with doa 200, and a trophy 3-9x40 doa 250. Given my druthers id take the legend or step up to the 3200/4200s. The center crosses on the DOA reticles are very fine

Ive got Nikons on 4 of my other rifles, the bdc 600 reticles are nice and effective enough to plink at head size rocks way out there, but do clutter the field of view a bit, and they dont offer a great deal of precision for doping wind either.

Ive had a couple Leupolds with fine duplex reticles that i really liked. Ive never used their bdc reticles, but i have used the dials on a few and they have worked very well.
 
For me in order it would be:
Minox ZV 3 from Cameraland for $99.00
Burris Fullfield II
Vortex Diamondback

I would get the Burris or Vortex in a 2-7.

If I were to up the price I was willing to spend it would be a VX-2 probably.
 
As a rule Leupold scopes have the most generous eye relief and are the easiest to get behind. Nikon and Bushnell as a rule have the least eye relief and are harder to get behind. You may find exceptions and there are down sides to excessive eye relief. Get the eye too far from the rear objective and FOV is reduced and light coming in from the sides between your eyes and the rear of the scope make it harder to see in low light. These are the major issues with the scout type scopes. A binocular held up against the face especially with soft eyecups to stop light from coming in from the sides will work better than a scope in low light. But that isn't practical on a scope. I find about 4" of eye relief to be a good compromise.

Eye relief isn't as important as what is known as the "eye box" and there isn't any way to measure that and provide specs. Some scopes must be a specific distance from the eye or the image cannot be seen through the scope. Other scopes are much less critical, giving a generous range of distance where the image can be seen. When taking your time shooting at a bench this isn't an important factor. But when hunting and having to take a shot from an odd angle, unconventional shooting position or a quick snap shot being able to mount the rifle and see through it is important.

I've not tried every scope made, but find that the Burris FF-II, Redfield Revolution, any Leupold, and most Zeiss scopes are very easy to get behind and find the target quickly. While they make good optics otherwise I've found Vortex, Nikon and Bushnell the hardest to get behind.

Best bang for the buck for what you want; Burris FF-II gets my vote.
 
jmr40 said:
As a rule Leupold scopes have the most generous eye relief and are the easiest to get behind. Nikon and Bushnell as a rule have the least eye relief and are harder to get behind. You may find exceptions and there are down sides to excessive eye relief. Get the eye too far from the rear objective and FOV is reduced and light coming in from the sides between your eyes and the rear of the scope make it harder to see in low light. These are the major issues with the scout type scopes. A binocular held up against the face especially with soft eyecups to stop light from coming in from the sides will work better than a scope in low light. But that isn't practical on a scope. I find about 4" of eye relief to be a good compromise.

Eye relief isn't as important as what is known as the "eye box" and there isn't any way to measure that and provide specs. Some scopes must be a specific distance from the eye or the image cannot be seen through the scope. Other scopes are much less critical, giving a generous range of distance where the image can be seen. When taking your time shooting at a bench this isn't an important factor. But when hunting and having to take a shot from an odd angle, unconventional shooting position or a quick snap shot being able to mount the rifle and see through it is important.

I've not tried every scope made, but find that the Burris FF-II, Redfield Revolution, any Leupold, and most Zeiss scopes are very easy to get behind and find the target quickly. While they make good optics otherwise I've found Vortex, Nikon and Bushnell the hardest to get behind.

Best bang for the buck for what you want; Burris FF-II gets my vote.
Click to expand...

Excellent post. From reading it I gather you haven't tried the Minox?
 
I have used a Bushnell Sportview on a model 100 .243. It had a good field of view, decent eye relief and a sort of duplex reticle. 3-9 power.
 
The most eye relief I have felt and four-finger measured was a Leupold VX-R Patrol. Somewhere between 4" and 6". I didn't measure it with a tape...

Was so impressed that I'm going to get one for one of my '06 mule kickers. Great clarity, fire dot, and very bright and clear. The only Leupold that has actually impressed me as in I gotta have one...

And I have Elite, Burris, Mueller, Weaver and Nikon to compare with. Hands down, this one is a step up :)

Oh, and did I say it has a generous eye box that even works well with my glasses ...
 
BrocLuno said:
Oh, and did I say it has a generous eye box
Click to expand...
Thats actually really important to me. With the way we usually hunt, I almost never have more than a few moments to make a shot, and being able to be a little off on head placement and still see properly really makes a difference.
 
You can get a .5 to a .125 diopter lens the diameter of the scope's eyepiece then hold it in place with a Butler Creek lens cap. Each diopter added increases eye relief but also lowers magnification a little. As long as the scope tube is long enough to let the eyepiece unscrew enough.

Try different ones bigger in diameter held against the eyepiece then pick the one that gives you the eye relief needed. An eye glass shop can make one then grind it down to the needed diametet.

I've increased power adding up to +8 diopter lenses on a 16X scope changing it to someplace around 25X and eye relief down to 1.5 inches from 3.5 inches on a small bore prone rifle.

A +4 diopter lens has a 250mm focal length. 1 meter divided by diopter number equals the lens' focal length. A .333 diopter lens has a 3 meter (3000mm) focal length.

(Updated with correct info on diopters; been a while since doing optics math.)
 
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Hawke , Meopta pro, Bushnell 6500, vortex PST, minoxhd5i,& Zeiss conquest.from 500 thru 900 hard to beat without a lot more money for what you want to do these will not let you down
 
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