How do you guys determine where to mount your scopes on the rails?

[SilentStalker]

I am curious how you guys determine where on the rail you mount your scopes? I mean do you take into account the rifles balance, eye relief, etc. Or ^^^do you just go to mounting it on in any location? Obviously, IMO lower power scopes or sights that are like 1x need to be mounted somewhat forward IMO however if you have a high power variable scope with varying eye relief then what do you do to determine where on the rail you out it? Some guns are easier than others due to real estate limitations. Anyways tell me how you ^^^do it. I have my way but I am open to other possibilities.

 

[JohnnyK]

put it on the rail and adjust it to where it feels best... eye relief is most important to me... you must be able to quickly acquire targets in respect to where scope is mounted... and it's got to be comfortable.

 

[WardenWolf]

Primarily comfort. Within a certain degree, you can adjust your scope within its rings, but it needs to be approximately correct on the rail. It also depends on how the rifle is going to be used. A rifle shot from a bipod can be somewhat less optimal than one you have to shoot standing up.

 

[T Bran]

I set my scopes at a point that doesnt require me to stretch my neck to get a good clean image in the scope. When you mount your rifle the image should be perfect with out needing to move your head back and or forward.
I have had to alter the legnth of pull on some rifles to attain a fit good enough to suit me.
Luck
T

 

[madcratebuilder]

Eye relief is the most important consideration. Picatinny rails offer the most flexibility. Each gun well have unique requirements you have to meet.

Higher quality scopes generally have more eye relief and little change of eye relief at different power settings.

 

[straightShot]

As stated, move the scope back and forth while shouldering the gun to determine the proper eye relief, and then tighten it to the rail.

 

[Gtimothy]

This is what works for me -

I mount the scope loose in the rings, then get comfortable on the gun....good cheek weld, grip etc. then adjust scope for proper eye relief and snug it up so it stays in place. I then put the gun down, pick it up and go for my comfortable hold on the gun with my eyes closed, then try looking through the scope. If it is still good, level your scope to the gun and tighten it down.

Hope this helps...

 

[Driftertank]

A primary concern on my rifle was to ensure the cocking lever cleared the objective bell of the scope when in the locked position (HK-type). That dictated the farthest i could move it forward. Ironically, since the scope i selected has very generous eye relief for a relatively high-magnification scope, it then necessitated extending my adjustable stock to it's full length to obtain a fairly natural cheek rest and full field of view. Lucky for me i've got lanky arms, and it shoulders very naturally.

 

[henschman]

What I do is put the rings on a rail slot that I think is pretty close to what I need, set the scope in the rings loose enough where you can still scoot it forward/backward, and get down prone with the rifle with my head all turkey-necked out just like I shoot. I then fine tune the placement of the scope in the rings to find the spot where the edge of the field of view is a nice crisp black line, with no blur, which means the eye relief is correct. If it's a variable scope, the eye relief changes with the power. In this case I mount it for optimal eye relief on the power that I will most often be using for shooting.

If I can't reach optimal eye relief with the current ring position, I know I need to move the rings to different slots and try again. Once you find the sweet spot, level the scope and torque the caps down.

I mount scopes from prone because that is the position I use most, and the one for which my head is generally stretched the farthest forward. If you only shoot from a bench rest or a hunting blind, you might want to zero the scope while sitting in a chair with the rifle supported.

 

[taliv]

i usually position the rings on the rifle so that they cover either the screws or pins (to prevent them from backing out.

then i slide the scope forward or backward in the rings to desired eye relief

other considerations include keeping the bell from touching the barrel, making sure your hand has room to operate the bolt without hitting the illum/parallax, etc (mostly a problem for leftys), making sure the rings are on a supported part of the rail (ih ate those diving board goosenecks)