Scope eye relief

[born to hunt]

Hey all-

Really excited to go on my first elk hunt in 2014, SW Montana. I'm shooting a Tikka 300WSM with a Leopould 4-14 VX (II or III). My question is on scope eye relief...If I look through the scope dialed down I get a full view when I mount the rifle properly...when I dial up the scope to max magnification I get the "shadow" which requires me to move my head forward on the stock. I have about 3" of eye relief to play with, any advice against moving the scope back an inch or so?

Also, the rings I have are supplied by Tikka and clamp into the top of the rifle (forgive me as I'm not using proper terminology). Has anyone ever had any trouble with those type of rings? They appear to be..well, flimsy. I've put 200 rounds through the rifle so far and no change in POI, but I baby the rifle.

Thanks

 

[sage5907]

I would just offer two points. Very seldom would you need more than 10 power in a hunting situation, so I would ignore the powers from 11 through 14 when I installed the scope and looked at the eye relief. Secondly, remember that in a hunting situation you will most likely be wearing heavy clothing which requires the scope be mounted a quarter inch or so further to the rear. There's nothing worse than a stock that is too long and if you're having to crawl the stock you could take a look at the length of pull. Leupold scopes have very liberal eye relief.

 

[adelbridge]

there should be about 1/4" of relief change from low power to high power. Take a picture of your rifle and post it.

 

[rcmodel]

Set the eye relief at max scope power when you mount the scope.

If it's right there, the lower power settings will be perfectly fine too.

Just don't get it too close to your eye or you will sooner or later get a scope eyebrow when shooting from awkward positions or prone.

rc

 

[jmr40]

Leupolds have the most forgiving eye releif of all the major brands. It should be around 5" at the lowest setting and just under 4" at the highest setting. Specs are here.

http://swfa.com/Leupold-4-12x40-VX-2-Rifle-scope-P51808.aspx

This is normal for most scopes. Most will be around 4" or less at the lowest setting and closer to 3" at the highest. Some will have a constant 4" or so at all settings.

I prefer to set everything up for the lowest power setting. If you have to take a quick snap shot you don't have time to fiddle around with your scope and you'll need the greater field of view offered by the lower powers. You often find you may not be able to get a proper mount when you have to shoot fast, especially if you have to take a shot at odd angles. Longer eye relief helps a lot with those shots.

If you are taking a longer range shot then you have time to crank up the power and get settled into a good shooting position so eye relief is less important here.

The factory Tikka mounts are fine for the most part. I would suggest swapping out the 6 screws for better ones. They are made of fairly soft metal and I've found them to round out when tightening them with a hex wrench. I bought 6 new screws from Home Depot for $3. After that I feel they are as good as anything. Not the prettiest, but they work. The Tikka is a workhorse rifle anyway. No point in putting chrome wheels on a tractor or fancy mounts on a Tikka.

 

[rsnell]

I agree with sage5907. I have used a scope with a magnification of 3-9 power and that was never used in the field at the highest setting. The last 25 years, I have been using 1-5 and 2-7 power scopes and have never felt that I did not have enough scope.

Bob Snell

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Be careful shooting uphill too.

 

[born to hunt]

Thanks guys. I'm gonna slide it back about a 3/4". I agree with the idea that the scope stays on lowest setting unless I have time to set up the shot. Not knowing what I'll be in for, (terrain, etc) the default will be the lowest setting.

Now it's time for practice to 500 yards...I'll draw the line at about half that distance on game, but...it sure is fun to shoot that far and hit what I aim at!

 

[witchhunter]

Put on the most clothing you would wear elk hunting and the scope on the highest power. Loosen the scope in the rings, close your eyes, mount the rifle, get a good cheek weld. Open your eyes and adjust your scope to that eye relief. Now go sight it in again. Good luck.

 

[itsa pain]

Leupolds have the most forgiving eye releif of all the major brands. It should be around 5" at the lowest setting and just under 4" at the highest setting. Specs are here.

http://swfa.com/Leupold-4-12x40-VX-2-Rifle-scope-P51808.aspx

This is normal for most scopes. Most will be around 4" or less at the lowest setting and closer to 3" at the highest. Some will have a constant 4" or so at all settings.

I prefer to set everything up for the lowest power setting. If you have to take a quick snap shot you don't have time to fiddle around with your scope and you'll need the greater field of view offered by the lower powers. You often find you may not be able to get a proper mount when you have to shoot fast, especially if you have to take a shot at odd angles. Longer eye relief helps a lot with those shots.

If you are taking a longer range shot then you have time to crank up the power and get settled into a good shooting position so eye relief is less important here.

The factory Tikka mounts are fine for the most part. I would suggest swapping out the 6 screws for better ones. They are made of fairly soft metal and I've found them to round out when tightening them with a hex wrench. I bought 6 new screws from Home Depot for $3. After that I feel they are as good as anything. Not the prettiest, but they work. The Tikka is a workhorse rifle anyway. No point in putting chrome wheels on a tractor or fancy mounts on a Tikka.

leuys do not have the most eye relief nowhere near it. believe or not the simmons line they came out with the true zero and QTA have the largest eye box I ever saw. you can move your head back and forth 10-12 inches and still have a full field of view. it is like between a pistol and rifle scope. the reason I really dislike scopes is the eye relief problem which is never ever brought up and I think it is the most important feature in any scope . I guess most guys shoot off a bench where to me eye relief is still annoying