MOR: Ring height and eye relief

[bgary]

When mounting a scope, how does one determine what the optimal position is?

Is there a way to "calculate" what ring height and fore-and-aft position will be best?

Or is it a matter of mounting things, trying it out in a number of positions, and adjusting to suit?

Separate, but related question....

I'm wrestling with some things... notably, it seems to me that the position of my eye relative to the scope is different when prone, than when shooting off-hand or from a bench. Not sure if I should be positioning the scope on the rifle for when I am prone, or put it in some compromise position for "all-around" use, or if I should be adjusting my stance/position so I hit the same cheek weld no matter what I'm doing, or...?

Any hints?

Bruce

[EricW]

Bruce, get on the horn to Shawn Carlock and get his adjustable cheekpiece. That will probably help your cheekweld issues.

[bgary]

get on the horn to Shawn Carlock and get his adjustable cheekpiece

Perhaps.... but will it help me decide which rings to buy?

Bruce

[EricW]

Bruce,

My suspicion would be that your scope is already too high for your stock's comb which is why you're not able to get a consistent stock weld. This is just based on my conversations with Shawn. It might be worth calling him and chewing the fat. He builds a lot of high-zoot MOR's and will probably steer you in the right direction.

[John Dunn]

I've never had a scope on any rifle that was mounted too low. I try to get them mounted low as they'll go, then worry about building up the cheekpiece if needed. Maybe I have a weird face. Quiet, Ron!

[George]

I agree with John, the lower, the better. It is a simple matter to measure the objective diameter, the scope tube diameter and the offset from receiver top to barrel top. You then use these measurements to find the height the rings need to be at to get the objective just clear of the barrel.

--

Regards,

[Chriss Grube]

Bruce,

Save yourself all the BS and call marty at Badger. Tell him the barrel and scope combo and he'll hook you up. The eye relief is a matter of trial and error while mounting the scope. Should take about 5 minutes the first time out. Medium badgers generally are the best choice for 50mm Obj. but it depends on the scope and whether it is a adjustable Obj or a side one.

[Religious Shooter]

I'm wrestling with some things... notably, it seems to me that the position of my eye relative to the scope is different when prone, than when shooting off-hand or from a bench. Not sure if I should be positioning the scope on the rifle for when I am prone, or put it in some compromise position for "all-around" use, or if I should be adjusting my stance/position so I hit the same cheek weld no matter what I'm doing, or...?

If you are experiencing different eye-relief at different shooting positions it usually means that you have different cheekwelds with a given different position. In long range rifle you should make it a priority to hit a consistent cheek weld between the various positions.

With that in mind, I think you should adjust the scope to your prone position. Try moving your cheekweld while prone. You'll find that it's relatively fixed when compared to the other positions. Most people can readily adapt their offhand cheekweld to match their prone cheekweld. But not the other way around.

Or is it a matter of mounting things, trying it out in a number of positions, and adjusting to suit?

I think this is the "optimal" way of doing it. You can ask around what others are using, but oftentimes what works best for you isn't the same as everybody else.

First thing I would do is to determine the height required to physically mount the scope. With rifles it's usually determined by the contour of the barrel, the size of the scope's objective and the height that the rail adds.

After that, I think the best way to determine the proper height is by looking through the scope weakhand. Oftentimes if you just use a stronghand picture in determining your scope height, the scope can be too low for a weakhand hold.

[bgary]

I think you should adjust the scope to your prone position. Try moving your cheekweld while prone. You'll find that it's relatively fixed when compared to the other positions. Most people can readily adapt their offhand cheekweld to match their prone cheekweld. But not the other way around.

I think that's what I gotta do.

Thanks for all the great input, guys!

Bruce