elsdude, I've done this many times. I'll do it again, right now. Now, if you can't understand what I'm talking about, that's your problem. I suspect it is because you have no experience with such things. I do. That includes fixed eye relief scope of a couple of makes.
Basically, the only real difference between a scope with a short eye relief, lets say 3.2-3.4 inches and a fixed eye relief scope of say 3.8-4.0 inches is the eye relief is longer. But the forgiving nature, or lack of it, tend to be the same. Very little back and forth leeway as to where you put your head. BTW, if the scope has a large exit pupil, that means more side to side leeway, but not any more back and forth leeway as far as I can tell.
If you try a scope with a large eye box, it may well not be readily apparent. That, it turns out, is because you haven't got the thing located in just the right spot on your rifle. I like Barsness's advice. Set the scope's position while using a sitting position. Then it should be pretty good for both prone and standing as well.
I usually end up adjusting the scope's position a couple of times before I'm done. I need to have that image right there when I throw it up in a hurry. It needs to be there w/o any hunting of the image - moving my head back and forth a tad- under any conditions. That means in light summer clothing, and heavier winter clothing. That means with and w/o a pack. That means from all three of the shooting positions I shoot, particularly standing and sitting. When I get that scope just right, I know I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
Some scopes, on some rifles, may require extended bases at some magnifications to make this happen. Or you can lenthen the stock. The thing to remember is that with a variable, a scope with a very large eye box is no use to you if it isn't placed just right. And, if you use different positions, you may well find that certain magnifications work a little better than others if the scope doesn't have a fixed eye relief. With a 3.5-10X40 VariXIII, for instance, I find that 3.5 works best for quick, off hand shots, 6X works best for shots from a sitting position and 10X works perfectly for shots from prone w/ a shooting sling.
Fixed eye relief scopes, like the Nikons I've played with or the short eye relief scopes like the B&L or Bushnells I've played with don't offer nearly as much leeway. But you can learn to use what you have to some extent. Again, you need to really test the position of the scope extensively Still, I'll take a 6X42 Leupold, with it's huge eye box, over a 4X Balfor B&L with it's much larger FOV, much shorter eye relief and smaller eye box any day. Just gets the job done with less stress and effort. I've hunted both for a number of years. Give me a large eye box over FOV anyday. E
