Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Scope Positioning??

Hi All,
After looking at the many pictures on this site I've noticed most have their scopes positioned quite a bit farther forward than me. I tend to use front extension rigs on my rifles and turn them backwards when mounting scopes and definately have them further back than alot of the pics I see. I'm 6' tall and don't have a short neck! I also don't crawl the stock at all and the guns are comfortable for me to shoot because I tend to keep my head straight up. Sometimes I have to be a little careful when sighting in off the bench but during actual shooting conditions I've not had a problem and have done this for years (about 38). Any issues with my setup????

I'm 6' 4", long wingspan, and I crawl. Mine are way forward.

Well, if it's wrong, what can I say? I've been doing the same thing you have, for about the same number of years(just a few more than you, LMAO). Just about all of my rifles have either extension rings or bases on them, and I like my cheek back on the stock, I absolutley won't crawl it, it's to uncomfortable and affects my accuracy.

When I scope a rifle, I generally mount the scope loosely(but tight enough that the scope doesn't slip in the rings), and throw the gun up to my shoulder quickly, sort of like thowing up a shotgun at a flushing grouse. I will do this over and over and adjust the scope accordingly till I have a full field of view when throwing the gun up quickly, as this is where I tend to be most comfortable shooting a rifle, and here in the east, in thick cover, many times shots at whitetails come quickly, and you only have a split second to react. I will do this over the course of several days, and when I'm sure, tighten down on the rings, then go sight in. I'm sure everyone knows this, but for a variable, always do this with the scope on the highest magnification setting.

I'm 6' 2" and don't have a short neck either. I like to get my cheek down on the stock because I find my shooting is more consistent this way than in an upright position. As a result I prefer my scopes mounted forward.

I'm from the stone age so I don't have a digicam to take pics to post, but maybe I can give you an idea of how I run them. The two rifles I'm about to take to the range are short action Remingtons, one a 700 Classic in 300 Savage and the other an LVSF 308 in a McMillan Classic stock.

The LVSF/McMClassic is equipped with a 3-9x40 Vari-X II and it's mounted with the power change ring ahead of the root of the bolt handle, right above the rear scope base screw hole. The adjustment housing is just over the back edge of the front receiver ring.

The factory Classic is equipped with a euro market Swarovski 6x42 that does not have Leupold style eye relief. Even so I have it mounted farther forward than some folks around here mount Conquests having 4" of eye relief. The taper from the eyepiece to the main tube is over the root of the bolt handle.

Mount 'em where you need to. That's why there's room to move them back and forth - each of us is a little different. I tend to like my scopes pretty far forward.

Others like their scopes so far rearward that it's really uncomfortable for me to shoot their rifles.

Thanks for the reply's! I guess maybe I don't keep my head straight up but do keep it back on the wide part of the cheekpiece on the stocks I have that have them.I do keep my cheek against the stock so everything is steady and the scope lines up when I look through it.I tend to do pretty much what Wink man does.

I'm one of those guys that insists that my scopes be pretty far forward. While I do test by throwing the gun up quickly so I can catch the image w/o moving my head back and forth, on the stock, I've found that there is alot more to it than that.
I test it using an off hand position. Then I do the same test while pointing the rifle both uphill and downhill.
I test from a sitting position as well since I tend to use it more than standing when shooting game. If it's a rifle that is used from the prone position, I test it with that position as well.
I wear different layers of clothing and sometimes my pack while testing.
All of this is an effort to place the scope so that if I need it in a hurry, the image is there when I cheek the rifle. Frankly, I've been known to redo the scope's position over a couple of years at times. After a year or two of this, I had one stock lenthend for a better fit.
If I use a variable scope, then I test at the magnifications I'll use in the field. My prone rifle, for instance, since I use it at 10X from prone, the scope is positioned with that magnification.
I'm convinced this is all worth it since all of my oportunities at really nice bucks have been with running animals at various distances. You get on him in a big hurry and shoot or he is gone.
A couple of things help. One, the lowest rings and mounts may not be the best. For me, I've found the medium rings work better for most of my rifles, but not all.
Scopes with different eye relief as the magnification is changed can actually be an asset for use in different positions.
Above all, scopes with lots of eye box are really worth having.
I'm sure each person has to work out all of this for himself. What works well for me, may well not work for others. Some need the scope way forward and others are better off with it further back.
I'm also convinced that the best scope in world will be of little value unless it's owner places it properly on the rifle for his style of shooting.
I've seen far more mounting problems than I've even heard of in scope problems. Any half decent scope will work fine if it's mounted properly. E

wiktor,

I'm with you. I like them back towards me. It really freaks some guys out- you'll see them snipe at me over it. But it's what is comfortable for me for whatever reasons. I am almost 6-4" for what it's worth.

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Let me throw something out there and see if it gets discussed on your thread.

It's my belief that having one's head further back on the stock helps prevent getting scope bit- even with the head-to-scope distance held constant!.

What I mean by that is, imagine a person who will move their head to whereever on the stock is required to get a full sight picture- not hard to imagine, since that's what most people do.

OK, so with that as a given, that means that if the scope is mounted further forward, the head is further forward on the stock. If it's mounted further back, the head is further back.

Now, put your head in both positions and simulate recoil. Don't forget the rifle rotates up as well as coming back.

Note, that having your head further back on the stock, as opposed to crawling forward, puts your eyebrow much more out of harms way - even though you are the same distance from the scope, due to the upward rotation of the rifle.

This is just something I am have noticed and I'm not claiming it as ultimate truth. More interested in hearing what others have to say.

When I'm in a hurry, I tend to crawl the stock. So having it a little too far forward works better for me. E

OK, but crawl it to where?

I contend, you crawl it to where you have a full sight picture. Put another way, you wouldn't crawl PAST the point where you have a full sight picture, right?

One of our frequent posters who shall remain nameless got bit twice on the same elk last year. His 3x9 was set to 9x. His contention was that under stress he just crawls the stock in general. MY contention is that under stress, he crawled the stock to the point that he had a full sight picture at 9x.

Which makes more sense?

This answer pretty much wraps it up in a nutshell.

I suspect he crawled the stock under stress at a lower magnifcation and still got hurt. I suspect he didn't have quite as much leeway to put it further forward due to the limitations of his rings and bases and thought it would be OK in the field.
I've noticed and been cut by scopes that worked fine off of the bench during regular practice sessions, even with magnums. But, under the stress of field shooting game, they didn't work w/o cutting me. That's why I test and retest my scope positions so much. That, and need to fastest and smoothest setup I can get. E

No, it was at 9x according to him, with a Leupold. So the ER was as short as it gets for that scope.

You seems to be in a hurry more often than not. Maybe you need to refine your stalking skills....................................

+1

Any chance you guys could get over your obsession with bashing everything E says? It's very high school.

wiktor,

I am sorta like you. Everyone talks about a low mounted scope. I prefer a scope mounted so that when I throw the rifle up, I am looking through the center of the scope. That requires either mediums or high rings.

I was home schooled..............................

Like several others have said, mount them where it works for you. I mount mine so when I bring the rifle to my shoulder I can see through the scope without moving my head, I never crawl the stock. That means they are pretty far back, usually as far as they will go.

Each to his own.

Amazing... Who would have thought the simple act of mounting a frigging scope would befuddle so many!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ever look around in a gun shop and notice how many of the OBVIOUS morons have scarred foreheads?

Maybe shooting from a heated box blind allows a guaranteed shooting posture and therefore getting away with idiotic scope mounting, but in anything resembling broken country it is dangerous and stupid to mount scopes the way so many have admitted to here...

Unbefrigginglievable!
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