Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Optic for my wife

I took my whole family shooting the other day and it was great. My two boys have shot with me a bunch but my wife and daughter haven't gone outdoors with me.
My wife had a hard time with the scope. couldn't get the eye relief right (Bushnell 4x14) she couldn't get the sight picture through it. I tried to show her but you know how it is when you try to show the wife something, always a fight.
besides that.. is there any easy way to teach that to get her to see it better.
I was having her move closer and farther keep her cheek fixed on the stock.. etc..

is there a better way? are some sights easier? If I get a fixed 4x or something?

Might just go with red dot or iron sights..
FYI we are shooting 50 and 100 yards.

thanks

Check to see which eye is dominant. Sounds like she may be trying to use her left hand if she is right handed. Just a piece of tape on the left lens can make a big difference in enabling a learner to more easily use a scope.

Also the length of pull may be too long for her to get the proper sight picture.

Just some thoughts.

AB2506's ideas are good.

What magnification was the scope set on? Bushnells are good scopes, but they often have rather short and hence more critical eye relief. She may very well be better off with a 4x (or less) scope with longer eye relief.

optics for "the wife " are no different than your needs , maybe she needs more pratice or a little repositioning

I got my wife a fix 4x Zeiss Conquest a few years ago to replace the 3-9x40 Leupold she had on her rifle. At first she was skeptical, but after using it she won't use anything else.

I'd suspect it's either a length of pull issue or she may be leaning over sideways and down on the stock rather than bringing it up to her face. If her sight picture is off-center when she's looking through the scope I'd try raising the rest/bags up so that she can better align her face with the side of the stock or tape a little padding to the top of the stock to see if that helps line her eye up better with the scope. A red dot might be a better option, but I'd stick with the scope for another session or two.

A 4X Conquest or a 6X Leupold; I think either would make her happy. Both have generous "eye boxes" (easy to get behind and find the sight picture), and both also have as a bonus a nice FOV.

Seventeen feet is not a "nice FOV" for a beginner.

If you're shooting targets at 50 & 100 yards it's plenty.

The Leupold 6x42 is one scope you should let your wife try , but be ready to buy it if she does .

Let her handle some scopes unmounted so she can get a feel for how to position her eye for a perfect view. After that, it will only be a matter of proper placement on the rifle so she can get a good sight picture with her shorter length of pull.

I have found that the Leupolds, particularly the lower power like the 2-7 or 2.5-8 to have longer eye relief and need less critical placement due to the good eyebox and huge exit pupil on low power. You may need the longer eye reliefs or something like an adjustable picatinny rail to get the scope where she needs it.

The best option is to make sure her gun has the correct LOP for her to start with and then start doing whatever is necessary to get the scope mounted with proper eye relief for her. If she is only going to be shooting very little and not hunting on her own , the Picatinny rail may be the cheapest option.

Thanks guys for all the help. I will have her practice more.. we haven't been to the range since.. too busy.. but I am going to have her practice unmounted (thats a good idea)

on the eye dominant comment: I put her through the test and she goes both right and left sometimes. When she shot my compound bow she was trying to use her left eye (I was wondering why she was 2 targets over, haha) would using an eye patch shooting help?

She really enjoyed shooting so I want to get something to work for here, but practicing is always a big part as we all know.

thanks for the help

To check for dominance, just have her use her index finger to point at a small spot or object about 10-15 feet away with both eyes open. Then alternately close each eye. With your non dominate eye open your aim will have "moved" to the side. With your dominate eye open your aim will be the same as with both eyes open.

Good luck. I think a little practice and familiarity is all she needs.

You may want to observe how her cheek is positioned on the stock. My wife has a much narrower face than I do and her cheek weld is entirely different. For a rifle where my cheek is firmly into the stock, her chin is barely touching it. One of those lace-on cheek pieces may be the answer and if she gets into shooting, get a gun fitted to her. It really isn't that expensive to have a syn stock modified and she will be much happier with her own gun.