We all know eye relief is a good thing; however, why don't all manufacturers make scopes with good eye relief?

Some scopes have BARELY enough eye relief. Why?

I don't know but I've never been pleased with the eye relief on Bushnells but I've always been happy with Leupold eye relief.

For a given optical design and magnification, increasing eye relief decreases field of view and vice versa. So choices depend on where the designer places emphasis. Stray light can interfere with things as well, so placing the eye closer to the eyepiece can result in greater apparent brightness/clarity.

Just picked up a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 from Euro-Optics on their $299 special and the eye relief is fantastic, a good 4". Think I'm gonna like it.

Not all listed eye relief is the same. I've had a Burris and a Pentax (assembles by Burris) that had eye relief measured from the lens, not the end of the scope.

It should be measured from what'll whack you first.

I would like to see a measure called "eye brow clearance."

The 3-9 Conquest has a very long and comfortable eye relief,and maintains it through the power range.

The S&B Summit is very much the same way,one of the reasons I like that scope so much.

Leupold and Conquests have 4" that I have experience with. FWIW, I picked up a rifle with a BSA Catseye on it that has 4" of eye relief and so far is much better than I would have ever expected.

because more eye relief has a downside. the more you have the more critical your eye placement needs to be. 2 other things no one talks about is it lets more stray light in between your eye and the eyepiece. The other one is if your further away from the lense of the eye piece the image is smaller simply because your eye is further from the image. I always wondered why in my leupolds I kept checking to see what power I am on. That is after shooting nightforce and bushnell elites quite a bit.

I would not at all say more scopes have barely enough. I would say you should check the fitment of the scope, the way the gun fits you and perhaps more importantly how YOU hold the gun. I think there is a very real chance you have and issue with one of these 3 things.

IF YOU ARE SHOOTING A NON MAGNUM AND HAVE AN ISSUE WITH BUSHNELL ELITE OR NIGHTFORCE EYE RELIEF YOUR HOLDING THE GUN WRONG OR THE SCOPE IS MOUNTED WRONG

2) IF LEUPOLD ISN'T ENOUGH EYE RELIEF ON A MAGNUM WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF A LARGE AFRICAN SAFARI MAGNUM YOUR HOLDING THE GUN WRONG OR THE SCOPE IS MOUNTED WRONG.


I have not gotten scope bite since I was a teenager and someone dared me to shoot a 270 winchester out the window of my bedroom. I know don't ask!

Getting hit with the scope is pretty far down on my list of concerns with eye relief. Shooting at the range where there is plenty of time to set up and get behind the scope it is easy to make short eye relief scopes work without getting hit.

But in the field when you have to make shots at times from unconventional positions (having a buck sneak in from behind and having to twist your body to make the shot for example). Or when wearing a lot more clothes to stay warm, or making quick snap shots. I find a scope with more eye relief a lot easier to use.

I really don't like anything under 4". The Zeiss Conquest is pretty good as are most Leupolds.

To be honest 4" eye relief should be plenty.

My problem is that most factory rifles have an LOP that is way too short for me, and for many others.

I have and have had English rifles over 100yrs old that have a far better LOP, and people were, on average, smaller then.

I think you are right. A while back I tested eye relief on a number of scopes I had on hand, more out of curiosity than anything else. Out of the variables all had less than 4" when at maximum magnification, and several had eye relief under 3" (in fact several had about 2 5/8"). Of several fixed scopes only one had more than 4".

And yet none of these scopes, most of which I had been using for quite some time, has every bitten me. This has included shooting in all sorts of positions in the field, with rifles including big game calibres and some in light rifles.

The only time I've ever been bitten by a scope in fact, that I can recall, was one mounted on a rifle belonging to a mate - a Nikon IIRC, on a 7mm Rem Mag Sako, and that was on a range shooting from standing unsupported. That was simply because it was mounted too far back for me.

Whenever I set up a rifle I like to have things fit. In particular, I like the rifle and scope to fit, so that when I throw the rifle to my shoulder the reticle simply appears, superimposed on the animal or target. When I set the scope up I put it on maximum magnification if its a variable, and in the standing unsupported position I mount the rifle. With the scope loosened slightly in the mount I push the scope away until it is just a bit of a reach - just that little bit further away than might seem perfect, and fix it there. That way, at least for me, it will be pretty near perfect in positions like sitting or prone (where the scope's naturally closer to my eye) without there being a risk that it'll hit me.

YMMV.

According to Elkhuntingguide, all of us who object to shooting a short eye relief scope with a magnum are hicks and members of the clown shoe squadron. We don't know how to shoot either.

I commented that the new SHV Nightforce 4-14 x 50 FF1 has the eye relief of 2.8" to 3.1" Which IMO is too short for a magnum.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/10942755/Re:_Any_love_for_the_new_NF_SH#Post10942755

Nice to read here that this is not the case. Some of us believe short eye relief scopes belong on low recoiling centerfire rifles or a rimfires.

+1

In a perfect world, I may agree with Cumminscowboy, but when has there ever been a perfect world.

I like enough ER so I don't get cut when I mess up or take a quick shot from a less than perfect position.

Bob and JMR40 have the right idea...

IMO,

DF

Just received a VX-2..3-9x50 CDS Windplex I bought on Ebay..Haven't mounted it yet but the eye relief was a major purchasing factor as 4"+ is a good thing with heavies in the 338/06 AI..

I guess I am the only elk hunting guide to ever get "bit" by a scope that didn't have enough eye relief! I won't own a HUNTING scope with less than 3 1/2".

One year I was hunting with my son on a November elk hunt. Heard a bunch of shooting from the knoll we were on. Watched a group of elk take off and a spike bull get gut shot. It finally went down after about 7 or 8 shots.

I was going down the mountain to the truck when I ran into two hunters coming down. One had scope rash all over his eye brow. He must have been hit 5 times or more. His eyebrow was completely destroyed and was a bloody mess.

They said that they had missed the bull and were going to try a new spot. I told them that the only spot they were going to try was the hospital in Flagstaff as he needed plastic surgery. He asked me if it was really that bad. I got a signal mirror out of my pack and showed him. He just about fainted. He ended his hunt right then and headed for the ER.

He was shooting a 30-06. I asked him to let me shoulder it. It had about 2" of eye relief. I can't remember the brand of the scope but it was a name brand. I suspect he had an off-balance shooting position combined with no eye relief and it ruined his hunt.

This is an extreme case but it can happen. As far as getting stray light into your eye- I don't think you will notice much difference between 3" and 4". Plenty can get in. They make rubber bellows you can stick on the end of the eyepiece if it bothers you too much.

To answer the OP's question I guess each manufacturer has its own ideas about what makes the perfect scope. There are compromises requires for each area of the scope you enhance. Having no eye relief allows them to have great specs for FOV and whatever else it enhances.

That is exactly how I set up my scopes! I make it so you need a firm hold on the gun pushed into my shoulder to get the optimal view. When standing Basically never have to move my head back for a full view and mover slightly forward Your spot on with it being right in other positions if set up this way.

Not to worry there Hero... You've been upgraded to assclown status... Not once did I call anybody else posting in this thread a hick or a member of the Clown Shoe Squadron or tell them they don't know how to shoot...

You've made it clear YOU are not skilled enough to shoot a rifle correctly, mount a scope correctly or use proper technique for recoil management with a scope that has less than 3" of eye relief... That is fine... Don't go spewing the he said/she said bullshit like you really have a clue...

I see post's here that everybody likes long eye relief... That's great... I agree 100%... What I don't see is them posting that anything less than 3" belongs on a centerfire/rimfire... Challenging engineers to shoot the 340 weatherby with said scopes, calling manufacturers and whining about eye relief and wondering why they are talked down to or pulling the 8.5# 300 RUM card like that is gonna make a difference...

dan_oz posted he shoots scopes that have as little as 2 5/8" eye relief just fine... Thats what happens when you use proper shooting technique, proper equipment setup and proper recoil management...

If you are shooting a rifle and the scope is "kissing your eye brow", as you put it, then there is more wrong than just the eye relief of your scope... Magnum rifle or not... If its to much "GUN" for you then stick to something you can handle or toughen up...

I guide from 40-60 hunters a year... This year I had 3 people scope their eyebrow... the scopes used were a Leupold, S&B, and a Zeiss... All 3 were from improper shooting techniques and had zero to do with eye relief... I see roughly the same number every year...

I have a Burris USA made that I like. It is presently on a .270. Eye relief is such that I will not mount it on a heavier caliber, nor let my lightweight daughters shoot it as is.

Jack

I'm in agreement with Dennis and the others here. I do own one scope with less than 3.5 inches of ER, but it's currently not on a rifle.
I haven't seen anyone mention eye box, the fore and aft leeway one gets with scopes. That helps alot. Particularly if you shoot from different shooting positions, hunt under a wide variation of temperatures, or shoot sharply up or downhill.
Placing a scope on the rifle does make a difference of course. Even a scope with lots of ER and EB can hurt you if not placed right. I don't know about the rest here, but the only way for me to know if I've placed it right, is to shoot it from the field positions I use. E