Home >> Collecting >> Gun Collecting

How to Extend Eye Relief in a Rifle Scope

Eye relief is the distance between your eye and the scope's ocular lens necessary for you to perceive a clear and complete sight picture. Insufficient eye relief often causes many shooters to position their heads too close to the rifle scope, which can result in physical injury from the recoil of the rifle. The distance of eye relief is determined by the manufacturer of the scope. Eye relief is adjustable, to a certain extent, on variable power scopes; on fixed power scopes the eye relief is set and unchangeable.

Instructions

- 1
  Set your variable power scope to a high magnification setting. At your scope's highest magnification setting, you will experience the shortest distance of eye relief.
- 2
  Aim your rifle at a target to determine the eye relief distance for this particular power setting. When your eye is properly positioned, you should have a complete, round sight picture.
- 3
  Reduce the magnification setting of your scope and reposition your head to adjust for the increased distance of eye relief. The eye relief distance is greatest at the scope's lowest magnification setting.

Gun Collecting