eye relief adjustment , keep hitting myself in the head with the scope....

airtruck63chev

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i hate scopes.. give me a headache .. A-bolt .338 winmag w/ 4x9 bushnel . every time i use the zoom i get too close to the scope and get these dents with blood coming out on my forehead... when the dark ring closes in around the scope view i move closer to adjust the sight picture so the ring matches the outer diam of the scope , this scope is 30yrs old do the newer ones have same thing?. could i get some advice on a way of fixing this issue as i am a iron sights guy , dont have any experience with scopes , or is it just i am letting this rifle push me around..
 
I like Bushnells but.....get a better scope. Leupold had the best eye relief in the in the business, Bushnell not so much. The trick is to mouth the scope and put the magnification on max, get into position behind the rifle and move the scope in the rings until yo have the full field of view. Leupold had a pretty constant eye relief thoughout the entire magnification range.

Scott
 
I like Bushnells but.....get a better scope. Leupold had the best eye relief in the in the business, Bushnell not so much. The trick is to mount? the scope and put the magnification on max, get into position behind the rifle and move the scope in the rings until yo have the full field of view. Leupold had a pretty constant eye relief thoughout the entire magnification range.

Scott

longer eye relief would be cool and mount scope with more room to lean into it
 
Most scopes I've seen have eye relief at around 3 inches. At that range the sight picture should match the scope, with no dark circle around the image.
However, there are also intermediate eye relief scopes, and long eye relief scopes, that are intended to he used at longer distances from your eye.

If you can, shoulder the rifle and get a cheek weld and aim as you would if you were shooting and get someone to see where the scope is in relation to your eye. If the sight picture does not line up, and you need to lift your head up or lean forwards, the scope needs to be moved or replaced. Depending on the setup something like a cheek riser that allows you to get a cheek weld slightly higher from the bore to allow you to properly use the scope without contorting yourself. A different length of pull might be necessary.

Or maybe just a different scope is required, or see if you can maybe slide the scope further forwards in the rings, or get extended rings.

When you are adjusting the zoom on the scope, you should not need to move your head at all. Though that could easily be a reflex action, just like how some people will lean to the sides while driving cars in video games. If that is the case, all I can recommend is lots of practice and staying aware of what your body is doing while you're shooting.
 
Get either a Leupold FX3 6x42 or a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40, and mount it properly.

That, and have a gun smith measure you for stock fit, and make sure yours fits.
 
First thing you have to do is get rid of that scope. Bushnels have short eye-relief to begin with, they lied that number to make it look better, and they measure from the glass. The eye-relief is critical enough that you will contort, crawl and reposition your shoulder until you are in the optimum position to get your forehead bashed in again. I recomend a Leupold, and even then you may have to start hanging onto the rifle a bit with a little forward tension against the butt with your shoulder.
 
so like shorter stock ? because i lean into it?
higher cheek weld? keep my head up higher?
taller scope mount?

Hard to say without seeing what's going on. Basically .. with your arm bent at the elbow (90 degree) and hand out (palm up), place the butt of the stock into the crook of your elbow and lay the rifle onto your arm. Your fingers should just touch the front of the trigger guard. Fingers short of the front of the guard, the rifle is too long, fingers past the trigger guard, the rifle is too short. Remedy by adding a recoil pad if too short or taking some wood off if too long. Too many folks don't measure (fit) the firearm for themselves and end up having problems like you have mentioned. It's gotta fit right.
 
look at a 3x9 minox. good price and 4 inches of eye relief at any power. you have a fairly light rifle/short eye relief issue. my 338 t3 requires a decent amount of eye relief to avoid contact especially with the softer recoil pad i have.
 
Some good advice already. The scope you're using probably has a 2.75" eye relief. You want 3.5" minimum with that 338. Also a stock as others have mentioned that's too short or too long will give you problems. Both create more jump from the recoil rather than allowing you to easily soak it up.

When I was learning rifles we had Winchester m70s in 308 with old Weaver 4x scopes. There wasn't a lot of eye relief. The qualifications were 100 metres standing, kneeling, sitting and prone. Out of 30 people 1-2 would get scope bite. Some from not holding the rifle properly or crowding the scope and some from a stock that was clearly too long or short for them.

It's known as scope bite or an idiot mark. It can happen to anyone for the above reasons.

Again tons of good advice here already. Get a scope with 3.5-4" eye relief!!

Good luck. I hope further shooting will be more enjoyable.
 
didnt get a chance last night to pull it out and take pics, might go to reliable with it and see if they can sell me a new scope for christmas :)
 
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