Eye relief issues with Elcan Specter 4X

Big Bad

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Mounting the above optic on my AR this morning, I find that to get workable eye relief I have to position the scope so close to the end of the rail that it interferes with easy operation of the standard charging handle. Just wondering if I have to live with this or what the possible solutions are? I suppose an oversized handle is one obvious solution, if so what is available in Canada?
 
My DR has a short eye relief as well, I haven't found it to be a problem with the charge handle though.
Try shortening your stock a notch (if it's adjustable) and move the Specter a notch or two forward.
 
Big Bad, have you used Elcans before?
How old are you?

I stared with them in the early ninetiesin the army, C79s.
Great glass but short eye releif.
Even had my own civi ones.
I couldn't take the short eye relief anymore.

Depending on your age and health, get your eyes checked and don't mess around.
Macular degeneration due to age and health changes happen right fast.

I was at the point where my head was pushng the back of the optic I had to near touch the glass with my eye.
I even have it on my med category that I can not use the service sight due to lack of eye relief!
Another story,,,.

I now depend pretty excusively on twotypes of glass.
The AR332 by Burris. Three power, nice glass and a big view with some three inches plus of eye relief.
My other favourtie is the Hilux CMR in 1-4x24. Again lots of eye relief.
The eye relief is two to three inches which is night and ay compared to an Elcan.
Not as much as some hunting scopes but better than the Elcan of ACOG.

Most people do not understand that in order to squeeze the best benefit out of the superb glass of an Elcan or Trijicon,
they have to have better than average eyesight and skills.
Kind of like buying a porsche for a guy with limited driving skills.
Somebody with the vision and skills can really ring the best out of it.
 
^^^ Elcan says 2.5" is about right and I don't think I'm going blind, just an hombre with long arms and I have a scope that's close up to my charging handle. I don't think my skills are all that bad either, I feel worthy, I feel worthy. You do know that asking a question doesn't mean you're a forking idiot I suppose.
 
Big Bad,

I didn't find it radically different from the eye relief of a TA-31 ACOG....which is 1.5. Better, but it didn't feel that much different.

Amazing glass quality in both! Found it "felt" like I had more than 4x zoom, and loved the field of vision, but like Lawn Gnome, never could get over the short eye relief....preference wise not performance wise.
 
No problem Big Bad.
Between the ages of forty and fifty I had to change my Elcans for other optics.
That was all me and genetics though.
:(
If Elcan says 2.5 inch of eye relief, I'ld have to say, take it with a gain of salt.
Half that might be closer to normal.
Having it on the last rail slot possible is also the norm.

Do you mean the wing nuts or lock switches get in the way of the chargeing handle.
Yeah an paddle type handle might help.

As far as monkey arms go, it was always good to have a friend like you on my street hockey team growing up.
We need that to get the ball out of the sewer. :p We were poor.
:wave:
 
As others have said, Elcans do have short eye relief. Great optics, but nose-to-charging-handle is not uncommon with them. I'd go with a Raptor charging handle.

Raptor is the make I have some slight familiarity with, will see if I can find a Canadian dealer with a reasonable markup.
 
All the fixed power combat sight are like this due to design.

The plus is the more tolerance in the eye box and parallax. Your typical "scope" with long eye relief needs way more exact eye location. You can generally "cheat" more with ACOG and Elcan than a traditional scope, when it comes to hasty and non-conventional firing location to get "good" enough results.

I am an aimpoint / ACOG / Elcan shooter most of my shooting life. I understand why a lot people who grow up on "hunting scopes" don't like it because they are used to long eye relief and restrictive eye boxes. The generous eye boxes of combat sights confuse these folks because they are used to either getting proper eye relief or seeing nothing at all but shadows.

When I shoot SVC matches, I see many folks using "scopes" and they shoot terrible sometimes. Part of it is overall stability of position, but another part is that they are having inconsistent cheek wield and major parallax issue in hasty and non-prone position, especially with the cheap scopes.
 
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Elcans have bad eye relief. As does the classic 4x acog. For extended charging handles. a bcm gunfighter or a radian raptor would be a great choice. I wouldnt recommend against a geissele charging handle either but they are very expensive.
 
Brownells should have them in stock, probably cheaper than anywhere in Canada as well.

I assume that Brownells can't ship them here, but then again I've come to assume that they can't ship anything here, promise though they may at time of ordering. All they are to me now is my source for a fair price index.

After some discussion with 'personal resource people,' I've been persuaded to try the Elcan in the field before committing to the present position on the rail as being necessary. That might be, as a long time red dot user (Aimpoint Pro) on the AR platform, I may not be accommodating my shooting stance and cheek weld to the new scope enough, which I take it Greentips is also suggesting.
 
I've ordered a couple of them within the last few months and they all came through no problem. You just have to fill out the end user statement.

I assume that Brownells can't ship them here, but then again I've come to assume that they can't ship anything here, promise though they may at time of ordering. All they are to me now is my source for a fair price index.

After some discussion with 'personal resource people,' I've been persuaded to try the Elcan in the field before committing to the present position on the rail as being necessary. That might be, as a long time red dot user (Aimpoint Pro) on the AR platform, I may not be accommodating my shooting stance and cheek weld to the new scope enough, which I take it Greentips is also suggesting.
 
After some discussion with 'personal resource people,' I've been persuaded to try the Elcan in the field before committing to the present position on the rail as being necessary

Don't try to adjust your firing posture to the sight, move the sight to fit yourself.

Try this test. Start from the standing position, drop to the knee and then to the prone, with both feet planted to the same spot from standing through kneeing to prone. The relationship between the rifle, your head and your upper torso should be the same in all 3 positions.

If you cannot maintain the same relationship, you may want to adjust your feet position, stock for LOP and your head position until you can be consistent in all 3 positions. Now move your sight for proper eye relief.

Dont' got hung up if the sight needs to be moved back. Look doesn't matter.
 
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Don't try to adjust your firing posture to the sight, move the sight to fit yourself.

Try this test. Start from the standing position, drop to the knee and then to the prone, with both feet planted to the same spot from standing through kneeing to prone. The relationship between the rifle, your head and your upper torso should be the same in all 3 positions.

If you cannot maintain the same relationship, you may want to adjust your feet position, stock for LOP and your head position until you can be consistent in all 3 positions. Now move your sight for proper eye relief.

Dont' got hung up if the sight needs to be moved back. Look doesn't matter.

Roger that, sounds good, but I do need to work the charging handle, and as easily as possible. Which right now is what is worrying me.
 
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