Leupold Scope blacks out very quickly

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE

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I have a Leupold VX-II 4-12 x40mm AO which when I look through, goes to blackout pretty quickly as I move my head in the slightest amount. There is a very fine margin to where the image is in view. Is this normal for this scope, or is it normal for a particular scope to go to blackout quicker than others? (I have an eye relief of about 5 inches at lower magnification).

I bought it new a few months back and haven't used that much, so it hasn't been dropped, or damaged, etc.
 
My first question to you is how many scopes have you looked through/used?

What may seem like "the slightest amount" to you may be perfectly normal.

To be sure, go to a gun shop and look for a few other quality scopes to see if they "black out" like yours.

I suspect your scope is fine.
 
I have a Leupold Var X-III, and I have handled quite a few at the local shop; I do not find that they black out any quicker than any other scope. If you are not properly placing your head on the stock, your eye will be off center to start with; this would cause a little bit of movement to cause this problem.
 
I'd say your scope isn't mounted properly for you. When the scope blacks out, your eye position is no longer in the effective "eye releif" zone. There is a finite focus point for every scope and manufacturers make different eye releif distances to suit different markets and rifle applications.

Experiment with your head position on the stock, sliding forward and back. It's likely that you need to slide the scope slightly forward or back (likely no more than an inch) for the way you shoulder the rifle. Nothing is wrong with the scope, it's just your physical build is not the same as whom ever mounted the scope.
 
I agree with jjackman... I don't think that your scope is mounted quite right. You mentioned that you have about 5" of eye relief, but the Leupold model you have doesn't have that long of eye relief. Try moving your scope back so that you have 3.5" - 4.0" of eye relief and chances are your problem will be solved.
 
Leupold scopes are known for having a favourable "eyebox" where you can properly aquire the complete image. I also believe your scope might not be mounted properly. A quick test is to close your eyes, mount the rifle to your shoulder where you would normaly hold your head against the stock in a comfortable position and then open your eye. If you find you are having to pull your head forward or back to any great degree then you have to adjust the scope forwards oe backwards. Before you change anything though remember this...the magnification setting on most scopes (Leupold being one) will alter your eye relief. In other words the higher the magnification the shorter the eye relief and of course the smaller the magnification the longer the eye relief (this may vary about an inch or so). Obviously you have to find a happy medium between the two extremes. I usually ask the customer what magnification they will likely be set on more ofter and this is usually where I center the eye relief. Phil.
 
ND,
When you position a Leupold varible set it so it is right for bench and prone shooting when at it's highest power. Eye-relief is most critical at the highest power. As you turn it down the power the famous Leupold eye-box opens up and things get easier.
 
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