What is a Long Eye Relief Scope – Full Analysis, Tips & More

What is a long eye relief scope…

Let’s find out together!

What Does Eye Relief Mean?

Longer eye relief means better accuracy. Optimal focus requires a closer distance to your eyes. A longer eye relief allows you to shoot farther away without losing accuracy.

Comparing Long Vs Short Eye Relief

Long eye relief scopes allow you to see further away than short eye relief scopes. This allows you to shoot more accurately. Short eye relief scopes are easier to mount on rifles. Long eye relief scopes require more skill to use.

Long Eye Relief – Scope is Mounted further away from your Eye

Choosing a long eye relief can have multiple advantages for shooters. Long eye relief allows you to mount your optics further up on the rifle allowing you to have a wider view. Scout mounting a scope allows for a wider field of view often referred to as a “scout mount”. Riflemen with scout-mounted scopes can shoot with.

Eye Relief on a Red Dot Sight

Red dots sights do not have a specific eye-relief. You can mount them anywhere on your rifle. Mounting them closer to your eyes will make your FOV smaller. This means that you won’t be able to see as far away as you could otherwise.

A red dot sight mounted farther from the eye increases the view angle but it has the downside of interfering with your image. Best scope for 30-30 lever-action rifle – Editors Picks.

Note: If you want to know a complete guide and tutorials about scopes click HERE.

Does Eye Relief Change with Magnification?

Eye relief changes with magnification. When you use a variable scope, you’ll typically have a range for eye relief. Higher magnifications mean shorter eye-relief, and lower magnifications mean longer eye-relief. For instance, the Leupold 3-9×50 mm riflescope has an eye-relief range between 3.66″ and 4.17″.

Scopes with a higher zoom ratio should have a larger variation in eyepiece size. This is not always true, but it is often true. Higher-quality scopes tend to have more accurate optics, and therefore less variation in eyepiece sizes.

An example of this scope is the Leupold Vx6 HD 3-18×50 mm. This particular scope has an eye relief that ranges between 3.7 and 4.0 inches!

what is a long eye relief scope

What is a Long Eye Relief Scope?

Why Is Eye Relief Important?

Eye relief refers to how far away from the end of your barrel your eye should be to see an object. Proper eye relief means that your eye should be as far away from the end as possible. When you’re shooting, if you notice that your eye starts hurting or feels like it’s going to pop out of your head, then you need to adjust your eye relief.

Eye relief is important. You should wear glasses or contacts if your eyes are too close together. Your vision will be better when you’re wearing them.

Note: If you want to gain information on How to Dial in a Scope click HERE.

Defining Long Eye Relief

Eye relief is the distance between the eye and the eyepieces of the scope. On rifles, enough eye relief is usually around 3.5″. Longer eye relief scopes can go up to 4 inches, while some can even be as long as 6 inches. Longer eye relief is important for shooting safely because it allows you to shoot farther away without getting kicked by the gun. It also helps you acquire a faster target when you’re moving. And finally, it gives you more FOV, or field of vision, which means you see more of what’s going on around you.

Scout, hunting, surplus rifles, and handguns can all be fitted with a good long eye-relief scope.

Why is eye relief important with rifle scopes?

Eye relief is very important because it helps you see your target better. Recoil is generated by the gun, but it doesn’t matter how powerful the weapon is if you can’t see what you’re shooting at.

When shooting a rifle or shotgun with a scope, the closer you stand to the target, the more likely your eyes will be driven back by the recoil of the gun. This could cause problems if you’re shooting at something very close to you. A longer eye relief allows you to shoot farther away without having to worry about this problem.

This phenomenon has several official terms to describe it, including scope bite, scope eye, rifle tattoo, and scope bite.

Note: If you want to gain information about Who Makes Redfield Scopes? click HERE.

What is a rifle scope eye relief extender?

Eye relief extenders aren’t designed to increase your ability to see things. They’re simply meant to make you feel better about having a gun pointed at your face.

Note: If you want to know How to Paint a Rifle Scope click HERE.

Conclusion

We hope that you now have a better understanding of long eye relief.

If you want to know more information about scopes click Here.

Author

  • John Moses

    John is the Editor in Chief here at The Outdoor Stores. His area of expertise ensures that there is no one better to suggest which rifles are most suitable for your hunting experience. He is also available for you to contact him personally to discuss the types of animals you want to hunt and the terrain you will be hunting on. Feel free to read his posts for expert opinion on Rifles, Scopes, Rangefinders, Bonoculars and Monoculars.

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