Scope height

[LongRifle]

How do you know when a scope is mounted too high? I recently purchased a scope with a 50mm lens. With the scope I purchased Burris tactical rings (medium height) and it all sits on top of a one piece base. When I rest behind the scope I get a very comfortable cheek weld and good sight alignment at this height. I feel like switching to a low height base would make it uncomfortably low. This rifle is my long range shooter.
I am curious if I am going to run into any issues with it being mounted this high. As I said it sits in a very comfortable spot for me but I'm worried about possible issues when shooting long distances. I had no issues sighting it in. It zeroed very easily and still left me with plenty of adjustment up and down for elevation.

[Bob R]

Rule of thumb is that lower is better, but that has a couple of caveats also. You want to clear the barrel with the scope and also make sure the bolt clears the rear of the scope. Also, you want to be able to replicate the cheek weld over and over. If you have to stretch or squish down to get the scope alignment you may need different height rings.

So, as you can tell, there is no "magic" formula for ring height. It is ultimately what feels good and that you can do time and time again without any effort. When you shoulder the rifle you want the scope where it belongs. You may need to try different heights or even brands to get exactly right, but if what you are using works then why change it?

bob

[scrappy]

Since your face is what gets pressed against the stock, and since no two faces are the same (except for the Olsen twins) the fit is largely an individual decision. Though as Bob said, generally speaking lower is better. The lowest you can go and see perfectly clearly through the scope, with no fussing about getting your sight picture is what you want. A little to low is often better than a little to high.

[LongRifle]

Ok thank you gentlemen. I might just stick with it for the time being and if it becomes an issue later I can swap them out. I was a little surprised how high the medium bases stood but I did some research later and folks said that Burris rings sit a little higher than most

[ron]

Ok thank you gentlemen. I might just stick with it for the time being and if it becomes an issue later I can swap them out. I was a little surprised how high the medium bases stood but I did some research later and folks said that Burris rings sit a little higher than most

It looks way too high to me. It looks to me like you'd a 'Chin Weld" rather than a "Cheek Weld". Couldn't you swap out the rail that the rings are mounted on for a lower rail?

[Abruzzi]

If it's comfortable and you shoot it well, there is no disadvantage to the higher scope.
Burris XTR's are tall. A Burris medium Zee ring is lower than a medium XTR.

[ron]

If it's comfortable and you shoot it well, there is no disadvantage to the higher scope.
Burris XTR's are tall. A Burris medium Zee ring is lower than a medium XTR.

I would agree that if it's comfortable and you shoot it well, there is no disadvantage to the higher scope. However, the only way to know if it might be MORE comfortable and that you might shoot it better if the scope were lowered, is to try lowering it and see. And then if it makes no differencem or you shot it better with the scope mounted high, you can always put it back the way it was.

But you'll never know unless you try.

[LongRifle]

Well it finally bothered me long enough so I pulled the full length base of and kept the medium height rings and that dropped the scope down plenty far. It is still at a comfortable height and it doesn't look so goofy sitting that high anymore

[scrappy]

Well it finally bothered me long enough so I pulled the full length base of and kept the medium height rings and that dropped the scope down plenty far. It is still at a comfortable height and it doesn't look so goofy sitting that high anymore

I think this is a step in the right direction. Most people make the mistake of (A) mounting scopes too high and (B) shooting with stocks that are too long. Jeff Cooper, who was no midget, opined that after 3 decades of teaching rifle craft he concluded that 95% of shooters shot best with a length of pull not over 13" (yes, 13"). And with scopes mounted as low over the bore as was possible to do. These things drastically aided shoot ability at reasonable rifle distances. After much shooting and thought I am inclined to agree with him.
Glad to hear you lowered that scope.

[LongRifle]

Now that the one piece base is gone the bell of the scope sits less than a quarter of an inch above the barrel. Maybe low height rings could get it a little closer but I'm pretty happy with it for now

[Bob R]

1/4" is fine. I don't know what your plans for the rifle is but even at 1/4" with continuous shooting without a cool down period is probably going to give you a heat mirage in the scope, especially on hot days with no wind. I think you are fine where it is.


bob

[scrappy]

Heat mirage is only mildly affected by scope height I'm my experience. Just tossing that out there.

[ron]

Heat mirage is only mildly affected by scope height I'm my experience. Just tossing that out there.

Also there are Scope sun shade extensions that will solve that problem. They make them for different sized scopes.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Sc ... extensions

[LongRifle]

My Vortex scope came with a sunshade so that should work.

[ron]

My Vortex scope came with a sunshade so that should work.

That looks like a nice rifle. What is it? What caliber/chambering?

[LongRifle]

It's my custom built Remington 700 in 30-06. HS Precision stock, Timney trigger, 26 inch Shilen #5 contour barrel.

[LongRifle]

I also have a beautiful Monte Carlo wood stock that I use while hunting

[scrappy]

You switch stocks for hunting? This runs counter to everything I've ever learned about shooting proficiency. If the other stock fits differently it's going to align differently and this can cause problems. On a target range it's no issue, but on game it becomes one. On game time is always short, conditions are never perfect and nothing short of a correct result is acceptable.
For whatever it's worth I would advise you to pick one stock, whichever one fits best for the majority of the shooting you do, and stay with that. Just figure out how to make it work for both targets and game. If one fits perfectly for the tactical range but won't work for hunting, but the hunting stock won't work for the range, the best solution is to get a second rifle and set each up for a specific use.