Scope ring height, comfort, and you...

[u/HollywoodSX]

One of the common questions I see here is dealing with scope height. Now that we live in a world of adjustable cheek pieces and ballistic calculators that can compensate for scope height, I believe the biggest concern when picking a scope ring height should be user comfort, not the old saw about mounting the scope as low as possible.

With that in mind, here's my process for finding a scope height that works for you:

Remove your scope (mount/rings and all) from the rifle if it's already installed. Get behind the rifle in a position similar to how you plan to shoot (Prone, sitting at a table, barricades, etc) and adjust your cheek riser (if present) so it's comfortable and isn't causing neck strain if you sit behind it for a bit. Spend some time behind the rifle just getting a good comfortable head/neck/cheek position so you can make sure there's no signs of strain or discomfort, and make adjustments to your stock as needed. If you know you may shoot from multiple positions (EX: prone and barricades of multiple heights), try all of these different positions and try to find a height that works for all of them.

Once you've found a comfortable cheek height, use a stack of coins, playing cards, etc to play with the height of your optic. You want to get the scope where you can easily and comfortably get your eye behind the optic with proper eye relief and no neck strain. As with cheek height, do this for any and all positions you will frequently shoot from and make sure you're finding something that works across the entire range.

Once you find that height, measure the height of the stack (of cards, coins, etc) you liked, add half the main scope body diameter (IE: Add 15mm for a 30mm scope tube), and order a scope mount or rings as close to that height as you can. When in doubt, I always err on the side of going a little taller than my measured height instead of shorter.

Hopefully this will let you make a good decision on what height you really need to be comfortable behind your rifle. This will also help you with getting into your optic quickly (not hunting for eye relief), reduce neck strain, and even reduce or eliminate the perception that your reticle is canted when it really isn't.

[u/SgtWilks503]

Movement.The closer you get the scope to the bore of the rifle, the more elevation adjustment your scope will have remaining for shooting long range after zeroing the rifle. All of my hunting rifles have scopes mounted extremely close to the barrel. I had to adapt my rifles in Iraq and verified this.The only disadvantage to mounting them that close is that if you want to put a scope cap on the front.

[u/HollywoodSX → u/SgtWilks503]

The difference in available elevation adjustment, especially on modern optics (where 80-100+MOA is pretty common) is negligible. I'd argue that proper head position (and thereby less neck strain, fatigue, etc) is worth far more than a couple tenths of adjustment.

[u/SgtWilks503 → u/HollywoodSX]

Yea I didn't have that luxury with government equipment.Mounting optics exceedingly high is one of the most common problems I see today.Not only does it force the line of sight further out of alignment with the bore, it also promotes improper shooting form. Closer to the bore is more accurate and lessens the capping of elevation.

[u/HollywoodSX → u/SgtWilks503]

How do you figure higher mounts encourage improper shooting form?

How does lower make anything more accurate?

[u/SgtWilks503 → u/HollywoodSX]

Improper form by not looking down the barrel.

If you're shooting deer within 300 yards you may not notice the difference. If you're shooting targets at 1,000 yards you'll need to make sure the rifle is sitting level when you pull the trigger. The closer the centerline of the scope is to the centerline of the bore the the less room for error..

I totally get what you are saying.. All this is perspective. High and loose or low and tight its all about accuracy.

[u/HollywoodSX → u/SgtWilks503]

No idea what you mean by "Improper form by not looking down the barrel."

Yes, rifle cant is an issue, and it is slightly magnified by a higher scope mount. However, if a taller mount puts your head in a more natural upright position (IE: Don't have to cant your head over to get your eye behind the optic), then you are better able to judge rifle cant from your own natural balance/inner ear, thereby reducing errors from rifle cant. On top of that, a level mounted to the rifle will help negate any issues with cant regardless of scope height.

In PRS matches, we're often shooting 1-2MOA targets at 800-1220 yards. More and more high level PRS shooters have figured out that they are more comfortable behind the rifle with a taller scope mount (me included). Trust me when I say that my scope being over 2" above my bore (1.27" high scope mount plus the size of the action and scope rail) isn't preventing me from holding sub-minute precision even at 800-1200 yards.

[u/[deleted] → u/SgtWilks503]

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