Scope Height

D

desertstormvet

New member
For my .308, which has an adjustable cheek piece, my scope objective is mounted approximately 1/16" above my barrel. In this configuration, my cheek piece is kept fully seated. I'm thinking about raising my scope, slightly, to give me some wiggle room (with the cheek piece) and allow me to optimize my shooting position. Is there any benefit one way or the other...for example, can I get a better sight picture with a higher mounting? I get the geometric aspect of having the barrel and scope center lines as close together as possible...
 
It depends on the size and shape of your upper body parts.

Use whatever scope height lets you aim the rifle most precisely in all positions you'll shoot it from.
 
Having a higher mounted scope can give you the perception of a flatter shooting rifle beyond your zero range.

The bullet trajectory won't change (of course) but the way the trajectory intersects with your scope lone of sight will make it seem a little flatter.

If you just punch paper at known ranges, it really doesn't matter, do what Bart says.

For a hunting rifle, if most of your shots are going to be closer than your zero range, then a lower scope is generally better. If most of your shooting is beyond your zero range, a higher mount can have a bit of an advantage.

Don't take my word for it (nobody ever does), run some numbers in a good ballistics program and see for yourself.
 
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My issue is more comfort and getting clear, repeatable sight picture through the scope. Maybe I just have a big head and need a little more room...
 
All about comfort and repeat-ability. Being able to "drop" naturally and easily into the correct sight picture. I've sometimes found it's not as easily done as it sounds.

I saw an interview with a military sniper once where he said that he could practically (not literally) fall asleep behind the rifle and open his eyes and be looking straight down the scope- countless hours observing behind the glass would make that a necessity, I suppose.
 
fall asleep behind the rifle and open his eyes and be looking straight down the scope
Click to expand...
Exactly.

No muscle support holding your head up. Only bone support.

If you use muscle support to put your aiming eye in the scope's axis, it'll wiggle and bounce because your heart's pumping blood into those muscles and that expand and contract which bounces your eye around the scope's axis. Bone's don't expand and contract; they stay the same all the time.

And that bouncing also transfers to the rifle wiggling it's point of aim about some point on the target.

The cheekpiece is typically lower for offhand shots than prone or sitting. I use spacers on my cheekpieces for different ranges with metallic sights. As the rear sight moves up and down for different ranges, so must the cheekpiece to keep my awakening eye dead on the sight axis.

Go figure this out and you'll understand. Aim through your scope from a solid position then close your eyes for a minute. Open them and see where the aiming one is relative to the scope axis. If it's not dead on, you're using muscle support.
 
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