fixing poor cheek weld

[sloguy]

my problem is that i cant seem to get my eye in the exact same place each shot. as an experiment i clamped my rifle into a soft vice and looked thru the scope moving my eye and i noticed that my crosshairs move quite a bit. i think part of my problem is using cheap scopes. but, can anyone recomend a scope brand that is forgiving tward poor cheek weld?

[rksimple]

This problem of parallax is only compounded with cheap scopes. Regardless of brand, a higher quality scope with parallax adjustment would help. Brands range from Bushnell to Schmidt and Bender. What is your budget?

[sloguy]

my budget is pretty much non existant. i need to sell some of my collection and buy optics that arent lame. or trade for some better scopes.

[maxicon]

Repeatable shoulder mount and cheek weld are critical. If you're talking about an AR, many people use the NTCH (nose to charging handle) position to help with this. For other rifles, it really depends on the stock and rifle design.

It's all about having the scope mounted correctly, so that if you shoulder the rifle with your eyes closed, then open your eyes, you're looking through the sweet spot on your scope. This should be repeatable many times in a row.

Even with a cheap scope, if you have repeatable shoulder mount and cheek weld, you'll be able to shoot fine with it as long as it holds zero. Lower magnification is easier than higher magnification. A good scope helps, though, and inexpensive Leupolds are pretty forgiving in the eye relief department.

So, for decent quality affordable scopes, you have to define your budget and uses. What's the main use for the rifle and scope, and how much can you spend? Under $100 is tough, under $200 is definitely possible.

[6079Winston]

Parallax is present at any distance the scope's objective is not focused for, but it is most apparent at close range on a scope focused at a longer range. Even most cheapie scopes are fairly parallax free at 100 or 200 yards. You can repeat your experiment at the range to find out which. Most of the better tacticool scopes have an adjustment for paralax, although some don't. There is also an interesting article on 6mmbr.com on Froggy's tips for shooting off a bipod which has good tips on setting eye relief and an adjustable cheekpiece.

[Mute]

The best scope in the world can't fix a poor cheekweld. Make sure your scope is properly and solidly mounted. Next, get a stock that allows you to adjust it to the point where it mounts consistently to same point every time you shoulder the rifle. A stock pack or something similar may help if you don't have a stock with an adjustable cheekpiece.

[Fjold]

Close your eyes and pick the gun up and put in the position that feels the best to you. Without moving the gun, open your eye, DO NOT TRY TO LOOK THROUGH THE SCOPE. What is your eye looking at?

If you are looking at the top of the eyepiece of your scope, you need taller rings.

If you are looking at the bottom of the eyepiece, you need shorter rings.

If you are looking at the right side of your eyepiece, you need to pad your cheekpiece.

If you are looking at the left side, you need to do some woodworking.

[bruce_ventura]

Close your eyes and pick the gun up and put in the position that feels the best to you. Without moving the gun, open your eye, DO NOT TRY TO LOOK THROUGH THE SCOPE. What is your eye looking at?

If you are looking at the top of the eyepiece of your scope, you need taller rings.

If you are looking at the bottom of the eyepiece, you need shorter rings.

If you are looking at the right side of your eyepiece, you need to pad your cheekpiece.

If you are looking at the left side, you need to do some woodworking.

+1

If your only complaint with the current scope is parallax, then follow Fjold's advice. Make the mods needed to get the stock and scope rings working for you. If you can get your cheek weld spot on and center your eye in the sight picture every time, then you don't need adjustable parallax. It's only for people who can't - or don't want to take the time - to center their eye.

Also, make sure you have the scope properly positioned along the receiver. Repeat the exercise that Fjold described using your likely shooting position (standing, sitting, prone, etc.). This time notice if you have to move your head forward or backward to see the edges of the field of view. You want the eye as far back as possible without loosing the edges of the field of view. Move the scope forward or backward relative to the receiver so that your natural cheek weld puts your eye right at the optimum eye relief. If you have a hard-kicking rifle (more than 30-06), then move the scope forward another 0.5-1" from optimum. I've had to do this when shooting .50 BMG to keep the scope from dinging my forehead.