• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

ScopesLife

Find The Best Rifle Scopes For Money

  • Home
  • Scopes
    • Rimfire Scopes
    • Scope for AR-10
    • Scout Scope
    • 300 Blackout Scopes
  • Optics
  • Sport
  • Red Dot Sights
    • Bushnell TRS-25 Review
  • Scope for Ruger 10/22
  • Scopes for Your 30-30 Rifle
  • Scopes For Marlin 336
  • Scope for 6.5 Creedmoor

What Is Eye Relief And How It Helps?

May 7, 2019 By Libbie C. Hass Leave a Comment

What Is Eye Relief And How It Helps?

You are asking “what is eye relief” because you are having trouble understanding this value on your device, or simply put, you recently have a scope bite.

When it comes to specs, you might think it is boring and useless, but learning how to read this mystery number can help you make the best selection for your needs.

Now, are you ready to learn the trick? Let’s get started

What Is Eye Relief?

Eye relief plays an essential part in any sport optic that has an eyepiece, including binoculars, rangefinders, spotting scopes, rifle scopes, and handgun scopes.

It is the distance between your eyes and the eyepiece to give you a full picture without any obstructions or shadowing. This distance is critical for shooters to have a comfortable view and avoid the recoil of a rifle scope.

However, there is a misconception when people usually say that you should not buy a device that has too much eye relief because it will block your view. But it does not work like that, here is why.

Eye relief is measured in inches (inch) or millimeter (mm), varying from models to types of the equipment you are using.

Having a device with a long eye relief does not give you a blockage. It only does when you place your eye too close or far away from an ideal distance.

Simply put, the distance of your eye from the eyepiece should be equal to the stated value on your devices.

How does the field of view and magnification relate to eye relief?

Field of view is the measured area of the scene you can see from edge to edge through the optic of your devices, usually determined by feet or meter. Obtaining a clear full of view is what you want when using an optic.

Magnification is a convenient setting on your equipment that allows you to adjust the field diameter to get a closer look at the targets. When you increase the magnification, field of view will decrease, and vice versa.

But what do these settings have anything to do with eye relief anyway?

When you increase magnification, you will reduce the measured distance of the field of view, and this affects your eye relief. Technically, you will lessen the amount of eye relief to maintain a clear sight.

For example, if the spotting scope has 30-70x magnification, at its 30x, it may offer 104 feet at 1000 yards with 15 mm of eye relief. But when you increase it up to 70x, you will end up seeing 57 feet at 1000 yards with only 1.8mm of your eye relief left. Got it?

Short Eye Relief Vs. Long Eye Relief

Short eye relief is anything less than 13mm. If you are not myopic and don’t wear glasses, this should not be an issue for you. But to get a clear field of view, you might have to push the eyepiece closer to your eye. This can cause discomfort.

However, people with eyeglasses may have trouble viewing when eye relief is less than 16mm as eye relief needs to be longer for them to obtain the full field of vision because of the interference of your glasses. A tip for you to test whether an optic fits you is to try it with your eyeglasses on, and then remove it. It should work well in both cases.

Long eye relief, which is anything around 20-24mm, on optics is what people wish for the most. It provides more comfortable viewing because you may not need to place your eye too close to the eyepiece. This also can help you to avoid a hit from the recoil of your rifle.

To have a better experience while shooting, I recommend that you should learn to read the eye relief value to get an idea how far from the eyepiece you should place your eye. A too close or too far distance can cause you problems such as:

  • Vignetting image
  • Light transmission lost
  • Limited field of view
  • If you are using a rifle, a hit from the recoil of a gun is inevitable. You have been warned!

Rifle Scope And Eye Relief

Standard eye relief of a rifle scope is around 3-3 ½ inches. This distance plays a crucial part while you are using a rifle scope.

If you have a hard-recoiling rifle, high-powered scopes are the must, and of course, the need for longer eye relief is essential. So let me help you to figure out what is a good eye relief for you.

We can save you from having to do the math, just look at this table below.

What Is Eye Relief
Rifle Scope Eye Relief Chart

Long eye relief scopes on powerful rifles not only give a safe distance for your eye during recoil but also assist in clearing the chamber on bolt action rifles easily.

You should watch this video to have a better understanding of how eye relief can make a significant difference to your shooting game.

What a relief now!

It is tedious when it comes to specs and techs. That’s why we are here to help. If there is anything you should know to get ahead of the game, it is eye relief.

Do you think this article is useful and help you understand more about eye relief? If you think so, why not to share this around your friends. Who knows if someone needs it too. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions. We love to hear from you.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Featured Posts

Vortex Diamondback Reviews

Vortex Diamondback Review – The Truth about The Budget Rifle Scope

March 22, 2019 By Libbie C. Hass

The Vortex Diamondback 4-12x40 comes with excellent optics. It is a relatively reasonable scope, but … [Read More] about Vortex Diamondback Review – The Truth about The Budget Rifle Scope

Barska scope reviews

The Best Barska Scopes Reviews – The Last Updated Review Of 2019

March 20, 2019 By Libbie C. Hass

Sometimes I come across the argument over whether we should purchase the affordable scopes like the … [Read More] about The Best Barska Scopes Reviews – The Last Updated Review Of 2019

best scopes For 22LR

5 Best Scopes For 22LR in 2019 You Can’t Neglect (Review And Buying Guide)

March 19, 2019 By Libbie C. Hass

A 22LR (or 22 Long Rifle) scope is an ideal choice for short and mid-range shooting as well as … [Read More] about 5 Best Scopes For 22LR in 2019 You Can’t Neglect (Review And Buying Guide)

best scope for 308

Best Scope For .308 List & Buying Guide (2019 Edition)

March 14, 2019 By Libbie C. Hass

The .308 cartridge is popular among hunters. But which is the best scope for .308? Keep on reading … [Read More] about Best Scope For .308 List & Buying Guide (2019 Edition)

Discover 5 Best Varmint Scopes In 2019 & How To Choose The Right One For You

March 14, 2019 By Libbie C. Hass

A varmint scope is specifically designed to help a hunter to focus on a target over long distances, … [Read More] about Discover 5 Best Varmint Scopes In 2019 & How To Choose The Right One For You

best scope for 338 Lapua

The Best Scope For 338 Lapua Review – An Interesting Choice For Hunters

March 12, 2019 By Libbie C. Hass

What is the best scope for 338 Lapua? It is the most common question for me recently. If you read … [Read More] about The Best Scope For 338 Lapua Review – An Interesting Choice For Hunters

best scope For 17 HMR

5 Best Scopes For .17 HMR In 2019 You Must See (List & Buying Guide)

March 11, 2019 By Libbie C. Hass

A scope for .17 HMR (Hornady Magnum Rimfire) has excellent performance in small varmints hunting, … [Read More] about 5 Best Scopes For .17 HMR In 2019 You Must See (List & Buying Guide)

Best Scopes For M1A

Best Scopes for M1A – Choose A Legendary Rifle To Make You A Legendary Shooter

March 7, 2019 By Libbie C. Hass

What do you need to set up an astounding scout rifle game? Nothing but the best scopes for … [Read More] about Best Scopes for M1A – Choose A Legendary Rifle To Make You A Legendary Shooter

best 22-250 Scopes

Top 5 Best .22-250 Scopes: Reviews & Ultimate Buying Guide

March 6, 2019 By Libbie C. Hass

The .22-250 Remington is one of the best-selling and most popular cartridges. That’s why many people … [Read More] about Top 5 Best .22-250 Scopes: Reviews & Ultimate Buying Guide

best Spotting Scope

Top 5 Best Spotting Scopes In 2019 (List & Buying Guide)

March 5, 2019 By Libbie C. Hass

Why do you need a spotting scope? You can use a spotting scope to look at terrestrial objects … [Read More] about Top 5 Best Spotting Scopes In 2019 (List & Buying Guide)

Tags

.22 scope 6.5 creedmoor scope 17 hmr scope 22-250 Scopes 22LR Scopes 300 Blackout Scopes 308 308 scope 338 Lapua scope AR-10 Scope Barska Scopes Barska Scopes review Best Barska Scopes best red dot sight reviews best spotting scope under 500 Bushnell TRS-25 long eye relief scout scope M1A scope Marlin 336 for sale red dot sight red dot sight reviews Rifle Scope rimfire scope ruger 10/22 scope ruger 10/22 scope reviews Scope For .308 scope for 17 HMR scope for 22 250 scope for 30 30 scope for 30-30 reviews scope for 338 Lapua Scope for AR-10 Scope For M1A scope for mini 14 Scope for Ruger 10/22 Scopes For 22LR Scopes For Marlin 336 scout scope Spotting Scope spotting scope reviews Tactical Rifle Scope tripods for spotting scope types of rifle scope Varmint Scopes Varmint Scopes reviews
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
scopeslife.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Additionally, scopeslife.com participates in various other affiliate programs, and we sometimes get a commission through purchases made through our links.

Copyright © 2021 · scopeslife.com