Florida_Man
Master HAMster
I shoot a pretty wide range of rifles — everything from short carbines to full-size rifles — and I’ve never really struggled with length of pull the way a lot of people seem to. That’s not me claiming I’m doing anything special; it’s just something I’ve noticed after setting up a lot of different rigs, and I’m curious if others have had similar experiences.
For me, LOP usually ends up being less of a factor because of how I mount optics. The first thing I do is ignore the scope completely and take a natural cheek weld in the position I’ll actually be shooting in (bench, offhand, etc.). From there, I build the rifle to me instead of forcing myself to adapt to how the rifle came out of the box. If my eye doesn’t land naturally behind the scope, I move the optic or change the rings, or adjust the cheek piece if the rifle has one. Once that’s sorted, eye relief comes together easily.
Having an assortment of rings — different heights, styles, and offsets — has made this a pretty simple and repeatable process. Sometimes the “fix” is literally just swapping rings and everything suddenly lines up.
One thing I’ll add is that I treat mounting a scope and leveling a scope as two completely separate tasks. First I make the rifle fit me and get the optic positioned where my head naturally wants to be. Only after that’s locked in do I worry about leveling the scope. Trying to do both at the same time just complicates things.
Here’s how I usually mount a new optic:
Not saying this is the way to do it — just what I’ve found after bouncing between a lot of different setups. I’m sure it can be different for folks with movement restrictions. I’m a 40 year old that’s 6’1, 180lb, and a runner with good flexibility. My long lanky arms spread 78ish inches.
For me, LOP usually ends up being less of a factor because of how I mount optics. The first thing I do is ignore the scope completely and take a natural cheek weld in the position I’ll actually be shooting in (bench, offhand, etc.). From there, I build the rifle to me instead of forcing myself to adapt to how the rifle came out of the box. If my eye doesn’t land naturally behind the scope, I move the optic or change the rings, or adjust the cheek piece if the rifle has one. Once that’s sorted, eye relief comes together easily.
Having an assortment of rings — different heights, styles, and offsets — has made this a pretty simple and repeatable process. Sometimes the “fix” is literally just swapping rings and everything suddenly lines up.
One thing I’ll add is that I treat mounting a scope and leveling a scope as two completely separate tasks. First I make the rifle fit me and get the optic positioned where my head naturally wants to be. Only after that’s locked in do I worry about leveling the scope. Trying to do both at the same time just complicates things.
Here’s how I usually mount a new optic:
- Start with the rifle shouldered naturally. No scope, no adjustments — just find the cheek weld I’ll actually use.
- Place the scope loosely in the rings without tightening anything.
- Check the sight picture from my actual shooting position. If it’s a benchrest it offhand use rifle.
- Adjust ring height or fore/aft position if the scope needs to move to match my natural head position.
- Fine-tune the cheek piece if the rifle has one.
- Set eye relief once everything feels natural and repeatable.
- Tighten everything down, making sure the scope position stays where it belongs.
- Level the scope separately after the mount is finalized. Two different jobs.
Not saying this is the way to do it — just what I’ve found after bouncing between a lot of different setups. I’m sure it can be different for folks with movement restrictions. I’m a 40 year old that’s 6’1, 180lb, and a runner with good flexibility. My long lanky arms spread 78ish inches.
