I just arrived home after being away for a week and found a box delivered (to my office) and not remembering what it might be, I opened it to find a new scope (used, but new to me). It's a Leupold Ultralight 3-9x33 I found for sale in excellent condition for way under 1/2 of the cost of a new one, a pretty good price for any Leupold product, considering their excellent warranty.
Even as I purchased it, I was not sure what rifle it would eventually live on top of, but knew it would be an excellent addition and likely work well for a number of rifles I now own. Rifles chambered in .257Rob, 6.5RM, .270Win, .284Win, .325WSM and .350RM were some I considered. I also knew it would be important to actually measure the eye relief this scope has/had before simply "checking" at the range with a 7 lb .325 OR 7.5 lb .350.:boxing:
As I was checking the actual eye relief (not knowing if it would be the same as a new scope's) I got to thinking that some here might not know the best way to do that with a scope they might have that's no longer produced, or one they cannot find specs for.
It's really very easy, about a 2 min job. Here's the best way to get accurate & actual eye relief measurements for any scope you might have lying around, even if it's already mounted.
1.) make sure the rifle is unloaded, if the scope is already mounted (I know, dumb disclaimer
)
2.) Lay the mounted/umnounted scope down on a flat surface.
3.) using three tools; a flashlight, tape measure or small ruler and a small piece of paper (3x5 card is perfect), place the lit flashlight up against the Objective lens.
4.) Lay the ruler/tape measure back from the Ocular lens, with zero placed at the edge of the bell.
5.) Take the 3x5 card and start at about 7" (or more) and slowly move it forward (towards the Ocular bell) and when the light beam comes into sharp focus, read the number (measurement) on the ruler and that is the eye relief for that scope, at that power.
For variable power scopes, the eye relief will likely change between lowest power (most relief) to highest power (shortest relief) and it is very wise to check at least those two. The numbers for this scope were a tad short for big hitters at 3.5" @ 3X and 3" @ 9X. These measurements are to the closest 1/8" and it's not a problem to figure them to this close a number. This scope will not sit on top of the .325 or .350, but should be fine for any of the other chamberings on the type rifles they are.
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Even as I purchased it, I was not sure what rifle it would eventually live on top of, but knew it would be an excellent addition and likely work well for a number of rifles I now own. Rifles chambered in .257Rob, 6.5RM, .270Win, .284Win, .325WSM and .350RM were some I considered. I also knew it would be important to actually measure the eye relief this scope has/had before simply "checking" at the range with a 7 lb .325 OR 7.5 lb .350.:boxing:
As I was checking the actual eye relief (not knowing if it would be the same as a new scope's) I got to thinking that some here might not know the best way to do that with a scope they might have that's no longer produced, or one they cannot find specs for.
It's really very easy, about a 2 min job. Here's the best way to get accurate & actual eye relief measurements for any scope you might have lying around, even if it's already mounted.
1.) make sure the rifle is unloaded, if the scope is already mounted (I know, dumb disclaimer
2.) Lay the mounted/umnounted scope down on a flat surface.
3.) using three tools; a flashlight, tape measure or small ruler and a small piece of paper (3x5 card is perfect), place the lit flashlight up against the Objective lens.
4.) Lay the ruler/tape measure back from the Ocular lens, with zero placed at the edge of the bell.
5.) Take the 3x5 card and start at about 7" (or more) and slowly move it forward (towards the Ocular bell) and when the light beam comes into sharp focus, read the number (measurement) on the ruler and that is the eye relief for that scope, at that power.
For variable power scopes, the eye relief will likely change between lowest power (most relief) to highest power (shortest relief) and it is very wise to check at least those two. The numbers for this scope were a tad short for big hitters at 3.5" @ 3X and 3" @ 9X. These measurements are to the closest 1/8" and it's not a problem to figure them to this close a number. This scope will not sit on top of the .325 or .350, but should be fine for any of the other chamberings on the type rifles they are.
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