Big Bore Scope Options

[Adie]

Good evening everyone.

I hope you are all well!

I shoot a 450 Rigby with an Aimpoint red dot scope. I bought a Swarovski Z6 (1-6) first gen (non illuminated reticle) for a steal with the intentions of using it on the rifle. Needless to say, the eye relief is not quite there. I have been touched once or twice and a friend properly mooned.

I have very poor eyesight, and while the Aimpoint helps a lot, I feel a low mag scope would do wonders.

I know that a 450 is not a long distance gun. Whilst I respect that, I want to be able to shoot an Impala sized target at 120-150m.

I am not sure what the eye relief distance is on the Swaro, does anyone here know? Does anyone have recommendations for scopes?

I see safari has a sale on a Blaser 1-7, but I fear the eye relief is in the same category.

Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Gents.

[janfred]

If you would be OK with a fixed 5x magnification, the Element Optics Immersive series 5x30 has an 85mm eye relief.

[TStone]

Leupold's VX3 1.5-5x20 has an eye relief of 91mm@5x and 111mm @1.5x. They are tough scopes designed for big bore rifles.

[ListerG]

Leupold's VX3 1.5-5x20 has an eye relief of 91mm@5x and 111mm @1.5x. They are tough scopes designed for big bore rifles.

I have the VX5HD 1-5x24 with eye relief around 100mm, on a 404J. Looks good on the rifle and has very clear glass which helps if your eyes are bad like mine. It also has the red dot illuminate reticle which helps against a black target like a buff.

It’s a bit more than the VX3 but I suspect there isn’t a lot of difference in performance so pick the one you like the look of/fits your budget. Great scopes.

[TStone]

If you want really long eye relief, it might be an idea to look into a scout type scope. With these scopes the objective lens is normally level with the back of the front receiver ring. No way that will hit you on any rifle. However, that would mean some changes to your rifle to facilitate scope mounting.

[Desperatezulu]

Sounds like a tricky one - the Swaro Z6 has the reputation of being the gold standard for big bores and one of its strengths is its eye relief. So I wonder if your set-up perhaps causes the half-mooning?
If the stock is a bad fit, then the way you ride the recoil may be contributing to being hit, in which case any other conventional scope is likely to yield the same outcome. A scout scope might help but they're not always the easiest to master. Is this happening when shooting from a bench?
If you're getting touched while shooting up-right off sticks, then something is amiss, either with the gun/stock design or with your technique.

Before going down the rabbit hole of trying a bunch of scopes, I'd suggest getting to the root of the problem first. If it is definitely the eye relief, then by all means try different scopes.

I have been using a Vixen 1-6 on my 416 Rigby for 10 years and have been happy with it. Glass is at least the equal of a Leupold. It has a claimed eye relief of 99mm - I haven't tried to measure it but I've never been touched by it and I've fired a fair number of rounds from a bench with it.