Eye straight in the scope

[chadrp]

Setup,
Right eye right hand
Razor G2 Tikka T3x Cadex Chassis

Although I have been thru a couple rifle classes, and I am told I look good behind the rifle when I ask about my head position, I still struggle getting my eye straight in the scope. I don't shoot terrible but struggle at longer distances I'm sure due to not being straight in the scope.

I feel like I have to turn my nose to the stock and look thru the upper left of my glasses to see. Or roll my head to the right over my cheek bone to see centered thru my eye, but as I shoot my head naturally wants to roll left to straighten back up.

When I get down on it with my head straight as I feel it should be I'm looking probably half way between center and left edge of the scope. I already have some left cant (level scope) in the rifle to bring it closer or should I add more?

What am I missing or would I be better off moving to something with a cheek riser that I can adjust side to side?
Thanks in advance

 

[SubOptimal]

If the rifle fits you, your shooting eye (doesn't have to be your dominant eye) should be centered behind the eyepiece of the scope. Centered both vertically and horizontally. The scope should be at the proper height above the bore as well. This is what adjustable cheek pieces are for. I like to mount a new rifle with my eyes closed and get comfy and relaxed behind it. I then open my eyes and make adjustments based on what I see. When comfy and relaxed coincide with a good view through the scope, my job is done. Sometimes, with some rifles, that takes a ton of fiddling.

 

[Snuby642]

An experienced gunsmith can spot problems many would miss, might save a lot of time?

 

[chadrp]

If the rifle fits you, your shooting eye (doesn't have to be your dominant eye) should be centered behind the eyepiece of the scope. Centered both vertically and horizontally. The scope should be at the proper height above the bore as well. This is what adjustable cheek pieces are for. I like to mount a new rifle with my eyes closed and get comfy and relaxed behind it. I then open my eyes and make adjustments based on what I see. When comfy and relaxed coincide with a good view through the scope, my job is done. Sometimes, with some rifles, that takes a ton of fiddling.

Yes, when I get comfy behind it with my eyes closed and then open them I am usually looking left of center and have to roll my head to the right to see clearly which is why I am thinking I need to have a cheek piece I can move left and right which my Cadex doesn't have.

 

[isofahunter]

How high do you have your cheek piece adjusted and where does it lay on your facial bone structure? Have you changed the elevation to see if that helps? One thing that I have found useful in the chasing down your interface with the rifle is to take video of yourself setting up behind the rifle from different angles while you are dry firing. Then review and see what you actually look like while behind the rifle, what you think you are doing and what actually is happening can be different.

 

[Gray Squirrel]

How are you laying behind the rifle? Straight or at an angle? Ideally, when you lay behind the rifle in the prone, your body and rifle should form a straight line with your legs spread and straight. This should naturally place your head against the stock and eye behind the scope without too much deviation. Your position should then align itself with your target. If you are canted at an angle, then your body is going to naturally pull in other directions which would require you to move around and hold a position to fire.

The same goes if you are shooting from a bench, you need to sit as directly behind the rifle as possible and not laying off the the side.

One of the easiest ways to gauge your prone position is to put the rifle on the ground in line with your target. Get in the pushup position behind the rifle ensuring that you are looking directly straight down the rifle with the base of the stock under your firing shoulder. You should be looking down at the rear of the stock, and as you bring your head up to look straight ahead, your gaze should follow the entire length of the rifle and then out to your target. Then lower your body to the ground and shoulder your rifle. This should align everything and ensure a pretty solid, natural firing position.

Other than that, I would echo what some of the others are saying and check the height of your cheek piece. You shouldn't have to get one that adjust side to side (if one of that nature exists), its possible your current piece is too high if you are having to shift your head forward and look out the top of your glasses to see through the scope.

I don't know how much magnification your current scope has, but you can also try dialing back the magnification while trying to adjust your cheek weld. At max magnification, the scope picture can be very touchy and if you already aren't adjusted correctly, it can feel you are chasing the sight picture.

 

[pineoak]

top two are the suggestions I was going to make (but they said it better), also make sure your length of pull isn't too short

 

[SubOptimal]

Yes, when I get comfy behind it with my eyes closed and then open them I am usually looking left of center and have to roll my head to the right to see clearly which is why I am thinking I need to have a cheek piece I can move left and right which my Cadex doesn't have.

There are adjustable cheek pieces available and it really isn't all that much trouble to make your own. A place to look for these things is in the trap shooting world. Any decent gun smith or machinist should be able to modify your existing cheek piece to make it adjustable left to right.

 

[chadrp]

Thanks for all the suggestions thus far! Part of it maybe because I have been using an AR all winter for deer and coyotes with a thinner cheek piece and now getting back behind the bolt gun its a little bigger and need to get used to it again. I just need to, as Gray Squirrel said, get back to basics with it and spend some more time getting my head down the same everytime. Was working on it some last night and was feeling better but still not consistent everytime.

 

[vh20]

Sure sounds like you need to move the cheekpiece to the right. I'm not familiar with the Cadex, but it's very easy to do on an AI chassis. Are you sure they don't have a way to do it?

 

[chadrp]

Sure sounds like you need to move the cheekpiece to the right. I'm not familiar with the Cadex, but it's very easy to do on an AI chassis. Are you sure they don't have a way to do it?

Not that I am aware of. Only fore or aft.

 

[chadrp]

 

[SubOptimal]

From the look of that, there is no adjustment possible. You would have to see a stock maker to have them construct you a new cheek piece. Although, a good machine shop might be able to mill out the reinforcing area and provide a new, offset mountain hole in one of the available spaces. Material removal could probably be done with a Dremel tool. If the fore and aft is OK, just use an additional peg to prevent twisting.
PS, you must have some interesting bone structure or cheeks like a squirrel.

 

[chadrp]

PS, you must have some interesting bone structure or cheeks like a squirrel.

Or you think I'm nuttier than a squirrel turd...lol

I do have to add probably 1/4 in to standard AR height for a good sight picture so...guess we can't all be normal.

It's tough to diagnos this kind of issue without seeing it in person. This is at max mag 27x, if I do back down a bit I don't have an issue but I guess I believe if I'm not consistanly straight at max then backing it down doesn't fix the issue.

 

[fxdrider]

Or you think I'm nuttier than a squirrel turd...lol

I do have to add probably 1/4 in to standard AR height for a good sight picture so...guess we can't all be normal.

It's tough to diagnose this kind of issue without seeing it in person. This is at max mag 27x, if I do back down a bit I don't have an issue but I guess I believe if I'm not consistently straight at max then backing it down doesn't fix the issue.

Haha! I'll join you in the nut-hut! I have the same problem you've described. I have Bell & Carlson's Target/Comp stock with the adjustable comb, and I have it set fairly high to get my eye high enough to be centered vertically in the scope when my cheekbone rests on it. The trouble is, the stock is much thicker that an AR and thicker even than my Tikka T3 hunting rifle as well, and effectively pushes my face to the left - which, like you, requires me to lean my head over to the right a bit to get centered horizontally in the scope. Long shooting/dryfiring sessions can result in quite a stiff neck! Like you mentioned, if my head is more straight up and down, my eye is centered on the left edge of the scope rather than centered. I've thought of modifying the cheek riser - maybe thin it out a bit on the left side. So far though, I can't bring myself to take a sander to it.

 

[Nafta]

Just got a Cadex and have the same problem as Chadrp. I had an AI chassis to shoot F-class many years ago. I remember having the cheek piece always drifted a bit to the right. Squirrel face here too.

I'm thinking a wooden piece could be used to offset the cheek piece to the right.

Chadrp, did you come up with some kind of solution?

 

[chadrp]

No, I never have come up with anything. I finally got to a couple matches this summer and they both had weak side shooting and figured if I moved the riser to the right I would have a really hard time shooting weak side. I've just worked on getting behind it better, but now I've gotten a manners stock and feel much more comfortable behind it so the cadex has been moved to a backup. I really like the cadex but I just seem to feel a little more comfortable behind a stock so idk, I'm probably just a mess lol.

 

[Nafta]

Ok thanks Chadrp! I'll try to come up with something because, other than that, the Cadex is awesome. I'll report back about my solution, if something works.

 

[chadrp]

Sounds good. Will look forward to a report.