Proper eye relief distance for No. 32 Mk. IV scope?

[Peter-Paul]

Greetings all,

I was shooting the Enfield Sniper that I picked up recently, and it bit me in the nose a few times because the eye relief is quite short. This scope was made in 1944.

What is the proper distance for eye relief on these scopes?

Information

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[Lee Enfield]

https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=17704

2" according to this

[Peter-Paul]

Well, I can confirm then that it is around 2.5 inches. I turned around and asked my son "Am I bleeding?". His laconic response was a simple "Yep".

I'll be positioning my eye a little father back, even though this will shrink sight picture.

[Peter Laidler]

If I was you, I would rethink things........ The correct eye relief is where you get the FULL sight picture - the full field of view! If you get whacked by the sight, that is a gentle reminder that you a) ain't holding the rifle tight enough or b) you need a longer butt. Sorry, but thems the facts of life as taught to snipers on day 1 of their familiarisation day on the range

[browningautorifle]

ain't holding the rifle tight enough

Yes...you can't just set it on a sandbag and hope for the best. Position and hold must be firm enough to support the weapon.

[Peter-Paul]

I can completely appreciate this! I'll be holding it tight from now on.

[stencollector]

I, too, have paid the price for getting complacent and not controlling the rifle. Makes for a nice clean cut on the nose.

[Gil Boyd]

I digress, but just as funny, but of course you only do it once.
During WW2 Paratroopers dropped through a hole in the floor in the early days, of course with a parachute on your back, you had to launch yourself forward, but just enough to clear the chute on your back.
If you over did it, your nose hit the opposite side..........which was then commonly known as "Ringing the Bell" and ex Para's who secumbed can always be identified by the broken nose or the big scar there..................so Peter-Paul Welcome to the club

[Daan Kemp]

The LE were made for relatively short men, thus the butt fits the man, often with bulky clothing in wet/cold weather. Fit a longer butt or a boot and the eye relief should correct itself.

Average male length increased by about 100mm/4" since WWII and even more since WWI.

[newcastle]

As I am not a shooting expert by any means I am intrigued by the difference that a longer butt would make. I assume that this simply means you would be able to pull the rifle in tighter to the shoulder with the eye the correct distance from the scope? I have a few LE's where the buttstock feels too short when I shoot them but I'm loathe to change out parts that have maybe been together for (in some cases) 100+ years.