Air Gun Home :: View topic - Accuracy: Long eye relief scope on barrel or standard scope?

tundrawolf · Member

I need to know, what is the consensus of people who think mounting a long eye relief scope directly on the barrel of a break-barrel pellet gun?

Does it yield better accuracy, or is it just the long way around a problem that doesn't exist?

AirGunEric · Site Admin

What sort of mount would you use to mount a scope on the barrel?

tundrawolf · Member

That's a good point, but maybe one similar to the Ruger MKII, it would need to be drilled and tapped less than 1/8" down...

Buster Bodine · Veteran Member

It's an interesting idea, and at first glance, a good one. If you could figure out the hardward.

Permanently mounting the sights to the barrel will give more consistent mechanical accuracy as they are guaranteed to be consistently aligned every time.

But the key phrase there is "Mechanical Accuracy."

Mechanical accuracy is the term we use when we discuss the inherent accuracy of the gun itself. We remove the shooter and human ergonomics from the equation.

Unfortunately, I haven't yet figured out how to get my Gamo to go out and shoot without me. (And in this Arkansas July heat, I'd love to!)

So, we have to consider both mechanical accuracy and shooter accuracy.

In short, long eye relief scopes aren't quite as accurate as traditional receiver mounted scopes. I think the (minimal) loss of accuracy you'd experience due to the use of a long relief scope would counteract any of the (again, minimal) gains in mechanical accuracy you'd get from the direct barrel mounting.

tundrawolf · Member

Very good replies here. I am drooling of a Diana 34. I am reading all 70 reviews on reviewscentre.com. I think I am going to go with the combo for $225, if the scope is garbage that is an easy fix. I am going to be shooting mainly elk, and some black bear.

Just kidding. Mostly squirrels, rodents, crows, and snakes.

I like to snipe, at long distances, but 50 yards is acceptable, and even less. I am hearing great things about the accuracy and grouping of this gun.

Buster Bodine · Veteran Member

As far as the scope is concerned, I think I'd buy one without the factory scope.

When I picked up my Gamo, it came with a 3-9x 40 and I really wasn't expecting it to be worth a damn. Boy was I surprised, it's an excellent scope. But, I still wouldn't place any faith in the scopes that usually come as part of a packaged set.

Instead, consider buying the bare rifle and check out the scopes from Leapers. These things are incredibly nice scopes. I even have a leapers mounted on my AR-15 HBar, just to see how it performs and it's fantastic. It stands up to the 5.56 recoil as well as any "real" scope I've ever paid hundreds of dollars for and the accuracy is definitely acceptable. 1 hole groups at 100 yards are the norm.

YMMV and buying the scope seperate will cost more but if you've got the cash, I think you'll be happy you went that way.