Scopes and Eye Relief

I'll never forget an antelope hunt I was on in Colorado. I was out stocking and scoping and scoped a cripple who some moron had obviously shot from too far away because this animal had half his leg missing from the knee joint down. I thought it was right to put him out of his misery so I happened to have a rifle that I borrowed from a buddy, took careful aim from about 80 yards and succeeded in the shot. But also forgot about recoil. Sales associate at Sportsmen's Warehouse Randy Rust addresses recoil. "There are recoil butt pads that help on your rifle but addressing the specific issue of the scope and your eye is just a matter of getting a scope that has good eye relief. That way your eye doesn't have to sit an inch behind the scope. You might be three or 4 inches behind the scope and still be able to see through the scope clearly. Eye relief is how far your eye can be behind the eyepiece of the scope and still see a clear circle all the way through your scope. With a cheap scope, if you have your eye may be one and a half to 2 inches behind your scope for further, the circle gets smaller and darker. Eye relief means your I can sit further away from the scope and still have clarity."