Optimise your optics

How do I mount a scope on my .270 Tikka so I maximise and use the correct eye relief?

Eye relief varies from scope to scope and can affect how you view the perfect image through your scope while maintaining a comfortable shooting position. A simple trick is to place the scope on a flat surface and put a ruler next to the end of the eyepiece. Next, turn a light on from a lamp at the objective end and then hold a piece of paper at the eyepiece. Moving this paper back and forth until you get a sharp image projected on to the paper will give you the optimum eye relief for that scope. Variables can vary, so check at differing magnifications. Anything above 3in is desirable as a safe distance under recoil and for a comfortable mounting position.

Now you know the optimum eye relief for your scope, you can mount it to your rifle so that when you shoulder the rifle as normal, you can position the scope so it is exactly at that distance from your eye. BP

Despite 69 shattered clays, Ben Skinner was modest when discussing his performance at the Shooting Times 140th anniversary shoot. He has a history of success in clay shooting, having also taken gold at the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) championship as a student.

“I shot 94 out of 100 and won it more by luck than judgement, but I’ve still got the gold medal to prove it,” explains Ben, whose results at BUCS led to an invitation to shoot at the International Gundog League (IGL). “Skinner’s has sponsored the event for a number of years so I’ve always been closely aligned to fieldsports and the countryside.”

And there’s certainly heritage with Skinner’s: “The Mill has been part of Stradbroke’s history since 1688, and has been in our family for seven generations; though we weren’t manufacturing dog food until 1971, we were millers,” adds Ben.

“When my father Roger was in his late twenties, someone asked if he could manufacture dog food. He had a concept of nutrition, so put together the formula, and that’s where the original Skinner’s biscuit kibble came from. Then, in the 1990s, he built the existing factory over the top of my grandfather’s old mill.”

Skinner’s now supplies more than 2,500 UK stockists and exports to 12 countries, including Cyprus, Bahrain and Japan. Ben has seen first-hand how the business operates, having joined in September 2021 as a delivery driver.

“I started out on the road in East Anglia, doing 800 to 1,000 miles a week, whether it be one pallet to an agricultural store or one bag to a lady in the local village. It gave me a really good insight.”

Having immersed himself in the business — also spending time on the production line and in the warehouse — Ben has established a “nutritional knowhow” and an understanding of each facet of the business.

“The next stage is growing support for the gundog community,” he surmises, “and growing it with the right values and standards that built the business in the first place.”