Is 3" enough (50 caliber, smokeless), or will I get a bad case of scope eye if I try to fire it with my eye only 3 inches behind the scope?

thanks

Prob. going to smack your hat brim. More space is better. Most who use the smokeless are looking for rel. high velocities, so 3" is pretty slim for the corresponding higher level of recoil. New scopes are offering 4-5".

Anything with substantial recoil needs to have the scope mounted as far away from your eye as you can get it! I don't consider a ML to have as bad a recoil as a 12-ga. firing slugs, but I would go with at least 4", and 5" if I could find a scope of sufficient power that has 5" of eye relief! 3" is on the short side for ANY arm capable of killing big game cleanly!

I have to disagree. I have two 50 cal inline muzzle loaders, that have very little kick at all. I would take it out and shoot it without a scope at maximum powder loads and see how it feels, and go from there. Three inches of eye relief would be plenty for mine. Good luck.

Edit-ML's don't kick like rifles do. It's more of a slower push than a kick.

Based on my experiences of learning the hard way, I would recommend at least 4" of eye relief on a muzzleloader if you're going to be shooting stout loads. I got smacked in the eye bad with a 3" eye relief scope on my ML, and it wasn't even a "magnum" load. Yes, ML's tend to have more of a "push" than a sharp "kick", but that "push" will still push the scope into your forehead or eye if there isn't enough eye relief.

I shoot .500" round balls in my .50-cal. ML. It has very little recoil at all. However, I believe it is a mistake to put a short-eye relief scope on any gun over .22 rimfire.

You can never go wrong by insisting on as much eye relief as is available in a scope with the features you want, even if you don't really need that much right now. Who knows?? Just because you put it on a low-recoiling piece this season doesn't mean you might not want to use it on your .416 Rigby next year!!

For a muzzleloader, 3" is plenty. For a 300RUM, better be careful.

i plan to buy the nikon omega bdc when i buy my ml it has 6 inchs of relief

Not enough eye releif is a good way to start flinching. I would go with4" +.Good luck.

I use Nikon Pro Staff 2x7x32 muzzleloader/shotgun scopes. Havethem on two of my 50 calmuzzleloaders and 1 on one of my 12 gauge slug guns. I believe they are 3.5 inches of relief. I also wear glasses and have never had a problem.