Forgive my ignorance, hardly ever come down to the gun areas of the board anymore.
Haven't had any range time in years.

Was wondering if there's a defined distance to mount the sight (in my case a red dot can) in the forward position while configuring a scout rifle, Cooper style.

I have a last century Propoint japanese red dot on top of a 522 Tactical.
As I get old and so get my eyesight, it gets harder to focus. The original location between the trigger and the rear open sight is no longer convenient and while thinking of moving the red dot forward I remembered Jeff Cooper's ideal rifle.

Since I'm a little distanced of all things gun related, I thought I should ask the experts.

Thank you all.

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Red dot sights like Aimpoints (and most others, I believe) have unlimited eye relief and can be mounted as far forward as is convenient. The only thing I notice is that the farther forward, the more obvious the body of the sight is in my field of vision, and therefore I prefer to mount them closer to my eye where it is more out of focus. If that’s not convenient, though, they can be moved forward.

Technically speaking, the farther forward, the more accurate it should be.

How that relates to your real life shooting, who knows.

Thank you for your replies. I agree with you both and haven't decided yet if i'll move the sight permanently or not.

It is sort of hard for me to get my head aligned with it. Too much of an unexperienced shooter. Also, a lefty, feeling uncomfortable handling the carbine.

Is there a rule of thumb for the forward positioning or it applies only to regular scopes?

The Propoint Plus is old, bought it when the company was in FL if I remember correctly. Right before everybody started making red dots and Propoint quality and origin took a hit. It is probably the best ever available this way south. Is is also low enough to align with the iron sights. Red dot is bright enough for me.
Bought it 20 years ago for a pistol... who would have thought?

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No rule of thumb.

Traditional scopes have a limited eyebox. The eye/head has to be positioned within a limited range of distances in order to get an optimal view through the scope.

But red dots have unlimited eye relief, and can be position wherever the shooter desires.

Personally, I like my forward mounted red dots to be as far rearward as possible (if that makes sense). It allows the widest field of view through the optic, and makes the dot easier/quicker to pick up than an optic that is further away.

I position mine forward for two reasons: First, I have astigmatism, so I get a flaring of the dot. When I move it forward, I see less flare; second, by moving it forward, the dot is smaller relative to the target size, so I find I can be more accurate with the rifle.

Since I have little/no experience with long guns and wil not have any range time in the foreseable future, I decided to take a look at the carbine for fun.

Moved the red dot forward and it made sense, couldn´t figure why´but then remembered (not entirely), Cooper´s rifle. Minus the fact it requires a scope...

My red dot can looks bulky far front but then I went back to the original position and figured out what is my problem.
Close to the rear iron sight, the red dot sight looks blurry to me. The whole sight, not the dot.

AEsthetics and balance are also in play but I guess my red dot is moving a few notches closer to the front after all.

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