How critical is the scope height above the bore? I have always heard the closer the better. Let's hear some opinions or theories. Thanks for any replies.
It really depends on the rifle / Setup. For the most part it is not a big deal, but you're best off getting the scope as low as possible and still being comfortable for you.
Run it on a ballistic calculator and see. Not much difference between say 1.8" and 3" scope heights as far as elevation being dialed from a zero using the correct scope height in the program. 175 SMK at 2600fps with 1.8" from 100 yard zero is 11.4 mils or 39 MOA. Same set up with a 3" scope height is 11.1 mils or 38 MOA.
But if you are running the program to get data and are measuring the scope height I would want it to be very close to actual height. Especially if you are shooting inside 100 yards where it becomes more critical.
A couple pics I put up every time this comes up showing how to measure scope height above bore easily.