Scope got knocked; Has it spoiled your hunt?

Have you lost zero in the field:

  • Yes

    Votes: 43 29.7%

  • No

    Votes: 75 51.7%

  • Yes, lost an animal because of it!

    Votes: 22 15.2%

  • Yes, but switched to the iron sights

    Votes: 6 4.1%

  • Other: please explain

    Votes: 12 8.3%
  • Total voters
    145
JustMe2 said:
My forearm sling swivel on my Model 70 300WM let loose and my rifle hit the frozen ice on the front bell. Shot at a Quebec caribou in 1990 and was able to see I hit high. Used Kentucky windage and held about 2 feet under Caribou at about 150 yards, DRT. Back at camp it shot about 4 feet high at 100 yds and I couldn't get it to hold zero. It was a Shepherd 3-10, sent it back and the bell threads were knocked loose. They fixed it, lubed it, etc and sent it back to me no charge. Has held zero ever since. Got rid of those swivels and replaced with lockable swivels.
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Had the same incident with a front sling swivel over a concrete driveway while unlocking the truck early one morning. Landed on the bell and muzzle and literally bounced a foot off the pavement. Unfortunately or fortunately, it hit hard enough that there was no way I'd have confidence that it was still on. Had a spare handy so didn't need to hunt it. After checking, it had a 3 MOA shift in windage and 1 MOA in elevation. Have knocked them pretty darn hard in the past, but thats the only time I've ever had a shift. Scope still held perfect zero after that though.
 
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Years ago I supplied the rifle and scope for a newby hunter, he dropped a remington 788 with a 3x10 by 50 luepold vari x3 ,scope was obviously dented and could not possibly be on, sent to factory with a note saying what had taken place and offering to pay for the repairs, instead and to my delight they fixed it free of charge and sent it back on their dime, great company to deal with! Have never been disappointed with them, crap happens to us all, but lumpy has always had my back. They are a quality company, and that's a rarity these days.
 
An old Leupold Vari-X II 3x9 ended up smacked on a boulder with my 200 pound cousin on top of it. Held zero and I'm still using it.

A Vari-X III 3.5x10 was on my elk rifle that got knocked over three times in tent camp. A ninety degree drop onto rocks each time due to a lot of clumsy people. (A very long story - I was in camp but not present at the rack.) It also did a total of twenty miles on a horse that trip. It held zero.
 
nksmfamjp said:
Really. I would strongly but respectfully disagree.


It is really quite easy to zero the back up irons. I use these:
View attachment 326288
View attachment 326291

Maybe I was lucky. My QD rings returned to zero and are rock solid.

Hiking back out sounds like a good option for you to get a scope. Others might be willing to re-sight in. Heck, some may be willing to go to Cabelas and buy another scope and have it mounted. I'm willing to reach in my pocket and grab my peep sight….and shoot the next deer/elk!






I hate to say it, but there is a common issue here. My experiences have been with Leupold or under $100 optics also.

I really think this is mostly a non-issue. I travel a long ways and have a fair amount tied up in a hunt. I thought this was a fun reasonably priced add on for my main hunting rifle.

I didn't choose these for my long range rig…..or my benchrest rifle!
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I agree. I have never had very good luck with leupold. Even on some of the mid to higher end leupolds. So I don`t use them anymore.
 
I never lost an animal due to a bumped scope but then again I am very careful with my equipment. I realize hunting terrain varies and sometimes stuff happens. I'd definitely verify POI if I bumped my scope.

I did breath a little too much (buck fever) on the eyepiece causing it to seriously fog up. I still got the buck as he was only 25 yards away.

I also had a scope lens chip internally. The glass was rattling around inside. I borrowed a rifle for the afternoon hunt (MN W.T.) and the following day mounted an extra scope my grandpa had laying around a did a quick sight in.

If I were going on a long backcountry trip or a once in a lifetime trip I'd definitely have an already zeroed backup scope that could be mounted easily quickly and accurately.
 
GSPRunner said:
All nightforce scopes? because I have read reviews of NX8's and SHV's losing zero. I can't help but feel that anything mechanical can fail.
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I have one of the old original NF BR 8-32x56 scopes on a 22-6mm IMP, The ones with "Nightforce" in script when they first started out. I honestly believe I could use it as a hammer if needed too! 😂
 
Jonoton said:
While I've never had a scope get knocked and verified to have lost zero, I've had that thought in the back of my mind a few times- especially when I don't have a chance to check zero in the field.

Has it happened to you? Did it affect your hunt, and to what extent?

I building a mountain rifle, in 7-08 AI. My plan is to shoot lighter Hammer Hunters really speedy quick. I want to get into backcountry hunting as well, abd this is the rifle ill do that with.

I am considering adding iron sights to the build, as cheap insurance- but my own (rather limited) experience supports that they are not really necessary. I thought I'd poll y'all, see what some more experienced backcountry hunters have to say. Anybody not had irons, and wished they ha
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A couple times got snow and fog on lenses, put see through mounts on that rifle, solved that problem. Now I use scope covers. Years ago my rifle fell out of my deer stand. About 10 feet. I retrieved it, bore sighted it quickly. It seemed ok. An hour later shot a nice buck at 300 yards. That sold me on Leupold Scopes forever.
 
Jonoton said:
While I've never had a scope get knocked and verified to have lost zero, I've had that thought in the back of my mind a few times- especially when I don't have a chance to check zero in the field.

Has it happened to you? Did it affect your hunt, and to what extent?

I building a mountain rifle, in 7-08 AI. My plan is to shoot lighter Hammer Hunters really speedy quick. I want to get into backcountry hunting as well, abd this is the rifle ill do that with.

I am considering adding iron sights to the build, as cheap insurance- but my own (rather limited) experience supports that they are not really necessary. I thought I'd poll y'all, see what some more experienced backcountry hunters have to say. Anybody not had irons, and wished they ha
Click to expand...
I've had the screw on one of my scope rings get loose and lost. Iron sights came in very handy that day, and until I could order the bolt and screw for the scope ring it came off of. I was using a Ruger M77MKII and I called Ruger about it. They sent me the new parts for my ring express mail, for free. That was in 1999, I think. I fired one round when I dismounted the scope to verify the iron sights, which were on. and continued to hunt through that day. Iron sights will save you a hunting day if you're close to home, and a hunt, if you're 100 miles away from your extra guns. If you're back in wilderness country, they might just save your life.
 
257 STW said:
I have one of the old original NF BR 8-32x56 scopes on a 22-6mm IMP, The ones with "Nightforce" in script when they first started out. I honestly believe I could use it as a hammer if needed too! 😂
Click to expand...
... Probably could be used as a hammer. One one of things that swayed me to go with Nightforce years ago was a YouTube video name Nightforce Scope Torture Test, it's still there. My first Nightforce was a SHV. On a mountain hunt my rifle fell over and landed on on rock, smacked the bell end against the rock hard enough to leave a mark. I set up a two hundred yard target to recheck the zero. It was spot on. I have never been disappointed having Nightforce scopes on my rifles.
 
Bravo 4 said:
Yep, had a relatively cheap scope just decide to not hold zero once. Was out shooting the day priaor and it was spot on. Had a huge 8 point whitetail @ 75 yards with a solid rest, remember thinking this is a chip shot. At the shot he just stood there and I was shocked, thinking why isn't he crappie flopping on the ground? Took me a second to come to my senses and run the bolt, that's when the doe he was bulldogging took off with him in tow. They ran across the 350 yard field and when I went to check for blood they ran back across at the far end, unharmed. I took my water bottle and placed it at 100 yards on the side of a hill and was shooting a few feet over it.
Have also had a mount come loose and cost me an elk, that was an expensive one.
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I had a mount get loose a couple of times, too. I take tools and some parts on my hunt, now. I also take a back up rifle. However, I have at least two hunting rifles with iron sights, and I'll take one of them just in case. Its usually a long drive back to the house, sometimes preceded by a long walk out of where I'm hunting. I've had scopes fail, too, but I've had mounts get loose and rings get loose or lose mounting screws, too. Its not just the scope. Open sights will let you continue your hunt until you can get back to your spare rifle.
 
The Badger said:
Had the same incident with a front sling swivel over a concrete driveway while unlocking the truck early one morning. Landed on the bell and muzzle and literally bounced a foot off the pavement. Unfortunately or fortunately, it hit hard enough that there was no way I'd have confidence that it was still on. Had a spare handy so didn't need to hunt it. After checking, it had a 3 MOA shift in windage and 1 MOA in elevation. Have knocked them pretty darn hard in the past, but thats the only time I've ever had a shift. Scope still held perfect zero after that though.
Click to expand...
I was sort of lucky also because even though the bell was pulled partially out of the tube, it didn't strip the threads. I'm guessing if I had noticed the threading problem, I could have screwed it back on and then it would have held zero. According to Shepherd, that's what they did besides replacing nitrogen and lube. I still would have sent it back to them to check it.
 

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