Rifle banged around, thoughts on zero hold?

[RT2506]

You can never tell what will knock a zero off. I have had rifles fall out of tree stands and not effect them at all. I have slightly bumped a scope on something and knock it off. I once was climbing into a shooting house that was only 8 feet off the ground having my unloaded rifle slung on my shoulder. If slipped off but I caught it by the sling but it bumped one of the steps on the ladder. I just happened to hit right on the windage screw on the right side of the Redfield scope base and sheered it right off. Lucky I had my T/C Contender pistol in 30-30AI with me in a shoulder holster to use to killed the nice 8 pt buck that showed up that afternoon. If I had not hand the pistol I would have had to drive 58 miles round trip to get another rifle.

 

[kolob10]

Last year during deer season I slipped on a wet foot bridge and fell flat on my back. I had my rifle on a sling on my shoulder. I hit hard and right on my rife. I couple hours later... I had a buck within 30 yards unaware of my presence. I was worried about losing zero but it was an easy shot. I aimed at his neck just behind his head so as not to lose any good meat. Clean miss. First deer I have missed in over 50 years of hunting. Went home to check zero on the rifle. Long story short - rifle was off 8 inches high and eight inches to the left. Re zeroed the gun and it still shoots fine to this day.

Had my rifle fall off the hood of my truck in Wyoming years ago. It hit hard on the scope. Went back to ranch headquarters and zero was right on the money.

 

[Spd522]

I shoot a lot of 3 gun competition and have used the AR15 and AR10 type rifles I shoot for hunting as well. In 3 gun, rifles get banged around a lot and tossed in dump barrels or onto wooden tables during transitions to other firearms. My mounts are LaRue, Warne, and Vortex. The scopes are Vortex PST, Bushnell Elite, and Leupold. I have yet to have a scope knocked off enough to make a difference and we often have targets at 400-600 yards.

That said, two years ago on a CO elk hunt, the steep mountainside I was traversing gave way. I had my day pack on and my 300 WM M700 slung over my shoulder. I fell backwards down the slope, landing on my rifle first (of course) and sliding down some rocks. That was about 240 lbs of me and gear that landed on the rifle.

I took it to an area by camp where I could check zero. It was off enough at 100 that any longer shots past 200 would probably be misses or worse yet, bad hits. The base and rings were Leupold and the scope was a Swaro Z5 3.5-18 with a BT. Neither appeared banged up but I did need to make adjustments to get back on my zero.

Sadly I didn't get a shot on that trip. But last year during deer season, I decided to hunt a hayfield at my in-law's farm where shots can be up to 600 yds. I hadn't shot the 300 WM since the sight-in after the fall in CO. I fired a couple of shots at home where I can shoot out to 250 and it was still on. So I decided to use it instead of my AR10 I had been hunting with. It didn't let me down and I got a nice buck at 444 yards with the shot right where I dialed.

Confidence is a lot when shooting and hunting. Guns can get banged around and never move off zero. And yet even a quality set up can get jarred off zero. Don't be afraid to reconfirm your zero if you feel your rifle or optic took some hits.

 

[memtb]

The recoil of my rifle is likely more than any "reasonable" bump it may encounter! If, on a hunt, I question the scope...I use QD base/rings and have a standby zero'd and "ready to hunt"! If I have a rifle failure, I guess that I'll step-down to my wife's .338WM. ....even if the stock is too short! It has the same zero, almost identical trajectories as my rifle. It should be an easy transition.....if she'll let me use it! memtb

 

[Radman]

THEN THERE'S THE GUY.....who I spent the better part of a day zeroing several different rifles. He had three that weren't even close and complained about the gun, the ammo and the scopes. Fast forward......when we were finished he put all 3 rifles under his truck seat on a bare metal floor. No cases, (hard or soft), no carpeting or no rubber matting. They slide and bang around something awful. I used to hear how he took so many shots to put deer or bear down. Wonder why?

 

[skipglo]

Assuming you have a quality rifle, optics, rings/bases....what kind of impact would it take to throw off your zero and by how much have you experienced? I ask for two separate situations which occurred recently and I have yet to shoot the rifle to see what may or may not have happened. First incident....rifle leaned against a wall and fell over. The scope was not hit but the barrel hit another wall (drywall). It has a muzzlebreak and there is zero mark on the break. Second incident was walking through the woods with my rifle slung on my back. I ducked under a branch in the dark and stupid me forgot the rifle on my back. The barrel smacked the branch above me. Not super hard but it made a thud. Would these incidents make you worried your zero is off?

Wouldn't worry me in the least! Because I would shoot them first chance I got to see for myself...rather than asking here!

 

[Rum River]

OP: Like others have replied, those impacts don't sound too bad. The one on the tree branch might not even equal your recoil. Trust....but verify.

Over twenty years ago foolishly loaned out a deer rifle. All 200+ pounds of my cousin came down on a VX-II Leupold on a boulder hard enough to deeply gouge the metal, still held zero. A VX-III Leupold on an elk trip fell 90 degrees onto hard ground three times (insert very long story about poor gun racks and elk outfitter here) plus 20 miles on horseback and still held zero.

 

[CoachChris]

I think it depends
I had a Burris scope go out of zero by 4 moa after I slipped and fell on my back. The rifle landed on my chest.
In another situation my better half dropped a stack of snowboards on an SWFA scope and it was fine.

 

[SapperRIP]

I fell down a slippery ravine in the badlands once and tumbled about 120 yards, broke the wooden stock on the rifle, bought new stock, and scope was still on... its all luck, either way if given the chance I check it.

 

[Cullking]

If I hit mine on something hard enough to look and see if I messed up the finish on the rifle, I will check the zero. I like to take a cold bore shot coming in from hunting every morning anyway.

I take it one step back. I purchased a cartridge shaped laser and i check my scope at 25 yards in a dark background. No need to fire burn any money to check.

 

[Cullking]

This is why your scope should shockproof in its specifications. I dropped mine 270 win once on CONCRETE and it was only of 1 inch to the upper left. still have the scope! just painted the scratches so they would n't shine. I handed the shells to the person that dropped the rifle and made my intent clear. (go and fix the mistake with YOUR shoulder). When a rifle has eighteen pounds of recoil that is a painful lesson to learn the hard way!! The idiot should have been thrilled it was not my 300 Win Mag he dropped...that rifle has twenty eight pounds of recoil with a muzzle brake and could be considered "sharp" for the pain it inflicts. After getting used to the 300, the 270 got a brake too and now feels like a pussycat!!

 

[memtb]

Culling, If "eighteen" ft/lbs. recoil was painful to your friend.....he should stick with a "Red Ryder"!

Seriously, if the rifle(a 270 Win.) has unpleasant recoil, there could be several reasons. If someone shortened the stock and gave the "butt" the wrong angle/pitch. Also, a hard butt pad can make felt recoil appear greater than it really is. Simply incorrect shooting position can make "felt recoil" feel greater! You should spend time with your friend helping him or her to get comfortable with recoil! Perhaps starting them out with a 22 RF, and help him/her develop proper shooting technique! Then as they progress, move up to slightly higher recoil firearms. memtb

 

[Philip J Theodhor]

I rested gun against truck opening morning and of course it fell over. Made 530 yrd first round shot less then an hour later. Cheap scope back then too. My opinion on both your "light bumps" would be "Good to go" but only one way to find out.....

What is the price of a once in a lifetime shot? Answer priceless !
For your own piece of mind before you intend to use this rifle for any hunting or target shooting please re confirm that it's P.O.A . is = to it's P.O.I.. If not make certain that all your screws are tightened and scope rings are secure.Only then would I reestablish my scopes zero by firing at least 3 shots downrange and adjust if needed.

 

[FEENIX]

Wouldn't worry me in the least! Because I would shoot them first chance I got to see for myself...rather than asking here!

Yep!