lancetkenyon
Well-Known Member
I always take at least 2 rifles, PLUS a spare scope already zeroed for my main rifle. Just swap scope with rings onto the Picatinny rail.
Scope got knocked; Has it spoiled your hunt?
- Thread starter Jonoton
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Hespco
Well-Known Member
On a back country hunt years ago: Slipped on an icy downed aspen log. Had the rifle slung over my shoulder. When I went down the scope eye piece hit the log . Bent the scope & broke the rear lens. Fortunately I had backup open sights on the rifle. Miles from any where, I removed the scope & had a successful hunt using the open sights. Now most of my rifle have open sights with my scope mounted with quick release rings. Lesson learned.
My NF 4-15 SVH survived a 20 foot fall from a tree stand with no I'll effects at all. Most of my rifles now wear Nightforce.
Mad Minion
Active Member
You said Nightforce. Nuff said.
Lost zero because I spun off an exposed turret on an elk packout (do not use that scope anymore). Luckily I brought a backup rifle for trying to fill my bear tag...
Side note, I did re-zero the rifle just by looking at a target through the barrel and aligning the cross hairs at 26 yards. I verified it a couple days later and it was within half inch of my zero at 100y...lucky.
Never had a scope lose zero from being bumped though.
Side note, I did re-zero the rifle just by looking at a target through the barrel and aligning the cross hairs at 26 yards. I verified it a couple days later and it was within half inch of my zero at 100y...lucky.
Never had a scope lose zero from being bumped though.
My brother had this happen when we were kids. In southern Colorado, there is a lot of shale. It can be slippery when dry with rocks sliding on top of each other, but very slick when wet. We were out in the winter and were side hilling on a slope with a lot of shale. He slipped on snow/ice on the shale and his rifle hit the ground pretty hard. Later that day, we saw a group of deer. He shot and missed, I shot and hit, he shot again and missed and then they were gone. The next day he missed another. Since my tag was filled, he used my rifle from there on as my dad suspected he knocked the zero off when he fell. He shot a deer that afternoon with mine. When we got back and made it to the range his zero was way off.
If I am the only hunter, I will take a spare rifle for just this reason. If I am hunting with a group, I know I can borrow another rifle after someone else fills if this were to happen.
I have slipped before and rifle hit a rock, but I checked zero back at camp and all was well.
It does happen.
If I am the only hunter, I will take a spare rifle for just this reason. If I am hunting with a group, I know I can borrow another rifle after someone else fills if this were to happen.
I have slipped before and rifle hit a rock, but I checked zero back at camp and all was well.
It does happen.
Right there with you and I still treat them like a strong breeze will screw em up. I don't pay for glass, I pay for tracking and reliability.
I hunt backpack mountain game almost exclusively (US and Asia). It is impractical to carry an extra rifle on flyin hunts so I have utilized three options over the years.1. I carry an extra scope in quick detach rings 2. sometimes I will just carry an extra target and thumb tacks to check zero in the field if needed 3. if I am not carrying an extra scope then I try to make sure my rifle has functional open sights. I have only missed a game animal once due to a scope malfunction. In Spain I missed a 400 yd shot on a Rhonda ibex because the scope fogged. There was no history of any trauma to the scope and I had used the same rifle and scope the week before on a Russian Tur hunt and Gredos ibex hunt - both were one shot kills and one was extremely long (more than twice the distance of the shot I missed). Because of this experience I no longer use NF scopes. My go to now is almost exclusively Leupold - there is better glass but it is for 'naught if the scope is nonfunctional. For me Leupold can take a 'licking and keep on 'tickin based on 35 years of hunting at altitude.
FlyAV8R
Well-Known Member
Leupold Mark 5HD mounted with Leupold scope mount to my 300PRC. Scope was unknowingly to me slipping in rings. Went on a whitetail hunt and pulled the trigger on a doe at 642 yards. Ended up dropping her in a pile right where she stood. Got down to where she was and found I made a headshot right through the brain due to my scope slipping. Ordered a spuhr mount so I won't have to deal with that again. Grateful for a clean and quick harvest. It could have gone a lot worse.
Lots of great responses, thanks all!
Sounds like I should budget for a Nightforce or perhaps higher end Leupold. I think I will also figure out some irons for this rifle.
Quite a few examples of scopes getting knocked out of alignment or out of commission altogether.
Sounds like I should budget for a Nightforce or perhaps higher end Leupold. I think I will also figure out some irons for this rifle.
Quite a few examples of scopes getting knocked out of alignment or out of commission altogether.
I'm not sure that Leupold makes a scope that isn't very fragile. There is a thread over on Rokslide, testing a brand new Leupold, and it failed right out of the gate.
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I am not trying to hijack your post. There has been a lot of talk here about having to shoot targets and or carry extra scopes and complete hunting rigs to ensure that your scope is still zeroed. I have found that taking my boresighting laser with me and knowing where my laser points versus my crosshairs at 100 yards let's you very easily check your zero without shooting your rifle. It also only weighs a few ounces. Also a nice alternative if you get to your hunting camp late and have a next morning hunt planned.
Ckleeves
Well-Known Member
I personally don't see the point of iron sights as a backup. The expense of having them installed on a rifle that didn't come with them, plus the time of zeroing them after having to remove the scope after load development etc and then hoping you can even see them over a rail.
Buy a scope with a good track record, mount it properly in quality rings with a quality base. You could buy a cheaper scope and throw it in a set of rings for probably less then the irons are gonna cost you and have it in the truck for a backup. Hike out, throw it on, zero it and get back at it.
Buy a scope with a good track record, mount it properly in quality rings with a quality base. You could buy a cheaper scope and throw it in a set of rings for probably less then the irons are gonna cost you and have it in the truck for a backup. Hike out, throw it on, zero it and get back at it.
I have had some pretty harsh knocks on my various scopes during hunts but surprisingly have never lost zero. If I bang my scope hard enough during a hunt, I'll take a shot to check my zero…For peace of mind. I did damage a set of Talley one piece scope/ring bases mounted with a Huskemaw 5x20x50 in my Cooper. Walking to a blind in the dark, I stepped in a badger hole. The front bell of the scope hit a stump so hard that the scope base screws and bases were deformed, with the scope visibly out of alignment. I was certain that the scope would be toast given the force of the hit. When I replaced the bases and fully tested the scope, it functioned perfectly, and it continues to do so…six years later.
