Scope Death Examined

[shane]

So i have been thinking lately about scopes,
Heavy recoiling guns, scope death, and mounting
Systems. (My brain hurts when i think too much).

1. The more scopes sold by a manufacturer, the
More problems you will hear about failing.
(Law of Averages). Hence, we don't hear as much about
High priced scopes failing, because the
"Average Joe" doesn't buy a NightForce, S&B,
Zeiss Diavari, or a March!!!!

2. Lower priced scopes, most definitely have poorer quality control, cheaper parts/labor, & go thru less scrutiny during/after production and before leaving the factory.
Or just inferior parts failed.

3. IMPROPER Scope Mounting i believe contributes
to many a scope death.
This is will be much more evident in HEAVY RECOIL
SML's!!!!

-----How many of us Lap our scope rings? A poorly machined ring can cause damage or very slight pressure in the erector tube.
-----How many make sure the rings aligned exactly parallel
To one another? Poor alignment ring to ring causes some
Very minor tube damage and hence may lead to failure.
-----How many of us use the Proper inch pounds of torque on our base screws and Ring screws?
-----How many use Thread locker on base/ring screws?
****Loose bases or rings cause exponentially more scope vibration within the scope****Again, the bigger the recoil,
The more likely there will be damage to the optics!!!

With so many variables that can lead to ultimate scope "Death", i have started to wonder was it user error??

Was it actually "The Pilot" or the "Plane"?

[Jon]

Good post watching with interest

[mooseman100]

Leupolds break on my 500 bolt rifle.  Yes on lapping and thread lock and thoque wr nch in inch pounds.  Talking the 1x..... Scopes for dangerous game rifles.  Nikon african Monarchs have held up.  Leold warranty has been fantastic though, without question you send back swinging reticles and you get a new scope
brent

[Dave W]

Probably many factors contribute. I consider the .458 Win Mag a dangerous game caliber, never been on a hunt for a lion, but I would not be using a big, long, 6.5-20 scope, something along the lines of a more compact 1-6x maybe. We in this hobby tend to do things with products the manufacturer probably never intended them to be used for. We are putting BR, varmint hunting type scopes on a heavy recoiling caliber pushing big bullets fast. I am no engineer but common sense tells me a short, compact, lighter scope is not going to flex as bad as a long, heavy scope when subjected to the same forces. There is a slo mo video on the web somewhere, that has been posted here before, of the flex a scope goes through upon firing on a Barrett 50 or some caliber. Pretty amazing to watch!

The more popular scopes are going to show up more in failures, that is just the law of averages.

Adjustable parallax scopes seem to fail more than a fixed parallax scope. The fixed parallax Zeiss Conquests had a good reputation for not failing on the ML II, their AO scopes do not seem to fare as well. All my scope failures have been with AO scopes. I have an old fixed parallax 3200 Bushnell that has sat on top of numerous slug guns and muzzleloaders, never had a bit of problems with it.

[mrbuck]

I must be very lucky as I have only one scope fail in since I began shooting with scopes in about 1965 when I mounted a Weaver V22 on a Marlin autoloader . The only scope that ever " failed " was a Bushnell Banner 2 1/2 power that I paid the hefty sum of $23.97 from Leslie Edleman gun shop in Fairfield , NJ in 1974 . At that time there was a local gunsmith that took Marlin 336 lever guns shortened the barrel and magazine to 16 1/2" , polished the action , and reblued the gun for about $100.00 . Since worked at Edleman's at that time , I picked out a newly introduced M1894 .44 Mag with the best matching burl stock and forearm from all the guns in stock and had it customized by the local smith . When I got my little Marlin back , I mounted the 2 1/2 power on it to work up some handloads . This was at the beginning of my reloading and "perhaps" some of my loads were slightly warm . It did not take long to have the insides of that little scope rattling like a tin can with broken glass inside .
I sent the scope back to Bushnell and they repaired it for no charge ... at least I don't recall a charge . The scope was the mounted on a Ruger 10/22 delux where it stayed until it was by a Leupold 2-7 Rimfire scope about 25 years later .
Chris

[jims]

I have had only two scope problems in almost 55 years of use. Over 30 years ago a Weaver as I recall and a Dr. Optic (supposedly an East German Zeiss). Other than that been lucky I guess although I do not shoot nearly as much as in the past but heavier recoilers but I try to get better quality scopes.

[jaycee]

The only scope that has ever failed for me was a Bushnell Scope Chief on a varmint rifle of all things , light recoil, out coyote hunting and a coyote was coming , I put my rifle to my shoulder and only part of the horizontal cross hair was there ??. Pehaps it was the extremely cold weather , but it definitely soured me on Bushnell scopes.
In my collection I have Leupolds, Nikons, Redfields, Weavers and an old Weatherby on a mdle. 70 super grade in 300 H&H MAG., NONE OF THESE HAVE FAILED ME EVEN UNDER VERY ADVERSE CONDITIONS .
The calibers of my rifles range from .222 to .358 Norma Magnum 8 in all, and also a .50 cal. smokeless muzzle loader by Savage.
Forgot my rim fires , .22 cal. and .22 cal. mag.

[yule]

In my 40 years of shooting, I've only had one true failure. Must have been 38-39 years ago. My first scope, a Redfield 4-12, mounted on a Rem 700 ( 243) - the horizontal cross hair broke. Sent it back and they repaired it.