Some of those old Bushnell Scopecheif's were darn fine scopes. But the newer ones have their moments. Have had problems with 3200's and 4200's. Leupolds have a good reputation for being tough, the one's I've had have never given me any troubles.
my M14 is eating scopes
- Thread starter the_big_mike
- Start date
Something came loose by the crosshairs, looks like a sliver of sorts. Happened on 2 scopes. They still worked, but that sliver stuck out like a harlot at a southern baptist convention! Not sure what the heck it is/was, factory never said when the scope came back.
All,
My failures with 3200's were related to erector assemblies coming loose, groups opening, parallax increasing to ridiculous and image blurring. Basically all traceable to the erector assembly. Come to think of it, these are the same problems that killed my 4000 and 4200. That 4000 took thousands of rounds, the 6-24x 40 4200 quit on a Rimfire. I also had one 3200 with something black and fabulous floating around inside. Of the many old Scope-chiefs I had only one quit. A lens fell out after 20 some years.
The 10x you are looking at is bound to be better than the Variables I had grief with.(It couldn't hardly be worse) The innards are simpler, and eliminating the camming mechanism should help. If it's not there it can't break. Just don't expect $200 dollar scopes to be the the equal of scopes costs many times as much.
My failures with 3200's were related to erector assemblies coming loose, groups opening, parallax increasing to ridiculous and image blurring. Basically all traceable to the erector assembly. Come to think of it, these are the same problems that killed my 4000 and 4200. That 4000 took thousands of rounds, the 6-24x 40 4200 quit on a Rimfire. I also had one 3200 with something black and fabulous floating around inside. Of the many old Scope-chiefs I had only one quit. A lens fell out after 20 some years.
The 10x you are looking at is bound to be better than the Variables I had grief with.(It couldn't hardly be worse) The innards are simpler, and eliminating the camming mechanism should help. If it's not there it can't break. Just don't expect $200 dollar scopes to be the the equal of scopes costs many times as much.
- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
I've given up on putting a scope on my M14, iron sites now and will remain so
the one bushnell I had fall apart was on the m14 for about 200rds then got moved to a 25-06 for about 40rds then ended up on my heavy barrel 308 where it finally poped its lenses. 2 or 3 small lenses inside the objective end of the scope came loose and rattled about.
I sent it back for repair and got a new scope I'm happy.
I have a bushnell on every rifle I have scoped, I just put a 3-9x40 elite 3200 on my 300WM and have the cheaper trophy ?? (made in Korea) scopes on my 308 and 25-06 (a 3-9x40 and 6-18x50 respectively), My 7mmRM has an older Scopechief IV on it, same scope since it was bought by my dad in the 80's and I think it will stay that way. And now I have a spare trophy in 4-12x40 for my next hunting gun.
Its not going on the M14
edit to add.
Tasco and simmons low end scopes, or any other scope that does not come with a lifetime warentee is not welcome in my gun locker.
the one bushnell I had fall apart was on the m14 for about 200rds then got moved to a 25-06 for about 40rds then ended up on my heavy barrel 308 where it finally poped its lenses. 2 or 3 small lenses inside the objective end of the scope came loose and rattled about.
I sent it back for repair and got a new scope I'm happy.
I have a bushnell on every rifle I have scoped, I just put a 3-9x40 elite 3200 on my 300WM and have the cheaper trophy ?? (made in Korea) scopes on my 308 and 25-06 (a 3-9x40 and 6-18x50 respectively), My 7mmRM has an older Scopechief IV on it, same scope since it was bought by my dad in the 80's and I think it will stay that way. And now I have a spare trophy in 4-12x40 for my next hunting gun.
Its not going on the M14
edit to add.
Tasco and simmons low end scopes, or any other scope that does not come with a lifetime warentee is not welcome in my gun locker.
Last edited:
I keep hearing the same thing over and over. Listen, you get what you pay for. Yes, I know the rifle is only $400, but never, NEVER, cheap out on good glass. You would be better off learning to shoot with irons and save your penny's for some quality glass. I hold Leupold as the lower standard on my rifles. Cheap scopes may be fine on a .22 but keep them away from larger calibers. For all the money you will spend on a cheap mount and the numerous crap scopes, you could have done it right the first time. I've tried to find the inexpensive way out and have always ended up paying more. Sure someone may have had somthing that has worked but ask:
How often do they shoot it? If it comes out of the closet only once a year.... What is their acceptable accuracy? Some only need minute of man. What range do they shoot? If they only shoot at 100m, as you may, then thats fine for you. What kind of abuse does it get? My rifle are tools and they need to perform as such, they will be used in the field.
There are many more questions that could be asked but you get the point. It is easy for someone to come on a forum and be an armchair critic and give advice (not saying anyone specifically on this forum or topic). If you want to hear that a certain inexpensive scope is the cats ass would you buy it on some strangers advice? Some people only need that kind of validation, thats why advertising works so well. I do not mean to insult anyone here, so if I have done so please except my humble appologies. You can take this comnentary or leave it, as very few people here know me personally and I may not know anything. But take things with a grain of salt and make informed decisions. This will save you more money in the end.
How often do they shoot it? If it comes out of the closet only once a year.... What is their acceptable accuracy? Some only need minute of man. What range do they shoot? If they only shoot at 100m, as you may, then thats fine for you. What kind of abuse does it get? My rifle are tools and they need to perform as such, they will be used in the field.
There are many more questions that could be asked but you get the point. It is easy for someone to come on a forum and be an armchair critic and give advice (not saying anyone specifically on this forum or topic). If you want to hear that a certain inexpensive scope is the cats ass would you buy it on some strangers advice? Some people only need that kind of validation, thats why advertising works so well. I do not mean to insult anyone here, so if I have done so please except my humble appologies. You can take this comnentary or leave it, as very few people here know me personally and I may not know anything. But take things with a grain of salt and make informed decisions. This will save you more money in the end.
I've scoped dozens of M-14 rifles, with most of the available mounts, and lots of cheap scopes. I personally prefer the Bushnell Scopechief VI models as a good, rigged CHEAP scope, but your personal mileage may vary.
I used to build shorty M-14s and target M-14s, and before I sold them, I would take them to the range, bolt a LARGE scope on, and sight them in. The only scope I've personally seen break was a brand new TASCO 6X24 el cheapo "Varminter". It made it to about 10 rds before it started to throw the groups. When I checked, the front part of the scope, from the turrets forward, wobbled literally 1/4 inch.
The big deal with the M-14 is that the op rod SLAMS into the receiver, and RINGS the metal parts [ including your precious scope ... whatever the brand ] just like you would ring a bell. This is NOT good for any scope.
This is why they make the plastic shok buffs for this rifle, however ... be warned ... if you use one of the shok buffs for too long, it can pound out, and cause som failures to feed or eject.
LAZ 1
I used to build shorty M-14s and target M-14s, and before I sold them, I would take them to the range, bolt a LARGE scope on, and sight them in. The only scope I've personally seen break was a brand new TASCO 6X24 el cheapo "Varminter". It made it to about 10 rds before it started to throw the groups. When I checked, the front part of the scope, from the turrets forward, wobbled literally 1/4 inch.
The big deal with the M-14 is that the op rod SLAMS into the receiver, and RINGS the metal parts [ including your precious scope ... whatever the brand ] just like you would ring a bell. This is NOT good for any scope.
This is why they make the plastic shok buffs for this rifle, however ... be warned ... if you use one of the shok buffs for too long, it can pound out, and cause som failures to feed or eject.
LAZ 1
- Location
- South Cariboo, BC
Are there any function concerns with the shock buffers while they are still relatively new? In other words is a newly installed one likely to affect reliability in any way?
- Location
- South Cariboo, BC
cariboo_kid said:
I'm still very interested in hearing more about what Mueller had to say about this failure. I own one scope of theirs and am (was?) considering another to put on my m305 shorty...
cariboo_kid said:
My Mueller 4X16 - 50mm Sport Dot scope had a floating zero and the recticle has turned about 20 - 30 degrees in the tube, totally unuseable. I bought this new at a gun show ( found out later that Whitefalls is the only true dealer in Canada for Mueller). Since I didn't get it from a dealer the warranty is void.
Learned two things, one... don't buy stuff at a gunshow unless it is used and priced very well. Buy new from a reputable gun store or you could be screwed. Two, buy a decent product first, spend the money once and save the hassles. I'm waiting until I can get a decent scope for this rifle with a good warranty.
The scope was on my M305 for approx 200 rounds (actually I found it wasn't holding zero after the first couple of boxes). Now it sits on my ammo cabinet, too bad, I really liked the clearity and optics of the glass. Might take the front lens out of it and use it to fry ants on the side walk..
Holleyman said:My Mueller 4X16 - 50mm Sport Dot scope had a floating zero and the recticle has turned about 20 - 30 degrees in the tube, totally unuseable. I bought this new at a gun show ( found out later that Whitefalls is the only true dealer in Canada for Mueller). Since I didn't get it from a dealer the warranty is void.
Learned two things, one... don't buy stuff at a gunshow unless it is used and priced very well. Buy new from a reputable gun store or you could be screwed. Two, buy a decent product first, spend the money once and save the hassles. I'm waiting until I can get a decent scope for this rifle with a good warranty.
The scope was on my M305 for approx 200 rounds (actually I found it wasn't holding zero after the first couple of boxes). Now it sits on my ammo cabinet, too bad, I really liked the clearity and optics of the glass. Might take the front lens out of it and use it to fry ants on the side walk..
You could always pretend to be Col Klink. Hogaaaaaaaan! SCHUUULTZ!
I've seen this happening on semi autos before, I have been told that the failures are caused by the forward movement of the bolt into battery then a solid lockup in the reverse direction, causeing recoil in the opposite direction that the scope was designed for. Many years ago on a TRW M14 that I used to own, I went through 3 mid price range scopes, until I installed a real Redfield, after that no more problems. The old M1D with issue scope was always reliable though, must have put 2000 rounds of milsurp ammo through that rifle, and as long as it was cleaned properly, no problems at all, scope was flawless all the time I owned that rifle until a couple of coke heads stole it and 25 other rifles to trade for $1500 worth of coke. I would sure like to find that M1D again. bearhunter
- Location
- Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
leapers scopes
Have anyone ever used the 3-9x40, 4-16x50 or larger leapers scopes? These are claimed to be able to withstand up to 416 rigbys fired thru them.
http://www.leapers.com/pages/optics/accushot scope.htm
Have anyone ever used the 3-9x40, 4-16x50 or larger leapers scopes? These are claimed to be able to withstand up to 416 rigbys fired thru them.
http://www.leapers.com/pages/optics/accushot scope.htm
