Scope Question

GEORGE7mm

GEORGE7mm

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Laval, Quebec
Today I went to sight in my rifle before the deer season opens up in 2 weeks, after it was shooting bullseye after bullseye and nice groups my son wanted to shoot the last 5 rounds, when he was done, as he was getting up from his seat and the rifle was sitting on the rest and as he let it go the rifle spun upside down and the scope hit the carpeted table.
My question is this, in my mind now I cant help to think that maybe the scope might of moved and wont shoot as accurately any more. Im not sure that I can make time to go again and shoot before the season opens up. In your opinion do I have anything to worry about??:confused:
 
If it was me I wouldn't trust it. It might not have changed but it would sure suck if you had a trophy lined up and missed. I'm probably overly careful about my scopes. I generally don't touch them at all unless I'm adjusting them. If you simply can't get out to try it again I guess you can't, but you'll be wondering before you pull the trigger.
Better safe than sorry but sometimes you gotta hope for the best!!
good luck
 
If it was a wooden table under the carpet, I would say it didn't hurt it. If it suffered no visible external damage, there should be no damage, whatsoever, internally. The scopes are designed to take much more punishment than that from recoil.
Depending on where you are hunting, you may be able to take a shot at something, to verify the sighting. One time on a mountain I leaned my rifle on the pole the horses were tied to, got busy at something and five minutes later discovered my rifle on the muddy ground and a horse was standing on the barrel! A bit later I shot at a rock, about like a typical goat shot. Good hit on the rock, and later shot a goat. The barrel had not been damaged.
 
Depends on the brand of scope and the table/height of fall. I had a Bushnell Legend that bent after only sliding along the wall and hitting the carpet when it was propped up against the wall. To me I thought it was a failure that should not have happened and have not bought Buhshell products since then.
 
This is a piece of mind question. The simple solution is to fire another group to ensure nothing has changed and thus confirm your confidence in the rifle and sighting. Another option, if you cannot get out to the range any time soon, is to use a bore sighter with a grid. Check the placement of the cross hair against the grid to ensure it hasn't moved. Of course you would have to know where the cross hair was on the grid originally, but this might be helpful to you in the future, and a bore sighter is a cheap investment. If the scope can't sustain a little bump like the one you describe, you need to reassess your sighting system, because that one is too delicate for use in the field.
 
I think your probably good to go. A simple spin on the bags is not much of a bump. Curious thou why you didn't fire another round while you were there still at the range :confused:
 
can't believe how many guys can't see that a scoped rifle is quite top heavy...always turn it upside down if leaving a rifle on the bags.
I've seen rifles fall right off the bench when left sitting upright on the bags

If the scope is knocked off from a little bump like that you shouldn't hunt with it anyway...what if you bump it on a tree or something....any "good" mount setup and good scope can take a little bump without changing POI.
 
depending on your rings, a spinning impact against the turret like that could shift your POI. if you have anything but heavy-duty tactical style rings i would shoot another group to make sure it is still sighted in. its not worth injuring or losing an animal over.
especially do this if you have the typical hunter's budget rings, aluminum rings, or *shudder* see-through rings.
 
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Well - What ammo are you planning to use for hunting? You mention you used the last 5 rounds...
If you go to a different type of ammo, you need to resight. Even if you pick up the same brand and bullet weight, you cant be assured of the same POI...
 
Throw the boresighter on it and see it it's close, if not you'll know it moved, if its still within a couple of inches high, low, left, right then it probably didn't move. But like someone said, the recoil is probably worse.
 
Boomer said:
This is a piece of mind question. The simple solution is to fire another group to ensure nothing has changed and thus confirm your confidence in the rifle and sighting. Another option, if you cannot get out to the range any time soon, is to use a bore sighter with a grid. Check the placement of the cross hair against the grid to ensure it hasn't moved. Of course you would have to know where the cross hair was on the grid originally, but this might be helpful to you in the future, and a bore sighter is a cheap investment. If the scope can't sustain a little bump like the one you describe, you need to reassess your sighting system, because that one is too delicate for use in the field.
Click to expand...

I think Boomer hit the proverbial nail right on the head with his confidence comment. Regardless of whether the scope moved or not, if you aren't confident in the rifle, you shouldn't be shooting it. It's my experience that scopes can take some serious bumps without changing zero but without the confidence that you are going to hit where you aim, I wouldn't pull the trigger.
 
i should clarify my earlier statement:

if its a high-end scope in a high-end mounting solution then you shouldnt worry because they are specifically designed to take just such abuse and worse.

the average hunting rifle in a set of $10 aluminum millet or weaver high rings, yes - sight it in again. and if it has moved, consider this whole incident a field test and let it be a motivator to upgrade your rings for next year :D
 
I was able to do a quicky to the range today, I managed to get off a few rounds and the rifle was shooting dead on, I am glad I was able to do this cause its mostly a case of peace of mind like some of you said. thanks a lot for your imput guys.
 
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