DIY drop tests

Obviously you're just guessing what these supposed short range shooters do, as you've got no way of knowing. The fact of the matter is 95% of big game animals are killed 300yds and under in spite of what the internet says.
I think you are misunderstanding what I wrote. It is 100% true that the vast majority of game is killed inside 300 yards. Thats irrelevant. Whats relevant, and what I know from watching, is that people at the range, by and large, do a supremely crappy job zeroing, dont quantify much of anything and “call it good”. This is the VAST majority of people I see at the range. Those people would not be able to say one way or another if their zero shifted. The fact is that they dont know that. It doesnt mean its not true, my observation is simply that based on me watching how they zero and check zero, they cant say with any certainty. This is so pervasive that I believe it to be the norm, and without photographic evidence I pretty much write off anything someone tells me that I didnt see with my own eyes. Yet those same people will recommend their scope and tell someone it’s “rock solid”, and extrapolate their methodology based on what works at short range, to someone who is trying to make hits at much, much longer range where small errors are compounded.
That is all.
 
I was looking for something else and found this old post by Form.


I think it is important to remember that if you conduct your a drop test, you are at best only going to find error somewhere within your system. You won't know whether it is the rifle, the mount, the scope, etc. which is the source of error.
 
The one thing it takes is quite a bit of ammo. Well at least in a normal shooters mind. Get a solid zero on 30 rounds thats verified on another trip with another 30rds. Record your gun's cone of fire measurement. Then you can start your "zero tracking" experiment.

If any of the shots fall within that cone, they count as zeroed. Thats the hard part for people to get.
 
I drop test mine anytime I descend steep sandy/shale mountain faces haha. Occasionally in steep country with thick brush too. Took a 10’ header last year off some deadfall. Basically front flipped and landed on the pack/rifle onto (fortunately) a pile of slash.

Fell 3 times yesterday with the rifle in my SG carrier. Tired legs trying to get somewhere fast. Shot it when I got back to the truck today, dead on. Scope didn’t take any impacts but the rifle definitely did.

I’ve kept track of zero retention over the past year or so without intentionally dropping. Once I get the rokstoks on them I’ll continue doing that over a longer period of time. Collate the groups on one pdf. Easy to see trends that way.
 
The drop test is to simulate long term, actual field use of scopes with the huge caveat being… A rifle setup that is KNOWN to not be the cause of an impact shift.

You dropping your gun on your own isn’t as telling.

How do you know it’s not…

The barrel to action shifting (looking at you Christensen arms).
The action to stock shifting.
The scope bases to stock shifting.
The scope rings to bases shifting.
The scope rings cracking and shifting.
The scope moving in the rings shifting.
The actual scope itself failing and shifting.

Get a scope that has passed the evaluations. Properly mount and torque as per @Formidilosus method.

Go shoot and hunt with it with confidence. If you aren’t shooting it enough before hunts to see potential impact shifts, that’s on you.
 
I think you are misunderstanding what I wrote. It is 100% true that the vast majority of game is killed inside 300 yards. Thats irrelevant. Whats relevant, and what I know from watching, is that people at the range, by and large, do a supremely crappy job zeroing, dont quantify much of anything and “call it good”. This is the VAST majority of people I see at the range. Those people would not be able to say one way or another if their zero shifted. The fact is that they dont know that. It doesnt mean its not true, my observation is simply that based on me watching how they zero and check zero, they cant say with any certainty. This is so pervasive that I believe it to be the norm, and without photographic evidence I pretty much write off anything someone tells me that I didnt see with my own eyes. Yet those same people will recommend their scope and tell someone it’s “rock solid”, and extrapolate their methodology based on what works at short range, to someone who is trying to make hits at much, much longer range where small errors are compounded.
That is all.
Not sure why you or anyone else cares what a bunch of random people at the gun range are doing. I sure don't.
 
The drop test is to simulate long term, actual field use of scopes with the huge caveat being… A rifle setup that is KNOWN to not be the cause of an impact shift.

You dropping your gun on your own isn’t as telling.

How do you know it’s not…

The barrel to action shifting (looking at you Christensen arms).
The action to stock shifting.
The scope bases to stock shifting.
The scope rings to bases shifting.
The scope rings cracking and shifting.
The scope moving in the rings shifting.
The actual scope itself failing and shifting.

Get a scope that has passed the evaluations. Properly mount and torque as per @Formidilosus method.

Go shoot and hunt with it with confidence. If you aren’t shooting it enough before hunts to see potential impact shifts, that’s on you.
Don't forget shooter error, wind/atmospherics, ammo quality.......
 
Not sure why you or anyone else cares what a bunch of random people at the gun range are doing. I sure don't.
There is a big difference between observing what people do and making conclusions based on the consistency of those observations, versus caring what people do. I hope you can understand the difference between observing and caring. On this topic where virtually all (maybe all?) of the folks trashing the evals have nothing more to offer people like me than “my scopes are rock solid”, I hope you are able to understand why correlating what I see the majority of people doing with the uncorroborated things people say online, could be a useful tool.
 
There is a big difference between observing what people do and making conclusions based on the consistency of those observations, versus caring what people do. I hope you can understand the difference between observing and caring. On this topic where virtually all (maybe all?) of the folks trashing the evals have nothing more to offer people like me than “my scopes are rock solid”, I hope you are able to understand why correlating what I see the majority of people doing with the uncorroborated things people say online, could be a useful tool.
To each their own. When I'm on the range I'm paying attention to what I'm doing, not everyone else.
 
7 shots is all it takes to run through the evaluation. I have a handful of videos on here showing it take place in under 10 minutes. Nothing should be damaged, the biggest thing in jeopardy is ego, and you will have a better understanding of how your equipment functions.

No reason not to.
 
To each their own. When I'm on the range I'm paying attention to what I'm doing, not everyone else.
Really, tell me more, Im fascinated that you focus so intently as to never see what the other nearby shooters are doing. I tend to focus on what Im doing at times, and then also I like to be aware of whats happening around me. I also sometimes take breaks while waiting for a barrel to cool or while the range is cold to talk with other shooters, load mags or just to come up for air. Must be a character flaw of mine, I’ll have to work on that.
 
Really, tell me more, Im fascinated that you focus so intently as to never see what the other nearby shooters are doing. I tend to focus on what Im doing at times, and then also I like to be aware of whats happening around me. I also sometimes take breaks while waiting for a barrel to cool or while the range is cold to talk with other shooters, load mags or just to come up for air. Must be a character flaw of mine, I’ll have to work on that.
Couldn't care less what you do. I find it amusing and confusing why so many around here are so focused and worried about what others are doing that they have to go on an internet forum to vent about it.
 
Get a scope that has passed the evaluations. Properly mount and torque as per @Formidilosus method.

This. Another consideration is that drop testing an optic could induce a malfunction in the erector system that might take a few rounds to become apparent. So, you drop it, shoot a group, call it good to go, and then it fails in transit to your hunt. Scary situation.

None of the dudes shooting targets more important than game animals beat their scopes up before an op. They use the highest quality gear available, train with it extensively and protect it from as many environmental factors as possible.
 
Couldn't care less what you do. I find it amusing and confusing why so many around here are so focused and worried about what others are doing that they have to go on an internet forum to vent about it.
And yet you have 2257 posts on an internet forum focused and worried about what others are doing :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
This. Another consideration is that drop testing an optic could induce a malfunction in the erector system that might take a few rounds to become apparent. So, you drop it, shoot a group, call it good to go, and then it fails in transit to your hunt. Scary situation.

None of the dudes shooting targets more important than game animals beat their scopes up before an op. They use the highest quality gear available, train with it extensively and protect it from as many environmental factors as possible.
The main thing is, for me, so far in 10s of thousands of rounds, hunts all across the country, nearly daily use bouncing around in the back seats of vehicles, dozens of plane rides, dozens of big game kills, hundreds of small game and predator kills, etc…

Using a scope that has passed field evals and has then been properly mounted, you will almost never see POI shifts. The only time turrets get slipped is when changing loads or changing lots of ammo. Or swapping around suppressors, etc.

The above behavior in my past, I would constantly be adjusting turrets, tightening screws, and assumed that was just part of shooting, because I was used to doing it for so long.

With proven scopes and mounting systems, unless you have a catastrophic drop that is bending, breaking, cracking, etc. something in the overall system, go shoot and hunt with confidence.

Caveat being, and this is just my opinion on it all, if you drop or bang a gun hard enough that it makes you kind of go “yeeeaaahhh that wasn’t good”. Just go check your 100 yard zero with a few shots to be sure. Ain’t hurting anything to check.
 
The drop test is to simulate long term, actual field use of scopes with the huge caveat being… A rifle setup that is KNOWN to not be the cause of an impact shift.

You dropping your gun on your own isn’t as telling.

How do you know it’s not…

The barrel to action shifting (looking at you Christensen arms).
The action to stock shifting.
The scope bases to stock shifting.
The scope rings to bases shifting.
The scope rings cracking and shifting.
The scope moving in the rings shifting.
The actual scope itself failing and shifting.

Get a scope that has passed the evaluations. Properly mount and torque as per @Formidilosus method.

Go shoot and hunt with it with confidence. If you aren’t shooting it enough before hunts to see potential impact shifts, that’s on you.
How do you go about diagnosing what the issue is?

If you have a decent scope and rings how do you figure out if the action is shifting, or if there’s contact somewhere, or something else?
 
I am a huge fan of Forms drop tests. I have not personally conducted as extensive tests as he does, but have used the information to influence purchases. After being surprised how many fail just riding in the truck I have strapped my rifle to my quad, slightly loose so it could really bump, and done 5 miles on a gravel road about 25 mph. Even before I learned of the drop tests I was writing information and dates on my targets for pictures. They have their own folder in my photos. If you want to drop test yours, go for it. Just remember any scope could fail. Give yourself time to recover if yours does
 
How do you go about diagnosing what the issue is?

If you have a decent scope and rings how do you figure out if the action is shifting, or if there’s contact somewhere, or something else?
Witness marks on screws are telling. The way a gun groups (stringing direction) is telling as to what could actually be happening, action versus scope/ring failure or turret failure as an example.

It can get a bit “tail chasey” sometimes using good/known gear but the culprit is always able to be identified through process of elimination and shooting.

As an example. I chased one two weeks ago. I was missing at 400-600 yards on targets as my first shots of the day and first shots with that gun in about a week. I was missing consistently but not in the same direction, in a low wind environment with good/known dope.

Went to 100 yards. 3” group with a good lot of ammo and known/good gun. What could it be?

Suppressors always checked first and it was fine. Witness marks on all screws looked good. Action properly seated in the stock. Nothing loose. Scope and rings/ring bases look fine. No debris down in between barrel and stock. Gave the scope a few light punches, nothing rattling. Turrets dialing fine. Chamber and throat look good. Barrel is tight. Nothing visibly cracked.

Shot 10 more. Same 3”ish group.

Bust out the chrono to check velocity. Here’s where it gets interesting. My extreme spread over 10 more shots was around 200 FPS.

Went home. Dusted off a cleaning rod and cleaned the barrel, chamber, etc. Went back out. Shot 10 to foul it.

Chrono and group for 10 more shots at 100 yards. 5” group, velocity extreme spread over 250.

The gun has a new barrel on it and is back to work.
 
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