How many have missed animals due to a failed scope?

[nphunter]

Just curious with all the drop testing and scope talk lately, how many have actually missed an animal due to their scope losing zero. Buck fever doesn’t count.

Be honest, I emptied my gun in a giant buck once at 200 yards and never even grazed him. Took the gun back and rang steel at 600. My boys were both sitting next to me and will never let me live it down. I think it was karma for not letting them shoot! They were 13 & 10 at the time and both told me they would have easily hit it. Lol

My kid also missed a buck at 150 twice a few years back shooting off a tripod. He said the gun was off, I took him to shoot the next day and acted like I was making some adjustments and he shot perfect. That night he killed the same buck he missed after I re-zeroed the gun

 

[huntnful]

I was with my dad when we zeroed his Leupold Mark 5 right before our hunt.

Drove around in the side side during the hunt for a decent amount of miles on the first day. Found a good buck at 450 yards. Dial up, he missed just over his back. I think it’s him, so just tell him to shoot again. Hits the exact same spot. So just from seeing the hits, I dialed him down about 2 MOA and he kills it.

Immediately set up a target at 100 yards afterwards, and sure enough the scope had lost zero while riding in the side by side and was 2 MOA high.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Paging @OneTimer

 

[Hoosker Doo]

Not missed, but missed an opportunity. At 13 years old, I was hunting with my dad. It was foggy and we had a bull elk bugling at around 200 yards. He got behind his Redfield widefield on his 30-06 and quickly stated "Dangit. Can't see good enough to get a shot." With the naked eye, it was easy to see the bull. Getting behind my scope, detail was more obscure, but it was easy enough to see his body as long as you knew which way he was facing before settling in the scope, I could have taken a decent shot. But at 13, when your dad says "We don't have a shot", you don't question it.
Fast forward, come to find out, all he was seeing in that fog was glaring sunlight and moisture had gotten inside and clouded up his scope. He'd have had a hard time making that shot in clear conditions. If I'd let him look through mine, we'd have had a dead herd bull right there instead of a dead raghorn half an hour later, and half a mile farther up the mountain lol.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Didn’t happen to me but a family member I was hunting with. While stalking a deer in west Texas, he slipped, fell and dropped the gun. Gets to about 100yds takes the shot and spines the deer about mid body. Deers back legs hit the ground but front half still working. They end up having to chase it a short distance as it’s crawling on its front legs before it can be put down. Tough deal to watch from the plateau but can only imagine how the boy felt. Checked the gun after the rodeo and it was shooting high and way left.

 

[rackcity24]

I sighted in my 270 a week before deer season when I was in high-school. Opening day my dad misses one of the biggest whitetails he's ever had a shot 250 yards away. I figured buck fever. A week later I missed a doe at 100 yards. Later found out I was 9" left. No hard drops, just laying in the back seat of his pickup with minimal travel of gravel/bumpy roads.

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[WBT]

Just this past October I missed an ibex in Spain with a Swarovski Z8. It was shooting at least 24” high. This was on a loaner rifle and the scope was set up with a ballistic turret. The best I can tell is that the scope was dialed a lot and completely lost the ability to hold vertical elevation.

 

[Wrench]

I had a Swarovski go down on a bear hunt. I had previously shot some groups in the 2's and I missed a bear wildly at 300. I backed out and called my wife who brought me a different rifle and I was able to kill the bear later that day.

I sent that scope to swaro and had the worst warranty wait ever.

My pard had an objective lens fall out of his scope driving to the hunt. He looked through the scope and it was just a blur. He used my backup rifle.

I was at a rifle class when the m8 6x lost the reticle. Luckily the pro shop sold glass albeit at full price.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Growing up I missed plenty of deer because of the ole Simmons scope in Walmart weaver rings combo. You’d sight your rifle in 3-4 times in a season!
Semi recently I missed a really nice mule deer and black bear when a Zeiss V6 and V4 lost zeros. After that everything got replaced with NF or Trijicon, no problems since.

 

[Fogger]

Nightforce

 

[Wrench]

Growing up I missed plenty of deer because of the ole Simmons scope in Walmart weaver rings combo. You’d sight your rifle in 3-4 times in a season!
Semi recently I missed a really nice mule deer and black bear when a Zeiss V6 and V4 lost zeros. After that everything got replaced with NF or Trijicon, no problems since.

I took a friend out a couple weeks ago and his v6 didn't track. It wasn't a scope failure, he dropped the ball. The turret bites the zero stop which bites the scope.....except he didn't lock the zs tight enough.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

I took a friend out a couple weeks ago and his v6 didn't track. It wasn't a scope failure, he dropped the ball. The turret bites the zero stop which bites the scope.....except he didn't lock the zs tight enough.

Yea, both mine tracked and great glass, they just didn’t hold zero. I’m not the easiest on my equipment though.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Nightforce

Care to expand? I’ve owned a few nightforces for several years now and never had one lose zero despite being abused on a daily basis. Not saying it can’t happen but curious to hear your experience.

 

[TxLite]

Had a vortex viper completely fail me on a 13lb suppressed 308, so low recoil. Shot a coyote in the morning chasing some does at 240 yards on the final day of deer season. Went back out in the afternoon and the reticle would rotate with the zoom ring. Not sure what happened to it but after I got it back from vortex it went down the road

 

[Cannonball]

1995, i was in a tree stand in south Alabama and had a buck walk out. Model 70 featherweight .30-06 and a Simmons 44Mag. Less than 50 yard shot. Complete miss. Took the rifle out the next day and it wasn't even on paper.

 

[KHntr]

Only one I’ve missed due to scope failure was a groundhog when I was a kid. Missed by feet, and pissed off Dad until he tried a shot.

Had a few really unlucky animals though that should have been misses. First whitetail was climbing a 45* cutbank and stopped. Held behind his shoulder at 100 yards or so, and smacked him just behind his skull.
First bear, same hit, 150 yards but he was dead level. Same hold.
Muley buck walking down a hill at 30* and 50 yards in the fog, and hit him in front of his front leg juuuuust in the cavity. Stood on his hind legs and made two full circles, spraying blood like a fountain. That was a 6x Simmons, went to check it later and the reticle was canted 45*.

 

[hunterjmj]

Missed a nice buck at 400 with a vortex hst about 4 or 5 years ago. Have no idea where they hit but missed bigger than chit. Tried to dial it in back at camp but the elevation turret was so stiff I couldn't adjust it. Sent it back to vortex for repairs then sold it and bought a nightforce. About a year later I my groups were all over the place so I took the scope/rings/base off and found id sheared a base screw and the other screws were stripped out. Had a gunsmith drill and tap for bigger screws. Never a problem after that. I sold that rifle/scope and I'm shooting a tikka with a Trijicon now. I liked the nightforce but the Trijicon has been my favorite scope I've ever used. Oh, I won't ever buy a vortex scope again.

 

[hunterjmj]

Had a vortex viper completely fail me on a 13lb suppressed 308, so low recoil. Shot a coyote in the morning chasing some does at 240 yards on the final day of deer season. Went back out in the afternoon and the reticle would rotate with the zoom ring. Not sure what happened to it but after I got it back from vortex it went down the road

View attachment 795275

Why is your turret cocked to the left? I can see the reticle is not inline with the turret but what's with the scope.

 

[khart_6882]

Had an el cheapo 3-9 when I was in high school that I’d ordered out of the cabelas catalog, I believe the brand was Redhead. Had sat under a tree all afternoon waiting out a rainstorm, when the rain finally quit a dandy of a 4 point came out of the timber maybe 150 yards away. My scope was so fogged up I couldn’t even see the outline of a deer, internally fogged up not externally. For like 5 minutes I played the back and forth game of looking at him with my naked eye then back into the scope trying to make out a deer until finally he’d had enough and wandered off.


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[Blandry]

Before hunting with my rifle, I always 25 yard zero in the field or any local range. I realize you can lose zero, but it's a quick/easy way to ensure you're GTG before shooting at something. I've missed or lost a few animals because I neglected to take that simple step. https://hi-luxoptics.com/blogs/leat...VOj7-EuxVsrXVn1w3dkftO8JmGT8M6Bj3amOK9WEMjZji

I did have a 300 yd outdoor range near my old place which was nice. I've taken a brand new rifle/scope, boresighted, zeroed at 25 in the field and DRT'd a buck at 165 yards.