How many have missed animals due to a failed scope?

[Spence14]

As a teenager I had a Nikon 3x9 on a browning .270. I can't remember which model Nikon, but it cost me a few whitetail. One that would be a personal best to this day.

I didn't know much about proper scope mounting at the time, so I couldn't tell you if it was the rings, base, or the scope, but I know on the big whitetail it was hitting a foot high at 50 yds when I got back to the truck and shot paper.

It finally ran out of erector travel after sighting it back in a couple times. Pawned the gun and scope, but wish I would have kept the gun!

 

[Pilsner]

I might have the best scope failure story of the thread. This last fall I was in Kansas on a private land hunt with some buddies - one of whom is the best on-the-hoof-field-judge of bucks I have ever seen. I was shooting a 6 creed that has become the rifle with which I train new shooters to shoot on. Ol' Trusty so to speak. So i'm shooting at a 160-class buck at around 110 yards - the buck is rutting hard chasing a hot doe and doesn't even notice the bullets missing him or the noise (thank you suppressor) and my buddy finally notices a splash from my shot - I'm off by 6 FEET or so! So, my buddy yells to get my attention, tells me to drop my rifle, and throws me his rifle (with which we have already harvested an animal, so we know it's on). In the time that this takes to transpire a new buck comes into the scene and my buddy is now yelling at me SHOOT THE NEW BUCK ON YOUR LEFT! THE BUCK ON YOUR LEFT! Bang, flop.
This might be the only time in my life that I'm grateful for a scope failure and missing a 160-class buck. The "new" buck green scored 186 6/8"!
Upon later inspection my rifle had sheared off both screws on the rear mount and the scope wouldn't hold zero. I have no idea what happened to it. The week before I'd used the same setup to coach a new shooter out to 700 yards on our private range without issue and the rifle was transported in a hard sided pelican case. Leupold replaced the scope after testing but that is kind of a moot point as it failed me when I needed it most.
At least my broken scope story had a happy ending.

 

[Pilsner]

Last year I had a Leupold VX3HD go to sh!t on me after riding around on my quad. The rifle was a sub-MOA kimber in 30-06. This rifle always has 2 shots touching and the 3rd nearly touching but starting to climb with barrel heating. But 1/2" for 2 shots and sub-3/4" for 3 shots. So the rifle SHOOTS. It prefers 180 grain fodder which I had it stuffed with. Anyways, my neighbor and I were out on doe patrol and I missed two shots at sub-30 yards. Shooting suppressed so the does didn't know which way to run so they just milled around.
When we got back home, I checked, and I was more than ONE FOOT off at 25 yards! No broken parts or sheared screws. Rezero'd and scope wouldn't hold zero. Sent back to Leupold and they replaced the optic.

 

[Pilsner]

Had a Vortex optic fail on me a couple of years ago in Texas. Verified zero here at my home range in Arkansas and tossed my rifle into a pelican hard case and hit the road for a last minute doe hunt at my buddy's lease in Texas. Arrived and immediately got into a stand. Had does walk out when feeder went off a missed by a country mile or so it seemed. We shot the rifle at 100 yards and it was off by 1.5 FEET! Rezeroe'd and it wouldn't hold zero. Sent optic back to Vortex and it was replaced. Luckily my buddy had brought an extra rifle so I could still hunt and the trip wasn't a waste.
Now I never leave for a trip without 2 verified rifles.

 

[Castle Rock]

Yes, old school Leupold vx-II. Clean miss, thankfully.

Congrats on the fukup

You boomer fudds are all the same, if it didn’t happen to you it never fukin happened to anyone.

Well said, but to be honest most of them would never even realize

 

[hardincobucks]

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.

What trijicons do you like/use?