Lightweight scope that dials with zero stop, does it exist?

[jfs82]

If you verify at the range before hunting, any quality optic is not going to magically stop tracking during the hunt but All scopes can and will fail given the right circumstances. ALL scopes can and will fail given the right impact. NF, S&B, Leupy... doesn’t matter. Just like all optic manufacturers will have some QC issues. Shoot there are parallex issues with some Tangent Thetas.

Yup, but the point is why choose one that is more prone to failure?

 

[ldunnmobile]

Yup, but the point is why choose one that is more prone to failure?

I completely agree!!! I think as consumers we just have to be cautious of the sample size we are polling from. Are more optics from xyz brand failing? If so... are there a lot more of that same brand being used by hunters? So you might have more failures from a total volume but lower failures from a percentage of all that are in use by consumers. It’s not easy to nail that down.

Then there are other variables. I just fixed a situation for a friend where he thought his scope wasn’t tracking... turns out it wasn’t the scope but the rings/base were the issue.

 

[LaHunter]

If you verify at the range before hunting, any quality optic is not going to magically stop tracking during the hunt but All scopes can and will fail given the right circumstances. ALL scopes can and will fail given the right impact. NF, S&B, Leupy... doesn’t matter. Just like all optic manufacturers will have some QC issues. Shoot there are parallex issues with some Tangent Thetas.

This is not exactly true. You don't get to choose when a scope fails. They can fail mid hunt or a few days prior to a hunt. What if during your range session just prior to your hunt, you discover your scope has failed, then what? Also, it doesn't necessarily take an impact to make a scope fail. Sometimes they will just stop tracking true or quit returning to zero. Some scope brands & models just have a higher occurrence of failures vs others.

 

[Reburn]

This is one thing I learned and it was a hard thing to grasp. Every time you pull the trigger your scope is taking a "fall". This is why some scopes don't handle being shot from big recoiling guns. And why zero retention is suspect on a bunch of scopes. The impact isn't when the gun fires and then slams back into your shoulder. Think about the physics. And this is where I began to understand better and why muzzle brakes and suppresors don't help scopes much at all.

When you pull the trigger on a gun the round ignites and the bullet begins its travel down the barrel. Every action causes an equal and opposite reaction. So when the pressure from the powder creates force to move the bullet down the barrel its moving the gun backwards. That is jarring the scope and rings towards the FRONT of the gun with the same force. There shouldn't be any give in the gun, rings and scope so this is a hard sharp impact. Then the gun plants into your shoulder and the recoil stops. This is where the scope and all its internals begin slamming BACKWARDS and you feel the recoil. Your shoulder is softer so this impact is less severe.

Muzzle brakes only start to slow the recoil impulse of the weapon after the bullet and gas has left the barrel. This decreases the rearward impact but does NOT help at all the forward impact the scope and rings took. It only lessens the rear impact.

Everytime you fire your weapon the scope internals are getting a sharp forward impact followed by a softer rear impact. This is why when you mount picatinny rings you should push them all the way FORWARD not backwards to tighten them down.

So think about that everytime you pull the trigger your scope is taking TWO impacts. Not one. Everytime you fire your weapon that could be the impact that knocks your zero out. You wont know it until next trigger pull. They may not gradually fail it maybe a short catastrophic fail.

 

[SDHNTR]

Scopes aren’t electronics. The are steel, glass, brass, aluminum, glue, screws....

First off, the market for a simpler, less feature rich and reliable scope is much smaller than you think. Almost laughably small. How may conversations have you heard from normal hunters where they talked about the unreliability of scopes in general? Probably none. Until the general hunting/shooting population starts realizing that the reason that 600 yard shots are “hard”, whybthey hve to check and change zero every year, and that some of thier misses are optics failure- you’re not getting manufactures to change where the focus. The only way that people will recognize there is a problem, is if they start shouting and practicing like a dedicated bow hunter. Until then, they’ll kill deer at 200 yards, they’ll miss some, they may even have a scope failure. But as long as they have that great warranty- who cares....



I’ve talked with one of the best scope manufacturers about a lighter, less feature rich scope. There isn’t a market for it. Even if there was, they could get a simple 3-12x40’ish scope to be reliable enough to meet their standards at about $2,000. And..... it would still be 17-18 ounces. You show me a group that will spend $1500 more an a scope to save 1-3 ounces with less features, less mag range, no illumination, etc.

If there wasn’t a market for it, why do these threads pop up all the time? Sure seems to me there are lots of people looking for a lightweight, reliable and dialable scope.

 

[Zzhartless]

I've got 2 vx5 3x15x44. The zero lock i's awesome, I am not a tactical shooter, but have been happy with the dial adjustments. Weight is where your looking and around 1k. I used this on a Christensen where I was being weight and accuracy conscious.

 

[dirtytough]

If you verify at the range before hunting, any quality optic is not going to magically stop tracking during the hunt but All scopes can and will fail given the right circumstances. ALL scopes can and will fail given the right impact. NF, S&B, Leupy... doesn’t matter. Just like all optic manufacturers will have some QC issues. Shoot there are parallex issues with some Tangent Thetas.

I just zero’d my scope and verified the day before the hunt to my max range. I dial back down to my zero. Opening day I see a buck at 847 yards and dial up. I miss. I check my scope and it’s not tracking anymore.

Something like that can’t happen? Scopes only fail from a fall? Please.

 

[ChrisAU]

Alright, everyone ready for nightmares?

What if your final shot at the range before a hunt is what kills your scope?

It happens.

 

[ldunnmobile]

I just zero’d my scope and verified the day before the hunt to my max range. I dial back down to my zero. Opening day I see a buck at 847 yards and dial up. I miss. I check my scope and it’s not tracking anymore.

Something like that can’t happen? Scopes only fail from a fall? Please.

Anything CAN happen. Murphy’s Law. There are just a lot of variables at play. For example vertically split rings are known to cause what looks like tracking issues. But it’s not the optic, it’s the rings. (Not saying that’s what happened to you)

I value good CS and warranty, cause stuff fails no matter the brand. And I know it’s easy to chase my tail on optic troubleshooting because there are so many external influences. That’s all I’m saying.

 

[BeaverHunter]

This whole thread has me questioning whether or not I “need” a scope that dials at all. Might be better off using a non turret scope and holding over. All these stories of failures has me worried no matter what turret scope I buy is a ticking time bomb just waiting to fail.

 

[SDHNTR]

This whole thread has me questioning whether or not I “need” a scope that dials at all. Might be better off using a non turret scope and holding over. All these stories of failures has me worried no matter what turret scope I buy is a ticking time bomb just waiting to fail.

Except if it weighs 24+ ounces, you don’t have to worry about that.

 

[264win]

I have been down this road too, looking for a light reliable scope for hunting. After trying ( and having failures ) with most of the scopes mentioned in this thread and quite a few others, I wound up with a 29 oz NF 4-16x 42.
One useful thing I have found, scopes with smaller objective lens allows you to mount it lower. This helps to minimize the top heavy, awkward feeling of a heavy scope on a light rifle.

 

[tdot]

This whole thread has me questioning whether or not I “need” a scope that dials at all. Might be better off using a non turret scope and holding over. All these stories of failures has me worried no matter what turret scope I buy is a ticking time bomb just waiting to fail.

I had with the same thought awhile back after getting frustrated with 30oz scopes. I wasn't able to find a reticle on a lighter scope that gave me the level of accuracy that I was happy with to shoot beyond 500 yards and certainly not with any wind. All the reticles that I played with would get me close. (All some form of a Christmas Tree/Ballistic reticle) I know I could hit the deer, but not accurate enough to know whether it would be in the lungs or the leg.

Some of the more complex reticles would allow superb accuracy, but they were typically in heavier scopes.

Above all, I found the reticles to require a ton more practice, and every reticle was different.

Strelok Pro the Ballistic App has 100's of different reticles. After trying a number of physical scopes, I started playing with the App instead. Too many times the aim point was part way between two hash marks and not quite directly above a marked wind hold.

 

[tdot]

I decided to back off on my magnification requirements to save the weight. So ended up at the NXS 2.5-10. 20oz, It has a Zero Stop, I dont believe the SHV does.

10x at 1000 yards is like looking at an animal with your naked eye at 100, it's really not too bad... I reserve the right to change my opinion if my eyes ever go downhill.

 

[CorbLand]

If there wasn’t a market for it, why do these threads pop up all the time? Sure seems to me there are lots of people looking for a lightweight, reliable and dialable scope.

Rokslide is a very small subset of a population. I think it’s well known that rokslide is the forum of backcountry hunters that worry about weight so coming here and thinking that we represent the hunting community as a whole would be flawed data.

I work in a store that sells scopes. Granted the town I live in is cheap as **** but to convince someone that it’s worth an extra 1000 to save 3 ounces would be very very difficult. Are there people that I could? Yes but they are far and few in between.


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[justin davis]

Nightforce SHV is relatively cheap and weights 20 oz. reliable

 

[deadwolf]

I decided to back off on my magnification requirements to save the weight. So ended up at the NXS 2.5-10. 20oz, It has a Zero Stop, I dont believe the SHV does.

10x at 100 yards is like looking at an animal with your naked eye at 100, it's really not too bad... I reserve the right to change my opinion if my eyes ever go downhill.

EuroOptic has it 15% off right now...

Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42mm MOAR Riflescope C458

Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42mm MOAR Riflescope C458 | Only at EuroOptic.com!

www.eurooptic.com

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[Jardo]

I went with zeiss V6 on my two long range rigs. One is a lightweight 280ai that will shoot out to 800 yards on deer and sheep.

I tried a swaro z5 and it’s sitting in the safe. I’ll probably sell it to some poor bastard who thinks swaro is the shiznit...


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[Formidilosus]

This whole thread has me questioning whether or not I “need” a scope that dials at all. Might be better off using a non turret scope and holding over. All these stories of failures has me worried no matter what turret scope I buy is a ticking time bomb just waiting to fail.

Nope. The fastest way to HIT at any distance past PB is to dial elevation, hold windage.

I see a hundred plus Nightforces and 40-50 SWFA’s heavily used and measured each year. I have for almost a decade. The failure rate through 5,000 rounds on each is less than 1% for Nightforce, and around 2-3% for SWFA fixed powers. Haven’t seen a 3-9x SS failure despite having put more than 20,000 rounds in each of more than a dozen- several with more than 60k rounds, and two with over 120k documented rounds.



SWFA has a Black Friday sale. Buy the 3-9x42mm SS. Use it, abuse it, trash it. If it breaks, or you don’t like it after giving it a fair shot- I’ll buy it from you for what you paid.

 

[WildWes]

I debated this a few months ago for my New Mexico elk hunt last month. Couldn’t decide what to put on my Barrett Fieldcraft 6.5 CM to keep it light weight. For piece of mind, I ended up settling on NF NX8 2.5-20. Tracks perfectly. Shot it out to 1000 yards. Also put an elk in the freezer with it. It weighs a few more ounces than I originally wanted, but I was happy to trade those few ounces for the piece of mind that it would track well, hold zero, etc.