Scope Bumper Scope caps

[WCT3]

Those are much quicker/smoother than I expected. I thought you would have to pull them off, then move them up and then you can let them go.

 

[RockAndSage]

I caved and ordered a set of these to go with my S2H scope. Having broken the seal, so to speak, I went ahead and got a set for my SWFA 3-9x and 6x.

I am curious to see what makes a set of these better than fifteen sets of the Butler Creek bikini types.

Night and day difference, it'll be instantly obvious just how different they are. The only drawback besides price is that they take a little time to break in for smooth opening and closing, which I think is covered above or in another thread.

On the personal experience side, I really dislike having an obscured scope, and have always tried to make the see-through caps work. To the point where I even priced out having a set of Leupold Aluminas machined out to have a lens inserted in them, back when I still had a few of those scopes. But Butler Creeks have largely been the only game in town besides cheap chinese ones off Amazon, which I've also used. The problem them is they just have a hard time enduring the field, the truck, the gun case, the pack-in, pack-out, etc. Butler Creek caps just never hold up for me more than a few months of actually doing stuff with them that involves being more than a half mile from the truck. They fall off, break, open up, get wonky, etc. I gave Tenebraex a try (which is its own choke-point of a price-point), and still not really happy. Water and dust still got in somehow. But even separating out the see-through vs obscured style of caps, they all still seem to have a hard time staying closed all the time.

To be fair, I haven't had a lot of time on the Scope Bumpers in the field yet, but they're a different animal than the others. Each is a one-off production from 3D printers, and they do take time to break in. But they're also substantial, and definitely 'feel' like they're meant to last. The assembly itself goes onto the scope tight (at least mine do), and the design also makes it pretty hard to have them accidently open in the field. Form's reviewed them on here somewhere, and he said his kept water out while hunting coastal Alaska and its rains, which is a pretty solid rainproofing situation. Not sure it's the same as driving torrents that suddenly hit in Virginia, but that was actually what sold me on first trying them, obscured view or not. I'm mostly concerned about the various types of problematic dust out here in NV, so if it keeps rain out it'll keep dust out, in theory. So far, so good.

 

[AlaskaRed]

I haven't seen the Vortex Defender scope caps mention much. Last year they survived 4 hunts without a hitch. I zip tied the rubber on and some electrical tape would work even better. I'm pretty sure there were 40-50$ for the set. My only problem with them is condensation on the eye piece during inclement weather. I'm not convinced yet scope bumpers fixes that issue either. Still the scope bumper is definitely more compelling than breaking butler creeks this winter. Broke some on my predator AR snowshoeing this winter. This was after miraculously finding it in the snow on my way back on the trail the year prior.

 

[svivian]

Im excited to try a set of these. Ive break a pair of butler creeks probably every year. Their customer service is junk to the point I quit trying and just buy another set. Based on that it makes the price of these sting less. A couple dollars for O rings and im set for a long time comparitively.

 

[WyldGoose]

Nine Banger’s style is much quicker than mine…either way it’s easy peasy japaneasy…

 

[AlaskaRed]

You had some good style too. Starting to like them more.

 

[low2497]

Nine Banger’s style is much quicker than mine…either way it’s easy peasy japaneasy…

What about that Sentinel harness? Looks like you modified a different harness to fit the pouch?

 

[Nine Banger]

Nine Banger’s style is much quicker than mine…either way it’s easy peasy japaneasy…

"It ran away"

Guess who taught me how to do it right?

 

[WyldGoose]

What about that Sentinel harness? Looks like you modified a different harness to fit the pouch?

It’s an fhf harness, much more comfortable.

"It ran away"

Guess who taught me how to do it right?

Guess I’ve got something new to practice…

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I got these in yesterday and put them on my SWFA 3-9x and 6x42.

Pros:
- They are not going to come off and get lost.
- As an individual set, they will almost certainly last longer than Butler Creek flip-up caps.
- I don’t think they are likely to fail within the first season of hunting. Past that, the elastic rubber bands are a weak point and that negates their entire value as a “you pay a high price, but the price of failure is higher.”
- More water proof than Trijicon-supplied see throughs (this issue on the Trijicon-supplied ones can be corrected with a piece of tape).
- Easier to open than Butler Creek bikini ones.

Cons:
- I rate them as unlikely to last longer than the equivalent cost in cheaper caps.
- Not as fast to get a shot through as the Trijicon-supplied see through ones.
- Not as fast to get a shot through as Butler Creek flip-ups (or similar spring-loaded caps).
- By design, not as tightly sealed as Butler Creek bikini covers.
- Not water tight when submerged (Butler Creek bikini cover totally sealed front lens, failed on rear lens).
- Makes an audible click when opened (as do most flip-up scope covers).

They may be a better choice than some other “expensive” options (e.g., Tenebraex), but compared with the Butler Creek bikini style ($10) or the Trijicon-supplied see through ones ($24) they are a complete and total waste of money.

A hunter could get better protection for his lenses with the Butler Creek bikini style covers at less than 1/10 the cost.

Edit - I don’t plan to return them because I have used them and I want to see how they hold up over time. I do believe they are probably better value than Tenebraex or similar “expensive” brands. I say that having only looked at - never used - the Tenebraex or similar. But if I was counting on my lenses being clear for “one shot on a BOAL”, I would not pick these over the budget options. I would simply bring an extra set or two of bikini covers and not care if I dropped them in the snow.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Water proofing test. Fitted scope bumpers and Butler Creek bikini style to identical SWFA 6x42 scopes.

Sealed each as well as possible. Note how short the coverage is on the rear for the Butler Creek bikini covers when compared with the front ones.

I filled a roasting pan with cold tap water. Then put the scopes in it. Then added water until it it completely covered the scope covers.

I literally poured an entire cap full of water out of the front and rear of the scope with the scope bumpers on it. They were each full of water.

The rear seal failed on the Butler Creek bikini covers. The front seal was perfect.

No water got into the front lens at all.

 

[Nine Banger]

Index the caps and push thru the training time.

I was whining about how slow they are compared to my aadlands but that's not a thing after being taught how to do it and a bunch of reps.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Index the caps and push thru the training time.

I was whining about how slow they are compared to my aadlands but that's not a thing after being taught how to do it and a bunch of reps.

I indexed the caps on my 3-9x and have been practicing with them. Still never going to be faster than see-through covers.

 

[Hondo64d]

Which of these fir the Shoot2Hunt scope?

John

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Which of these fir the Shoot2Hunt scope?

John

The ones for sale from S2H (also 20% off).

THE Scope Bumper - Shoot2Hunt

The Scope Bumper™ is a complete rethinking of what scope covers should be. Sure, it covers the lens, but it also solves two other problems...

www.shoot2hunt.com

Just select the set that say they are for the S2H scope.

 

[Nine Banger]

I indexed the caps on my 3-9x and have been practicing with them. Still never going to be faster than see-through covers.

Right, but those things are going to eff you when it's raining, no? That's why I use covers. Pulled up to shoot a target in the rain and no view.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Right, but those things are going to eff you when it's raining, no? That's why I use covers. Pulled up to shoot a target in the rain and no view.

How are the see-through covers going to ruin me when it’s raining? As long as they keep the water off the lens until I am ready to shoot, if they get water on them that is so bad I can’t use them at close range, I can wipe them off with gloves. I’ve never had the see-through ones get so bad from being wet that they can’t be used for a snap shot. To be clear, these are the ones to which I refer:

https://www.trijicon.com/products/details/tr128

Edit - the see-through ones do eventually fail if you take the off completely and put them in your pockets and they get sand, dust, or dirt on them. They scratch very easily and then get hard to see through.

 

[Valumpessa]

The rear seal failed on the Butler Creek bikini covers. The front seal was perfect.

Makes sense they would fail on the side with the indents. Good test and write up. I have 2 swfa 3-9's and considered giving these a try. Will stick with my BC bikinis.

 

[BAKPAKR]

How are the see-through covers going to ruin me when it’s raining? As long as they keep the water off the lens until I am ready to shoot, if they get water on them that is so bad I can’t use them at close range, I can wipe them off with gloves. I’ve never had the see-through ones get so bad from being wet that they can’t be used for a snap shot. To be clear, these are the ones to which I refer:

https://www.trijicon.com/products/details/tr128

Edit - the see-through ones do eventually fail if you take the off completely and put them in your pockets and they get sand, dust, or dirt on them. They scratch very easily and then get hard to see through.

Your post made me go look in a Trijicon 3-9 box since I put Butler Creek flip up covers on both of mine as soon as I got them. Turns out that I have two sets! I also found the 2.5-10 SWFA I was missing.

 

[Nine Banger]

How are the see-through covers going to ruin me when it’s raining? As long as they keep the water off the lens until I am ready to shoot, if they get water on them that is so bad I can’t use them at close range, I can wipe them off with gloves. I’ve never had the see-through ones get so bad from being wet that they can’t be used for a snap shot. To be clear, these are the ones to which I refer:

https://www.trijicon.com/products/details/tr128

Edit - the see-through ones do eventually fail if you take the off completely and put them in your pockets and they get sand, dust, or dirt on them. They scratch very easily and then get hard to see through.

I've missed a shot opportunity when it was pouring due to droplets in both ends. I got solid scope covers installed as soon as it was possible.