Scope carry?

[Newtosavage]

Who else here carries their hunting rifle by the scope? I have found that this is my preferred way to carry my hunting rifle. I do have lightweight paracord slings but I hardly ever use them.

One of the very few issues I have with my Tikka rifle is that there isn't enough room between the receiver and the scope for my fingers, so I can't carry that rifle by the scope. But my Howa Alpine has a more conventional open receiver, and with medium Talley rings, it carries like a dream.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

That is my typical way of carrying. I do have a few rifles it does not work well with, but the majority do.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[rodney482]

Thats a hard no!

 

[MidGAHunter]

Ah, no. I use a sling...

 

[11boo]

And another nope. Scopes and rings are pretty sturdy anymore, but I’m not going to make it a handle.

 

[Hmr]

Yet another absolutely not. A buddy of mine grabbed one of my rifles by the scope at the range one day, and I guarantee he won’t ever do that again to any of my rifles.
Definitely not a means of carry for me.

 

[manitou1]

Scopes are not as strong as some people imagine. Thin walled aliminum tubing with precision and delicate internal components does not make for a good handle to carry 8-12 lbs around with.

 

[cattleman99]

If my optic can't handle something like that, I need a tougher optic plain and simply. I do not want to worry about something being too fragile either in the field or in competition. Not saying I specifically carry my gear by the optic, but it happens and things hold up.

 

[rodney482]

If you must

 

[Reburn]

I sure do. I don't do it for extended distances but I do and will pick it up and set it down by the scope sometimes. If you need to handle your scope like an egg.........well lets just say I don't.

 

[rodney482]

FYI I also dont use the sight on my bow as a handle.

 

[Newtosavage]

Scopes are not as strong as some people imagine. Thin walled aliminum tubing with precision and delicate internal components does not make for a good handle to carry 8-12 lbs around with.

My rifle weighs 6 lbs 10 oz. If it weighed 12, I probably wouldn't be carrying it in my hands.

Been carrying my rifles by the scope for years and I've never had one lose zero.

 

[Newtosavage]

If my optic can't handle something like that, I need a tougher optic plain and simply. I do not want to worry about something being too fragile either in the field or in competition. Not saying I specifically carry my gear by the optic, but it happens and things hold up.

kinda what I was thinking

 

[Newtosavage]

FYI I also dont use the sight on my bow as a handle.

you need a tougher bow sight then. I could carry my 7 lb. target bow by it's Sure-Loc sight if I wanted to.

 

[Newtosavage]

Scopes are not as strong as some people imagine. Thin walled aliminum tubing with precision and delicate internal components does not make for a good handle to carry 8-12 lbs around with.

Have you seen the Leupold ad where they mount a scope to a jackhammer? Seriously. These are not delicate instruments, nor are they supposed to be.

 

[rodney482]

you need a tougher bow sight then. I could carry my 7 lb. target bow by it's Sure-Loc sight if I wanted to.

Just makes zero sense to me

 

[Newtosavage]

Just makes zero sense to me

Not sure why. Sure-loc's are built like tanks. Not that I do, but I could.

What are you concerned about by carrying a sub-7 lb. rifle by the scope? Exactly what do you think is going to go wrong? How are you applying more force than it already endures from hundreds of rounds of recoil? Have you ever seen what a bow sight goes through in slow motion?

 

[rodney482]

Why not carry the rifle by the stock or sling?

Not sure why. Sure-loc's are built like tanks. Not that I do, but I could.

What are you concerned about by carrying a sub-7 lb. rifle by the scope? Exactly what do you think is going to go wrong? How are you applying more force than it already endures from hundreds of rounds of recoil? Have you ever seen what a bow sight goes through in slow motion?

 

[Newtosavage]

Why not carry the rifle by the stock or sling?

Valid question. I prefer to have my rifle in my hands while I'm hunting, especially if there is any chance I'll walk up on something and don't have much time to shoot, or don't want to create a lot of movement to get my rifle in position. When I do carry it by the sling, it's in the muzzle-down LE carry we were taught, so the amount of movement is minimized. But I just prefer to carry it in my hands. That's why all my rifles weight less than 7 lbs.

 

[Newtosavage]

So Rodney, what is it you're concerned about by carrying a rifle by the scope? Do you not trust the scope, or the mounts?