Scope carry?

[manitou1]

I am a career machinist/metal guy for Dept of Defense. You really overestimate aluminum tubing. Also, SOME scopes have two piece tubes with the juncture at the turrets. Carry your rifle by the scope if you wish... nobody is telling you not to. I prefer not to risk being 1200 mes from home, 3 miles from the truck and then find out I bent my scope tube.

 

[Mike Islander]

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.

Mine is 5.2 pounds and I definitely scope carry when it suits me. My other rifle is almost 8 pounds and I do the same thing. Neither have lost zero or been damaged, but I've only been doing it for 42 years.

 

[Newtosavage]

I am a career machinist/metal guy for Dept of Defense. You really overestimate aluminum tubing. Also, SOME scopes have two piece tubes with the juncture at the turrets. Carry your rifle by the scope if you wish... nobody is telling you not to. I prefer not to risk being 1200 mes from home, 3 miles from the truck and then find out I bent my scope tube.

So you've run strain tests on 1" tubing like they use in Leupold scopes? How much strain is required to deform the tube across a 6" span? I would think more than the four screws holding my Talley rings on could take. I would bet it takes hundreds of pounds of force to bend a 1" aluminum tube that is supported in a 6" span.

Again, I ask, what exactly are folks concerned about - the scope, or the mounts?

I had no idea this would be such a controversial subject.

 

[cattleman99]

I lift my 20+ pound match rifle by the optic from time to time. Once again, if the scope can’t handle it I need a different scope.

 

[5MilesBack]

I've always thought that babies should be born with a handle on their back.

 

[WCB]

Absolutely not. I've worked extensively with optics and unless the scope is really cheap I doubt you could damage a scope just by carrying it as the OP mentions, unless your gun is extremely heavy and scope is real cheap. However, actually does not take a lot of force to bend or deform tubes. You can do it just buy tightening the screws too tight on the rings or having poor alignment on the rings/mounts. And for the fact that they are not intended or designed to be a handle.

But, my scopes are never mounted high enough to get fingers under the tube #1 and #2 that is why they make slings. You are not going to be any faster carrying the gun as described vs. having it on your shoulder. Also, I if I stop to glass something I have both hands free. If I fall I have both hands free. Not saying I don't ever carry my rifle with my hand under the action on the bottom side of the stock for short distanced but it is definitely not my primary carry option.

I just don't get who does not have a sling on a firearm. I see it all the time on shows guys trying to navigate terrain with a rifle in their hand.

 

[MuleyFever]

I don’t have a sling on my rifle. I carry it in my gun bearer. No need for a sling. I move the rifle around by the scope sometimes but don’t carry it around that way.

 

[Stalker69]

No way I would even pick up my gun by the scope, let alone carry it. I pick them up by the stock. Most of my guns don’t have slings and are on the heavy side, but never ever by the scope, makes me cringe just thinking about it.

 

[mt100gr.]

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.

I'm curious if that jackhammer held its zero? Some pretty cutesy "look how rugged" we are BS, in my opinion.

I don't carry any of my rifles by the scope. Just doesn't seem like a good handle to me. Regardless of rifle weight, having that all "hanging" from a thin walled tube just isn't a good idea in my mind. There are all varieties of force being transferred into the scope, mounts, bedding and action - not just vertical pull.

 

[Newtosavage]

Absolutely not. I've worked extensively with optics and unless the scope is really cheap I doubt you could damage a scope just by carrying it as the OP mentions, unless your gun is extremely heavy and scope is real cheap. However, actually does not take a lot of force to bend or deform tubes. You can do it just buy tightening the screws too tight on the rings or having poor alignment on the rings/mounts. And for the fact that they are not intended or designed to be a handle.

But, my scopes are never mounted high enough to get fingers under the tube #1 and #2 that is why they make slings. You are not going to be any faster carrying the gun as described vs. having it on your shoulder. Also, I if I stop to glass something I have both hands free. If I fall I have both hands free. Not saying I don't ever carry my rifle with my hand under the action on the bottom side of the stock for short distanced but it is definitely not my primary carry option.

I just don't get who does not have a sling on a firearm. I see it all the time on shows guys trying to navigate terrain with a rifle in their hand.

To each their own. I feel more well balanced with my rifle in my hand than slung over my shoulder. And I'm not buying the "I can get it off my shoulder as fast as you can from the hand" argument. Sorry. Been there, done that. In E. Texas, you might get 3 seconds to get off a shot at a deer that is about to bolt. I don't need to spend those three seconds getting my rifle off my shoulder, not to mention all the extra movement associated with that.

BTW, all my rifles have slings on them. Paracord slings that weigh an ounce or two, but they are there if I really need them. Honestly, I use my sling around camp or when I'm around people, because it puts them at ease when I sling my rifle.

As for glassing, have you ever tried cradling your rifle in your forearm and using the recoil pad to stabilize your binoculars? Works great. It's like having image stabilization built in to your bins. Try it sometime.

 

[Newtosavage]

I think I may have hit on a sensitive topic for some folks. At least, I can't believe how fragile some people think their optics system is. If I thought my optics were that fragile, I'd only use iron sights. LOL.

mt100gr. - do you think this is video is BS?

And what do you think happens to a scope mounted to a .300 Win Mag when you pull the trigger?

 

[Jimss]

Heck no! Do you do any spot and stalk hunting? Do you lay your rifle down every time you view through your binos? I'm constantly glassing with binos while hiking....impossible to do without setting your rifle down if carrying your rifle in your hands.

 

[Newtosavage]

Heck no! Do you do any spot and stalk hunting? Do you lay your rifle down every time you view through your binos? I'm constantly glassing with binos while hiking....impossible to do without setting your rifle down if carrying your rifle.

Wha??? I never set my rifle down when I'm glassing during my spot and stalk or still-hunts. I would consider it a disadvantage to not have the stock of my rifle to steady my binoculars. Maybe I need to post how to do this. I've done it for years and it's a no-brainer way to a much steadier image.

 

[Jimss]

If I understand correctly, you carry your rifle and handhold your rifle plus binos when glassing? I understand how this may be possible while sitting but what about when standing? I spend a lot of time while still hunting glassing while standing....I'm curious how you do this?

 

[Newtosavage]

If I understand correctly, you carry your rifle and handhold your rifle plus binos when glassing? I understand how this may be possible while sitting but what about when standing? I spend a lot of time while still hunting glassing while standing....I'm curious how you do this?

Yes, that is correct. I generally carry my rifle by the scope, but to glass, I just cradle my rifle in my left arm, the way you would a field shotgun, with the forearm laying in my elbow and gripping it around the pistol grip area of the stock. Then I tilt the rifle butt up and rest my bins on the recoil pad. That way, I have the entire rifle to stabilize my binoculars. It is a very smooth and quick motion and makes a huge difference in holding my binoculars steady. Try it sometime.

 

[Newtosavage]

It's the "cradle carry" position seen in the images below. Just tilt the barrel down and rest the bins on the recoil pad. Instant image stabilization.

https://www.hunter-ed.com/washington/studyGuide/Firearm-Carrying-Positions/20105001_700046718/

 

[ChrisAU]

Shoulder your rifle (this is for right handed people). See where your left hand is? Now lower the rifle without moving your left hand's position on the stock. You'll wind up holding it by the stock with the scope upside down. You can bring it your shoulder quickly and there is no movement required for your left hand. No juggling act to get in a firing position. I don't care how tough scopes are supposed to be, I'm going to go with the least possible chance of error. And I don't treat mine like an egg. I frequently bang my rifle around in thick brush, think about holding a rifle by the scope and banging the stock and/or barrel on trees...I shudder at the thought.

 

[SconnyHunter1487]

I think I may have hit on a sensitive topic for some folks. At least, I can't believe how fragile some people think their optics system is. If I thought my optics were that fragile, I'd only use iron sights. LOL.

mt100gr. - do you think this is video is BS?

And what do you think happens to a scope mounted to a .300 Win Mag when you pull the trigger?

Not going to lie, that was pretty bad ass. Just don't know why you would do it... I'm with the OP that my optics should be able to handle some pounding, but that also doesn't mean I am going to intentionally beat on them. Still going to try and baby them, but I like all my stuff to stay in pristine condition (although that never seems to happen). That's just my OCD kicking in though...

 

[ChrisAU]

IMO its not about the strength of the scope, its about moving the scope position relative to the rifle. I could carry a rifle by a solid bar of steel in some scope rings and make it move. In no way shape or form is your scope mechanically attached to your rifle, it is clamped and being held by friction and friction only. 4 tiny little 6-32 or 8-40 screws from your bases to your rifle and 4-8 of the same holding your rings together don't inspire any sort of physical confidence as a Nightforce scope does. Shoot some of those screws with a shotgun...

 

[Newtosavage]

Shoulder your rifle (this is for right handed people). See where your left hand is? Now lower the rifle without moving your left hand's position on the stock. You'll wind up holding it by the stock with the scope upside down. You can bring it your shoulder quickly and there is no movement required for your left hand. No juggling act to get in a firing position. I don't care how tough scopes are supposed to be, I'm going to go with the least possible chance of error. And I don't treat mine like an egg. I frequently bang my rifle around in thick brush, think about holding a rifle by the scope and banging the stock and/or barrel on trees...I shudder at the thought.

This is the sling position taught to us in LE training for our shotguns. I'm so used to it now that slinging my rifle barrel up seems weird to me. It is by far the fastest way to get a slung rifle or shotgun into shooting position, and as you say, your support hand never leaves the stock so you can maintain good control the whole way.

Still not faster than when I am carrying my rifle by the scope though.

I'm thinking some of you guys don't hunt through thick brush very often? A slung rifle in thick brush is a major PITA.