Does scope weight make a difference

[45-70guy]

A $30,000 mountain goat hunt or a $30,000 Cape buffalo hunt is war.

Mountain goats have been taken with leupolds for decades. Not sure that’s war.
Cape buffalo maybe, though that’s not an average man’s hunt either.
For reference out of the 20 or so leupolds I have from vari-x to vx 5’s I’ve never had to send one back.
Swaro never had to send one back
Leica never sent one back

All ride on truck racks, quads, fallen over while taking a piss etc… still work.
That’s just for reference though not an end all be all.
Afgan war, well then eotech red dots aim point or a nightforce that’s about it.

 

[Ray B]

All of this causes me to wonder- How did those guys with iron sighted double rifles ever manage to survive?

 

[45-70guy]

All of this causes me to wonder- How did those guys with iron sighted double rifles ever manage to survive?

I remember a story in Elmer Keith’s book “Hell I was there” where they started using scopes and would say to be very careful. Taking care of it like a baby as to not knock it off zero. They still used them and still hunted without dying

 

[Ray B]

A $30,000 mountain goat hunt or a $30,000 Cape buffalo hunt is war.

So is a 385 day WestPac tour. In those days the "designated marksman" used M70 30-06s with Unertl exterior adjustments scopes, later replaced with M700 308s with Redfield 3-9 variables. The scopes met or exceeded expectations, but then some of our expectations were low. And then, some considered it to be merely a conflict, not meeting the definition of "war".

 

[45-70guy]

So is a 385 day WestPac tour. In those days the "designated marksman" used M70 30-06s with Unertl exterior adjustments scopes, later replaced with M700 308s with Redfield 3-9 variables. The scopes met or exceeded expectations, but then some of our expectations were low. And then, some considered it to be merely a conflict, not meeting the definition of "war".

And just so we are clear, all this hunting we do whether Cape buffalo or not, it’s for leisure. We are not forced to do this. We all love to geek out on gear and be prepared for the worst but it sometimes gets over hyped.
I’m not totally sure if I can accomplish this, but I’m sure if I wanted to break a scope and do my own “drop test” I could. Aka 10 pound sledge like we are pounding ground rods.

Except maybe the nightforce maybe not haha

 

[Rare Breed]

Recently carrying my rifle for long days I got to thinking about scope weight. The scope definitely places a weight on the rifle that makes it a bit more awkward to carry. I currently have a Kahles Helia 1-5x illuminated that is 16.76 oz. When I looked at comparable scope to try and reduce weight I found the Swarovski 1-6 illuminated is 16.4 oz and the Leica Fortis 1-6 is 19.2 oz (wow, really!)

I doubt that going to the Swarovski would make much of a change to the awkwardness the scope weight creates, but I wonder what difference people have found if they went to a lighter scope. Is half an oz worth the cost? To what degree does scope weight factor into your purchase decisions? Would you get the Leica despite its bulk?

It’s amazing how much easier it is to carry a rifle with no scope!

To me it is not about the weight as much as how it may affect the balance of the rifle between my hands and the ease of naturally bringing it up to my eye.

 

[45-70guy]

To me it is not about the weight as much as how it may affect the balance of the rifle between my hands and the ease of naturally bringing it up to my eye.

True. Where we hunt in the states it’s so thick and you’re stalking the deer, bear, or moose.
( unless baiting bear short season )
So a rifle in the hands is the fastest way normally a peep sighted lever action is fastest most balanced.
But a well balanced rifle with a balanced stock and barrel weight really can change how it feels. The weight will be noticed once doing long treks but not on small stalks

 

[ZG47]

To me it is not about the weight as much as how it may affect the balance of the rifle between my hands and the ease of naturally bringing it up to my eye.

Do not forget that: big scopes and bulky stocks act like sails, in a decent breeze. Competition shooters started using cast aluminium stocks, over forty (40) years ago, on their iron-sighted rifles, partly to minimise the ‘sail area’ issue. A big/heavy scope creates fore-aft balance issues with any stalking rifle and when combined with a lightweight—thermoplastic, composite or carbon fibre—stock, lateral balance issues.

 

[45-70guy]

When someone says “heavy” how heavy can your scope that you want and need actually weigh that matters?
Counting ounces is like counting calories, just use what you want and run it.
Currently been carrying one of my “heavier” rifles for the last 2 weeks because it’s the rifle I wanted to use for this trip, doesn’t slow me down and feels just fine.

In the end not a single person will care what the weight of your rifle or scope is except you. The trijicon is heavier than Leupold, if I had one I’d still use it because otherwise why would I have it. Beauty of America is we can build specific rifles for a specific task and have as many as we want

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Do not forget that: big scopes and bulky stocks act like sails, in a decent breeze. Competition shooters started using cast aluminium stocks, over forty (40) years ago, on their iron-sighted rifles, partly to minimise the ‘sail area’ issue. A big/heavy scope creates fore-aft balance issues with any stalking rifle and when combined with a lightweight—thermoplastic, composite or carbon fibre—stock, lateral balance issues.

Competition shooting is worlds different from stalking game. The sail effect of a scoped rifle for shooting a kudu in the boiler room at 200 yards is negligible compared to the sail effect of the hunter's body blowing in the wind. Someone shooting from a bench at paper and trying to put bullets on top of each other at 500 yards might find the minute differences in sail effect of a scope more noticable. But if it's a windy, sail effect of the scope would probably be the least of his worries.

People who stalk game with big/heavy scopes are probably shooting at animals out of range anyway. Their priorities are screwed up.

Something is amiss if a 1-6x scope weighs more than a pound. How much extra weight does illuminated reticle add? And those monster size turrets?

 

[Schüler Jumbo]

People who stalk game with big/heavy scopes are probably shooting at animals out of range anyway. Their priorities are screwed up.

A comment here regards countries that allow low light/night hunting big game. Scopes fit for that purpose are large objective bell heavy scopes.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

A comment here regards countries that allow low light/night hunting big game. Scopes fit for that purpose are large objective bell heavy scopes.

I may be wrong (imagine that!) but most night hunting doesn't involve "stalking"?

 

[ZG47]

Competition shooting is worlds different from stalking game. The sail effect of a scoped rifle for shooting a kudu in the boiler room at 200 yards is negligible compared to the sail effect of the hunter's body blowing in the wind. Someone shooting from a bench at paper and trying to put bullets on top of each other at 500 yards might find the minute differences in sail effect of a scope more noticable. But if it's a windy, sail effect of the scope would probably be the least of his worries.

People who stalk game with big/heavy scopes are probably shooting at animals out of range anyway. Their priorities are screwed up.

Something is amiss if a 1-6x scope weighs more than a pound. How much extra weight does illuminated reticle add? And those monster size turrets?

I was not, with all due respect, talking about shooting off picnic tables i.e., bench-rest shooting. That is not marksmanship, it is pure wind-reading, typically done at relatively short distances. Wind effect can be significant when shooting from a prone position, let alone sitting, kneeling or standing. We have real wind, over here in NZ!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I was not, with all due respect, talking about shooting off picnic tables i.e., bench-rest shooting. That is not marksmanship, it is pure wind-reading, typically done at relatively short distances. Wind effect can be significant when shooting from a prone position, let alone sitting, kneeling or standing. We have real wind, over here in NZ!

And we have real wind in Montana where I hunt deer. A few years ago it blew hard enough to lift my 19' tandem axel camper trailer up off of two wheels. I got out of bed and moved myself and three dogs to windward side of the camper. +100 mph for almost a half hour. I heard later empty grain cars were blown off the rails at a siding in Big Sandy about an hour away. Apparently it had happened before.

The point I was making is the shooter's body is the more significant sail. Perhaps less so in prone position. By comparison, the wind's effect on a scope must be relatively insignificant. It is an interesting proposition though. I now have quick detach rings on both my dangerous game and plains game rifles. It would be easy enough to test your hypothesis. Find a windy day and try sighting same with rifle scope on and scope off.

I find shooting from sitting position using a sling for support is about as stable as shooting from a "picnic table." I never employed it when stalking in big timber (shots were typically close and quick), but I have found it useful if not indispensable when hunting the plains in Montana and Africa. In Montana the country is too rugged and stalking too long to be dragging shooting sticks with me. I tried bipod for a while but found it's usually just added weight. Terrain and understory too often makes prone shooting impractical. Sitting position gets me up out of the grass and still very stable even in a hard wind. Also, I can readjust more quickly and less obtrusively than fiddling with shooting sticks or shifting my body flat on the ground.

 

[PARA45]

To me it is not about the weight as much as how it may affect the balance of the rifle between my hands and the ease of naturally bringing it up to my eye.

100% this! That is exactly what I was thinking.

Now, if you are alpine hunting for Sheep, Chamois, etc, then every ounce counts.