Dropped rifle and change in zero

[Metzger]

Well I was out this past week and I dropped my rifle on a rock from shoulder height. Rifle was wearing a Caldwell gun sock and uses picitinny rail beaded and torqued to 45in lbs, rings 35in lb and scope 20 in lb, not sure what hit first. The zero changed 3.5" heigh and 1" left so I re-zeroed. Done. Two days later my sling clamp broke and again landed on shell rock. Changed 1.5" low and .75" left. What are your thoughts?

 

[Buster Hemlock]

First stop dropping your rifle! I'm just busting your balls, it happens. As far as it shifting that much I'd be looking at the scope to see if the tube, objective was damaged/bent or if the reticle had been knocked loose. Take the scope off and shake it and see if anything is rattling around. Retorque everything while the scope is off. What type of scope?

 

[Metzger]

Leupold vx5hd

 

[P7M13]

Oops.
In the field, profanity....

Closely inspect all your mounts. If you see any signs of shifting on the rifle, remove and remount.
Inspect your rings. Remount, and remount the scope if evidence of shift shows.
Check crosshair level.
Do a tracking test. If it doesn't track, send the scope back to Leupold for repair.

 

[Buster Hemlock]

Also check the action screws and that the barrel didn't get knocked around and it's now potentially touching the stock and that the crown didn't get dinged up. Scope base screws or cap screws could have snapped, seen a lot of different things happen after a gun has been dropped that caused issues. The good news is all this stuff is pretty easy to check, if it's the scope then as already said it's going to have to go back to Leupold

 

[Pdvdh]

I wouldn't expect anything else. Virtually every time I've dropped or knocked one of my scoped rifles, they shift zero to some extent. I recheck zero even after seemingly mild jars to my rifles.

I've been through it probly 8 - 10 times. If you have only two incidents in your lifetime of shooting, you'll be doing great.

 

[WapitiBob]

Leupold vx5hd

My leupold moved 2 feet after riding on a quad, in a padded case. Moved again while shooting at the range.

send it back, then sell it

 

[BallisticsGuy]

Lots of variables and even when it's solid it's only going to be so solid.

My match rifles, I could drop from a tree stand and they won't lose zero by more than a click or two. Between opposing the rings (one pushed forward, 1 pushed backward), bedding the rail, proper torquing, locktite, the odd dab of fingernail polish, receiver bedding, lug bedding and using silly expensive scopes that are made to be strong enough to take a drop on the ground it just happens to be the case. I'd not checked my zero on my primary match rifle until last weekend, so it must have been at least 9 months to a year since I last did that. After half a dozen matches plus practice sessions and generally being tossed around the back of my car and my garage on alternating weeks the total drift was 2 clicks of elevation. All the scopes I have ever used that would perform like this are tactical scopes, mostly with military pedigrees or built to the same standard. For a consumer grade hunting scope, I simply would not expect it to hold zero after a significant impact.

 

[Mrkdiver]

Well I was out this past week and I dropped my rifle on a rock from shoulder height. Rifle was wearing a Caldwell gun sock and uses picitinny rail beaded and torqued to 45in lbs, rings 35in lb and scope 20 in lb, not sure what hit first. The zero changed 3.5" heigh and 1" left so I re-zeroed. Done. Two days later my sling clamp broke and again landed on shell rock. Changed 1.5" low and .75" left. What are your thoughts?

Stop dropping your rifle

 

[sfdoc2000]

I agree, check the rifle, bedding, mounts and lug. I would, however, bet on reticle shift which can happen with any scope after impact. After checking the rifle, rezero, shoot about 10 rounds with a gentle but firm shake of the rifle after each shot. If the POI changes, then the reticle is most likely loose.

 

[John Klingenberg]

Tighten up the nut behind the recoil pad, should fix everything. Just funnin ya

 

[Of001]

Oops.
In the field, profanity....

Closely inspect all your mounts. If you see any signs of shifting on the rifle, remove and remount.
Inspect your rings. Remount, and remount the scope if evidence of shift shows.
Check crosshair level.
Do a tracking test. If it doesn't track, send the scope back to Leupold for repair.

This guy!
Ive gone the same. Except involving a dog, a truck, and someone else's rifle.

Mess with the knobs. Track, zoom, do a big old mess around with it while looking through it. I had one track but the red would rotate while zooming and when in the last lower rotation of elevation l.

 

[jdyoung]

A check for the scope is to put it on full power, and hold a mirror to the forward objective. When you look through the scope, with mirror in place, you will see two reticles, one moveable when adjusting the turrets, the other stationary, reset the scope to center by adjusting the turrets until the moveable reticles align with the stationary reticles. Re-sight the rifle.
100 push-ups every time you drop your rifle.

 

[palerider3]

What base, what rings, what action, what stock, action bedded? It may be the scope, but it may be other things. If I had that happen I'd be hunting with another gun till I figured it out.