Have you ever had a rifle or scope fail on a big game hunt ?

[dgr416]

I had this happen a few times and suprise suprise both rifles were control feed rifles .My model 70 control feed stainless model 70 totally messed up on a deer hunt then in alaska on a hunt .It jamned i got winchester just to send a ton of parts and fixed it myself .My model 77 stainles control feed mark II also locked uo and the bolt wouldnt go forward after you opened it .I never figured that one out i just tricked the bolt into feeding a round and shot a deer then it did the same thing .I am glad it was not when grizzlies were charging .I also had a rem 700 jam but it was a weak magazine spring on my 416 rem mag .A weatherby spring fixed that .

 

[Joefrazell]

Seems more common with crf

 

[dennisinaz]

I've had several scopes quit on me while hunting. I was hunting with a buddy and his Browning A- bolt wouldn't cock after being exposed to a little dust from a dirt road. The A- bolt trigger is not very reliable. I see them fail all the time in Alaska but none of them are guys I hunt with.

 

[comfisherman]

Have had an accu trigger die on a very remote alaska hunt, and mid tier vortex scope die day before we left with the boat and a half dozen guys on a weeks long trip down the Eastside of kodiak, across to the peninsula then back up the west side.... the warranty one died on the way to the range. The second warranty scope died on the first outing after grouse near the tangles... the third warranty one was used as a safe door handle for several years and now is functioning well on a range 22....

Some stuff breaks, I've killed a lot of things. Feel like I'm pretty forgiving on most things.... but still replaced my accutriggers and haven't bought another vortex.

 

[Elk Fire]

No. I would be super upset if it ever did.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I've had a few. Leupold Vari X III 3.5-10 fogged up internally and wouldn't clear up, had to use a back up rifle with exact same scope, no issues.
Had my REM 700 KS 416RM break the pin that holds the assembly to the cocking piece to the firing pin, they were detached…
Had the sear in my very custom Win Model 70 375 Weatherby fall into its recess because the spring had deformed from driving over rough tracks for days. Took a shot, hit the Buff and then the rifle failed to cock until the sear pin was removed and everything set back in correctly. Never happened again.
My semi-auto 22 went full auto with what was left in the 15 round mag until empty…afterwards, it never fired again, the sear was worn smooth and rounded. Never bought another Chinese rifle again.

Cheers.

 

[alcesgigas]

Never on my M70s' or Sako. Surely did on my annual month-long moose hunt (kill or not I start end August & don't return home until first week of October, home being five miles away) with a Leupold VXIII 2.5-8. Very surprising as this rifle with this scope attached has been in bloody water more than once in the bottom of a canoe; here it was the predictable "monsoons" of September that fogged the scope. I had my pre-war M70 with a Leupold (new in '85) VXIII 1.5-5 chomping at the tent flaps raring to go, so... There's more to this story, but a novel I'm not writing.

 

[cornstalker]

I had a Kahles Helia CL fail during the pre-hunt zero the day before the elk opener. The whole eyepiece came loose internally and when you moved it you could see the crosshairs shift.
I had a Burris 3-9 compact fog internally at the end of a hunt.
Both were fixed under warranty.

 

[Greyfox]

Haven't had a rifle or scope failure in 50+ years of hunting(KNOCK WOOD!!!)
I have shot various forms of rifle competition for about the same length of time. The combination of my own experience as well as observing other shooters gives a good sense of the "watch-outs", avoidances, and preventive maintenance aspects with certain designs and products….And applied them to my hunting rifles. Some have been addressed/changed over time by the manufactures, others have not, and are inherent.
Surely don't want to knock any design or manufacturer…Some of the things that come to mind:
-Beware of "used: scopes, and scopes that have lower competitive price points , "and a reputation for superb, fast-turnaround service".
-Routinely check the magazine/follower spring tension and proper placement on push-feed bolt action designs, particularly with heavier weight cartridges. If the spring tension is off, it will cause a feeding/timing issue. If all else seems fine, try a new spring…Also, check the tension "under firing" of the floor plate latch(if present).
-If a Savage AccuTrigger is set too lightly, or the improper spring is used(target vs standard) the spring can dis-lodge during use and render the trigger in-operable. The same goes for "lightly adjusted" original design Model 70 triggers. Either design, when properly set up have been quite reliable for me. .
-Mentioned by MagnumMania….The pin that attaches the bolt head to the firing pin on the Remington 700/clones is prone to breakage, particularly with high volume use, heavy recoiling cartridges, or high volume dry firing. I have experienced this myself and observed it with other shooters quite a few times(during competition). It might look OK by simply observing the cocking/firing pin assembly, but the pin can be "cracked" while in the assembled state…but rendering the bolt inoperable. It's easy to check/inspect, and the pin can be easily replaced for a few dollars. I keep a couple on hand for my high volume rifles and change them every thousand rounds or so. Shown new and damaged pins. Diagram #17.

 

[lancetkenyon]

My cousin has had two issues.
R700 broken extractor. I swapped bolts with him from my spare rifle. Changed it when we got back.
Second was a Ruger M77 FTF. The Ruger was due to a dirty, oily bolt in single digit temps. I told him to clean it and not put any oil in it, but he didn't. Come the moment of truth on the last day on a small bull...clunk. I did not fire amd the bull ran off. About 20 minutes later, I saw two more small spikes, grabbed my rifle for him, and BAM. His first elk ever hit the ground.

I had one. I took a hard fall right onto my rifle and scope. The scope took the brunt of it on a wet log. Swapped to my spare rifle for the rest of the hunt. It was a Vortex. Warranty fixed it.

 

[crazymonkey]

Other than self inflicted dumb moves . No issues with rifles or scopes . The dumb was with my muzzleloader as I pulled the primer out and was heading back to camp for lunch and came across two cow elk at 40 yds . They just stood there as I went by . I then couldn't find the primers .I always bring a spare gun dialed in just incase something does fail.

 

[FireFlyFishing]

No, knock on wood. However, I'm constantly shooting my hunting rigs ensuring proper operation. I always bring more than one rifle for a hunt. Two is one, one is none…so they say.

 

[RH300UM]

I had a Nightforce NXS fail on a Wyoming backcountry hunt. Failure was a major point of impact shift with temperatures changing throughout the day. Missed a BIG muley buck at first light due to this issue. Got back home and sent the scope to them. They found that the bonding agent used to hold the lens in place had a void in it. This caused the problem. Got the scope back and it has had no issues since.
I've had 2 jewel triggers fail. 1 was broken( pieces falling out) after a shot at a bull elk. Jewel refused to fix or replace it. Got the bull with that shot so lucky there.
Second one was at a match and it stopped functioning ( would not allow me to pull) and lost my place in the match.

I still use Nightforce scopes. Almost exclusively (6) and have no issues.
No more jewel triggers for me anymore.

 

[Horse1]

I watched my dad get out of the vehicle to begin a stalk, slip on the rain/ice mix on the gravel road and break the stock on his M70 Fwt right through the wrist. Slip,,,,,,matchsticks.

I got to camp on my only guided hunt, double checked zero on both rifles, all good. Went to load my primary and I'd loaded the ammo too long for the magazine somehow. Still not sure how that happened. Just swapped to the backup that was just as capable and hunted without further issue.

Now I pull the firing pin and cycle rounds prior to leaving for a hunt.