Scope field evaluations on rokslide

[Phil Rizzo]

Think your height and weight may have something to do with stability?

 

[Mark37082]

I trust the feedback of those that venture often to rough back country when putting in the time and $$$ on hunts. A scope failure when doing a day hunt near home is completely different. A bad fall or drop in the latter situation means either checking zero or going back to the house to have a cold one. I've been lucky on most of my scopes, but would not pick any of them on high dollar once in a lifetime hunt. I would deal with the weight penalty to reduce chances of failure.

 

[Small Lady]

Think your height and weight may have something to do with stability?

Could be, I don't tend to just fall down doing regular things like walking. In winter I love to run on slippery downhills, and then do what I call 'boot skiing '.
I don't drink alcohol much, and believe that helps. Had 1 beer so far in 2023, and also don't use drugs. Worked in Emerg frequently for years. Saw a lot of slip and falls by people who had been drinking, or using drugs.
Then we had trampoline users. Considering how few people own a trampoline, they sure caused a lot of Emerg visits. But nothing can beat out alcohol impairment, for falls coming into Emerg. Mix stairs and alcohol together, that is a bad combination.

 

[Catskills]

I've had good luck with scopes holding zero year after year, particularly with older vari-X-IIIs and Monarchs. 2 of 5 Swarovskis have held zero, as have 3 Zeiss. Although they've not seen enough years to prove themselves, several Tract Torics and a LRHSi have also been stellar in holding zero and dialing. Because I do a lot of shooting/load development, I would immediately notice a change in point of impact.

I have several SWFA scopes that track/hold zero, but I can't get used to the step down in glass quality….even the HD variety. I'll probably sell them to fund new purchases

What Form's testing has done is make me rethink future purchases…. For everyday use where and how I hunt, I'm not convinced being able to withstand a 36" drop test is truly required. My instate hunting is just outside the front door. For my annual western hunts, I always have at least one back up rifle ready to go in camp, or in a hard case in the truck/sxs. If I take a fall, another rifle will be used until I can check zero….because peace of mind matters a lot.

If was still capable hunting deep in the back country, I'm certain Form's tests would have me packing a NF around…again for the peace of mind. Similarly, if I had the ability to practice a ranges longer than the 360yds available on my place, I'm certain I'd pay more attention to scopes that track perfectly at a 1000yds or more. As it stands, I'm completely comfortable using my equipment to <550yds using the reticle or old fashioned hold over.

I do appreciate Form's evaluations and look at them every few weeks. He and many on this and other forums are extraordinary in their willingness to share knowledge.

 

[Mike D Texas]

The March seemed VERY well built. And his tests of it look promising so far. The initial shifting of the scope during zeroing was probably due to those ****** ARC rings. Hate those **** things lol.

I never touched my zero through the entire 3 months season, and that thing took a lot of abuse and never budged. So I'm assuming it'll pass the remainder of the tests also.

I'm not sure we can be friends anymore if you're gonna talk **** about ARC rings. I LOVE them.

Seriously what is it about them that you don't like?

 

[Mike D Texas]

I have at least one scope that failed his tests that has never lost zero through hundreds of shots tracking from 100 yards to 1000 yards. It also recently rode between the seat and console of a Tacoma on 2 track roads for 2 days in Wyoming. Still zero'ed.

I put less emphasis on his drop tests due to my typical style of hunting but I do take note of his tracking and RTZ testing.

 

[Quicksilver338]

I have at least one scope that failed his tests that has never lost zero through hundreds of shots tracking from 100 yards to 1000 yards. It also recently rode between the seat and console of a Tacoma on 2 track roads for 2 days in Wyoming. Still zero'ed.

I put less emphasis on his drop tests due to my typical style of hunting but I do take note of his tracking and RTZ testing.

Well what scope is it?!

 

[Phil Rizzo]

You can tell us Mike.
We all had 3x9 redfield widefields at one time before gold rings

 

[L2land]

That scope test is enlightening.
No reason to change from my NX8-Atacr lineup.
What am I supposed to do with these substandard SB's?

Let me know when you get tired of shuffling those substandard S&B scopes around in your safe. Not good for much clearly but I'd be willing to help find them a new home. Display pieces really…

 

[Phil Rizzo]

Just put my name on one yesterday.
Dont worry Spence it's still coming.

 

[Darryle]

I feel motivated. I think this thing is so tough I can drag it on a string behind my electric bicycle.

I have knobs on my knobs and who doesn't love liberty!

I am gonna show that Ukrainian

 

[Southern 62]

Hate to admit it but just yesterday evening going to my stand in my golf cart my rifle slid off as I was turning around. VX6HD. Didn't see anything thank goodness. Checked zero today and it was almost 7 inches high. Clover leaf 3 shots but high!!! Rezeroed and shot 3 shot groups at 150, 200, and 250. All good. Dialed back to 100 and dead on. Windage never changed. Had a Nightforce one time but just hated the retical. Way to busy for me but this definitely got thinking NF or Trig

 

[js216]

My hunting partner and a few others coyote hunt a lot, and it seems stuff happens every year, I have a buddy who has multiple times opened the door and his rifle shifted during the ride and fallen against the door, when he opens the door, the gun falls out into a steep ditch and has landed on the scope multiple times, one time it fell 4 feet on a frozen clump of ****, and it has never lost zero(nf nxs), before that he had lower end zeiss scopes and when his rifle tipped over on his bipod on to frozen ground they lost zero every single time, he could stand to be a little more careful, but his nf just keeps on taking the abuse and holding zero just like the nf in the rokslide tests.

 

[Joe-boy]

I followed that and I'm glad I did . Theres a episode of Fresh Tracks where the guy Erik was Elk hunting and dropped his rifle and it lost zero . He hit it on his first shot but way back . Then when he was moving to get a better angle he dropped the rifle , then proceeded to miss it completely till he was out of bullets . Had to go get Randy's gun and find the bull again to finish it off . It was a high end Leopold , the very one I was thinking of buying .
I went with Trijicon , then NF SHV , I like both of then , but the Trijicon Accupoint has the green dot , it seems to be a little better to get on target , but it might just be me .
But think about it , it's standard procedure to re-zero your gun before every hunt , why is that ?

Standard procedure for whom? I don't really do super long range stuff but require adequate accuracy and I haven't changed my zero for years. It's a Zeiss Diavari with Optilocks on a Tikka mount. Although I have to admit that if I'd travel long distances to hunt and have the rifle thrashed around, I'd prefer to check the zero. However, I hunt 15 min from my home so I go for a hunt dozens of times a year so it's a bit different for me.

I'd say that if you zero your rifle one day and on the next range trip you need to change the zero slightly (<0.3 mrad), it's not about the scope not holding its zero. It's about the temperature, humidity, barrel fouling, the hold of the gun, powder temp, position of the saturnus etc if you're using a decent quality scope.