Bumpy Road and a Scope

J

Jeffreytooker

Guest
On the way to the range there is a section of country road. It is not rutted but it is a bit bumpy. I carry my scoped (36X) rifle in a plastic case with foam lining, this sits on top of 2" of foam pad. Is this enough or can more be done to protect the scope? The scope is T36 Weaver and says shock proof, but I figure less shock is better.

Jeffrey Tooker
 
Buy an air glide gun case. They can be found at Dick's sporting goods and some other stores. They do not put a strain on the scope and the rifle only rests on two contact points. Normal foam lined cases put stress on a scope and I've proved that to myself lately while traveling to more shoots. Point of Impact changes (especially while driving on rougher roads) was driving me crazy, even with a locked up scopes. It would normally take a couple of groups for my scopes to settle down. I put off getting the air glides but that was a mistake.

Hovis
 
HovisKM said:
Buy an air glide gun case. They can be found at Dick's sporting goods and some other stores. They do not put a strain on the scope and the rifle only rests on two contact points. Normal foam lined cases put stress on a scope and I've proved that to myself lately while traveling to more shoots. Point of Impact changes (especially while driving on rougher roads) was driving me crazy, even with a locked up scopes. It would normally take a couple of groups for my scopes to settle down. I put off getting the air glides but that was a mistake.

Hovis
Click to expand...

Hovis:

Is it this gun case?

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10774198

Jeffrey Tooker
 
I have seen the air glide type of gun case and it looks good to keep impacts from damaging the rifle, like in shipping, but I don't see how it would have a better effect on a scope than a regular foam cushioned hard side gun case.

If nothing about your vehicle is damaged or broken in the ride, I would think that your Weaver scope would fair just fine. We have all known good shooters who carry their target rifles in the back of pickups with regular hard side cases and can still be top contenders.

Concho Bill
 
The new guy is with Bill.
New to BR. Been on some rough roads. MI has some of the worst roads. Low bid gets the job. And MI has the highest weight limits for trucks.
Gotta haul that steel.
Everyone needs to buy a new car. Barry Obama says so. Gotta do. Barry also says Who wants to be car czar?
He needs to fix the roads first.
But, MI has some of the best shooters around. Or so I have been told....
I have seen one of those Air glides. Real nice. Buy extra foam.
Most guys buys hard side cases. Toss them in the truck. They bounce around.
If a scope can't handle a bumpy truck ride. It's Junk. The recoil is way more damaging than the roads.
Use proper torque on screws with loc-tite. All good. :)
 
Yes, that's the case. The biggest point I was trying to make was the stress applied to the scope by the foam lined case. It's a different stress than recoil. Do you carry your gun by the scope??? If that is bad, think of the pressure the case is putting on it. It's easy to prove to yourself. Go to the range, sight the rifle in, put the gun in a tight fitting case for an hour, then drive a half an hour on fair roads, then leave in in the case another half hour at the range, take it out and see where it impacts on the target. 8-9 times out of ten it will have moved. Now without doing anything, shoot a couple of more groups, you'll see the scope walk. I have had this happen with locked up scopes and normal scopes. Haven't you ever wondered why your gun doesn't impact close to the same point at every range session?

Hovis
 
Just google "Plano Air Glide Gun Case" and you will find a lot of places and a large spread in prices. I have had one for about 3 years. Paid $19 for it at a close out sale. Wish I had bought the other one they had too. They are the best for BR rifles.

Donald
 
Hovis you have good point.
With me some days, yes. Some days it's okay.
I would put it down to different conditions. Light, shade, clouds, Temp., Humidity, changed the barrel, .....
Some days I change the barrel. And it's all good. :)
Move to 100y. Same settings.
Move to 200y. Same Same.
Change back. Same Same......
Maybe, I hit those pot holes the same way each time. :eek:
 
Jeffery

Jeffreytooker said:
On the way to the range there is a section of country road. It is not rutted but it is a bit bumpy. I carry my scoped (36X) rifle in a plastic case with foam lining, this sits on top of 2" of foam pad. Is this enough or can more be done to protect the scope? The scope is T36 Weaver and says shock proof, but I figure less shock is better.

Jeffrey Tooker
Click to expand...


FYI, Scope Health

Another problem that will do more damage your scope than a bumpy road is
removing the barrel with the scope attached to the receiver.

Scopes are not designed to take lateral shocks.

Always remove your scope before you take your barrel off. Per Gene Bukys

Hope this helps....
 
Bumpy Roads and scopes

For guns in a foam lined case I have not thought of this as being an issue.

Hunting rifles in a rack, or with the barrel resting on the floor this is an issue.

I see many rifles with their scopes battered internally from riding in a window rack.

I also see many small scope base screws worked loose from heavy scope viberation due to truck rides.

I see muzzle crown damage due to truck floor contact.

Ammo is also damaged from bummpy roads and can become dangerous due to vibratory powder break down.

Nat Lambeth
 
Vibrating Ammo

A little vibration is not so bad but repeated and continuous vibration is another thing. I have heard of people leaving ammo on the dash or door pocket of a vehicle. Then months or years later shooting the ammo having it literally expload. Powder grains have a specific shape and thickness for burning speed control. If powder litterally becomes dust from vibration its burning charicterstics have changed.

Don't know what the militarey does.

Nat Lambeth
 
Military does nothing. For instance 5.56mm Nato is loaded in 20rd thin cardboard boxes, which are loaded in a ammo can, which are put in a wooden box. There is some cardboard in there. Ammo can be palletized and air dropped, ride around in trucks and containers. Once we were low on ammo and went to the ammo supply point. They popped open a container that had not been opened in a year or two and moved around quite a bit from point to point. Out rolled 60000 rds of loose 5.56 onto the ground. Actually used some of that ammo to qualify with...best I had shot with that rifle....

Hovis
 
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