Stupid to put a 24oz scope on a 5.5lb rifle?

[Gear-Reviewer]

I'm not disagreeing with you, but I am curious where you have come up with figures for failure rates to base your decision on. I have no way of knowing true failure rates for scopes, only failure rates of scopes that I have direct experience with.

I’ll send you a pm.

 

[22lr]

And I would not trust a Leupold for dialing except the Mark 5. I’m not a Leupold hater as I still run one and have ran many, but I don’t dial much with it. Not trying to start a pissing match but man sheep hunts are pretty special and I wouldn’t trust any scope with higher failure rates. Just my own opinion from stuff I’ve used/tested and learned.

I've been running my PST 1-4x for close to 10 years, my 6-24x for over 5 now. Now I'm not throwing 2k rounds downrange every year with em (minus the 22lrs... lol), but they have been pretty bomb proof for me.

But I don't think I've ever had a scope crap out on me, and I've ran some real cheap ones back in my younger days. I remember a Burris Whitetail Classic that I dropped off my bench and put a good size dent in the tube, still ran that joker for 3 years or so without ever losing zero. Granted I ran it on my HBAR, and HBARs are not exactly a heavy recoiling rifle. I know there are better scopes out there, but im in no rush to replace my PSTs.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Okay, so understanding that you don't want another UL wt. rifle, I guess my question would be, do you really want a heavier rifle? What type of hunting are you looking to do with this setup, and at what maximum distances do you think you'll be using it. I'm not at all a long range hunter, so I don't claim to know much about it, but I suppose that if you're looking at attempting 1k yard shots on big game, a heavier outfit with the typically heavier scopes, would be preferred. Most of my hunting is via backpack, and most of my shots tend to be around 200 yards, with the occasional 50 yard and 350 yard shots mixed in. That said, I would never even consider mounting 24 oz. of glass to my rifle because I can accomplish what I need with a much lighter scope. By way of comparison, the Kowa TSN-553 spotting scope only weighs 4 oz. more than the scope you're considering mounting on your rifle. Just saying.

 

[snowcamoman]

Start calling around and inquiring at places that sell scopes vs. manufacturers. You'll likely get the most optimistic and best looking stats if you go to manufacturers, so call places that don't necessarily have a vested interest in Brand X. Look at what people who do it for a living use and what people who put their lives on the line use. It's not too hard to get some empirical data and then start narrowing down choices.

 

[rustyN]

Start calling around and inquiring at places that sell scopes vs. manufacturers. You'll likely get the most optimistic and best looking stats if you go to manufacturers, so call places that don't necessarily have a vested interest in Brand X. Look at what people who do it for a living use and what people who put their lives on the line use. It's not too hard to get some empirical data and then start narrowing down choices.

This isn't a bad idea, as long as you talk to someone that knows what they are talking about.

 

[snowcamoman]

You'd definitely have to be able to filter quality responses and I'm sure the sellers don't deal with the actual warranty stuff, but I'm sure you'd get a sense for what scopes are consistent and reliable and what scopes customers bad mouth. A lifetime warranty means nothing if it fails and ruins the hunt of a lifetime. I warned someone about that a year ago and they got to taste the bitter pill of scope failure.

 

[Low_Sky]

Gonna need that story, bud.

The Vortex cliche. Sent one way over a legal ram’s back at a range I can hit. Sent the scope back to the mothership and it failed internal inspection on a couple different criteria. Got it back and moved it to a rifle that doesn’t get shot at game.


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[Fatcamp]

The Vortex cliche. Sent one way over a legal ram’s back at a range I can hit. Sent the scope back to the mothership and it failed internal inspection on a couple different criteria. Got it back and moved it to a rifle that doesn’t get shot at game.


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Ouch. That had to leave a mark.

 

[swampthing]

I put a big zeiss 6x24 on my 6.5-300 weebee ultralight. I wanted big glass for accurate shot placement. This scope is a bit overkill but I like the setup. I dont really do any backpacking anymore but I still do all day rocky mountain hikes and dont feel the extra weight of the big scope is a hindrance.

 

[22lr]

The Vortex cliche. Sent one way over a legal ram’s back at a range I can hit. Sent the scope back to the mothership and it failed internal inspection on a couple different criteria. Got it back and moved it to a rifle that doesn’t get shot at game.


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What happened to it? Get dropped or take a hit somehow?

 

[HuntnPack]

I put a 29 oz scope on a 6 lb rifle. I wanted the lighter weight rifle so i could put a heavier scope and still have a good weight rifle. My rifle seems pretty balanced to me. Like others said. Do what makes you happy and don't worry about what anyone else thinks or says. At the end of the day you are the one carrying your rifle and making that shot on an animal.

I did this also. Went with a 5.5# Element, that’ll allow me to use a 28oz. NF scope that fits my requirements. 7.8# ready to hunt.

 

[Low_Sky]

What happened to it? Get dropped or take a hit somehow?

It got flown into the mountains in a plane and hunted with. No major oopsies.


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[22lr]

It got flown into the mountains in a plane and hunted with. No major oopsies.


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Very wierd. Did Vortex give any kind of opinion on what they thought was wrong with it? Im just curious, and semi-hijacking the thread at this point...

 

[HuntHarder]

Very wierd. Did Vortex give any kind of opinion on what they thought was wrong with it? Im just curious, and semi-hijacking the thread at this point...

It's a Vortex, nothing out of the ordinary. They are so cheaply made that they can afford to constantly replace them under warranty. This guy's issue is not isolated, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when it will fail.

 

[16Bore]

$299 SWFA slaps a lot of other scopes silly....

 

[16Bore]

Not to mention they ALMOST had something with the UL 2.5x10

 

[Trigger06]

I went with a heavy scope (4.5-18 LRHS) on a lightweight rifle (Kimber Montana). I wanted a reliable dialing scope but wanted to keep the package under 8 lbs. Very happy with that combo.

 

[Low_Sky]

Very wierd. Did Vortex give any kind of opinion on what they thought was wrong with it? Im just curious, and semi-hijacking the thread at this point...

They do send back a report unlike some other companies’ “here, it’s fixed”. Not really relevant to the discussion here.


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