Scope tricks

[stoneam2006]

Anyone have some good scope tricks for hunting in rain. Products? Anything I hunted all day yesterday with my cva with Konus scope on it and had a terrible time trying to keep it so I could see thru it...luckily (unfortunately) I never had to when it counted but made me wonder what I can do to help my scoped firearms in the rain.

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[turkeyfeathers]

Camo  umbrella overhead helps. I have a Bushnell 3200 Elite that has rainguard  that was fine yesterday. Other scoped guns I have I tuck under my muff for my hands. Keeps the scope dry and clear and I'm not going to drop it as I'm indirectly holding onto it. What about those flip up scope covers.?Have them on a .22 and they flip up very quick and easy.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I use a sunshade on my scope along with a flip cap.

[philoshop]

Flip-up caps, and keeping the glass clean will help prevent that foggy condensation that can happen when there's a temperature difference between the air and the snow/rain.

[stoneam2006]

Camo umbrella overhead helps. I have a Bushnell 3200 Elite that has rainguard that was fine yesterday. Other scoped guns I have I tuck under my muff for my hands. Keeps the scope dry and clear and I'm not going to drop it as I'm indirectly holding onto it. What about those flip up scope covers.?Have them on a .22 and they flip up very quick and easy.

I only still hunt during gun season so no umbrella for me....did just get old man one tho

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[stoneam2006]

Flip-up caps, and keeping the glass clean will help prevent that foggy condensation that can happen when there's a temperature difference between the air and the snow/rain.

Yea that's what is was....no nessasarily the water on it but the "fog" on them made it really hard to see especially zoomed in any. Will the flip up caps help that. And do you guys run see thru flip ups?

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[chrisw]

Scope caps and some versions of the anti-fog spray/material. I've used "scope dope" and "cat crap (made by arctic cat)" before but any fog eliminator should help.

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[philoshop]

Yea that's what is was....no nessasarily the water on it but the "fog" on them made it really hard to see especially zoomed in any. Will the flip up caps help that. And do you guys run see thru flip ups?

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Hopefully it's not fog on the inside of the tube. That would mean your scope is toast.

Assuming the 'fog' is on the outside of the lens: The most important thing is keeping the glass absolutely clean. Clean glass will bead up and shed moisture very quickly, but the tiniest bit of dust or other contaminants will hold it in place and give you a 'foggy' or distorted view. And learn how to properly clean your glass. Plenty of youtube videos will show you how to do it right, and it doesn't cost very much.

The other thing is: Keep the glass at working temperature. If you can safely keep it outside over night in an unheated shed or garage, that's good. Don't set it on the front seat of your truck with the heat blasting, etc, etc. Condensation happens mostly when going from cold to warm, but with a rain/snow mix it can get weird.

 

I can be a little extreme about taking care of the optics, but I have a lot invested in riflescopes, camera lenses and telescopes. That $200 gun in my rack might not get as much TLC as it deserves, but the $800 scope on it is something I'll never ignore.

[stoneam2006]

Hopefully it's not fog on the inside of the tube. That would mean your scope is toast.

Assuming the 'fog' is on the outside of the lens: The most important thing is keeping the glass absolutely clean. Clean glass will bead up and shed moisture very quickly, but the tiniest bit of dust or other contaminants will hold it in place and give you a 'foggy' or distorted view. And learn how to properly clean your glass. Plenty of youtube videos will show you how to do it right, and it doesn't cost very much.

The other thing is: Keep the glass at working temperature. If you can safely keep it outside over night in an unheated shed or garage, that's good. Don't set it on the front seat of your truck with the heat blasting, etc, etc. Condensation happens mostly when going from cold to warm, but with a rain/snow mix it can get weird.

I can be a little extreme about taking care of the optics, but I have a lot invested in riflescopes, camera lenses and telescopes. That $200 gun in my rack might not get as much TLC as it deserves, but the $800 scope on it is something I'll never ignore.

Idk if on inside or outside brand new Gun last season scope same time package at cabelas... cleared up for afternoon hunt after rain stopped. If on inside what's that mean? Should be under warranty something that may be covered?

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[ants]

Anti fog and scope caps on most of my stuff. But one of my rifles has the scope mounted too low to the barrel, for scope caps to work. When I hunt with it in the snow or rain,  I use the zip off hood of one of my water proof hunting coats, to cover the scope, while on watch. It works better than caps..LOL!!

[philoshop]

Idk if on inside or outside brand new Gun last season scope same time package at cabelas... cleared up for afternoon hunt after rain stopped. If on inside what's that mean? Should be under warranty something that may be covered?

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If the moisture is on the inside it won't ever go away. I don't think that's your problem.

 

Butler Creek flip-caps will keep the snow and direct rain away from the lenses. Learn how to keep the glass really clean.

Broken record here, I know. But it's important.

 

You might want to get see-through scope rings if you do a lot of hunting in adverse conditions. They're almost mandatory when hunting bears on Kodiak Island in Alaska, where a murky/foggy scope could kill you.

[stoneam2006]

If the moisture is on the inside it won't ever go away. I don't think that's your problem.

Butler Creek flip-caps will keep the snow and direct rain away from the lenses. Learn how to keep the glass really clean.

Broken record here, I know. But it's important.

You might want to get see-through scope rings if you do a lot of hunting in adverse conditions. They're almost mandatory when hunting bears on Kodiak Island in Alaska, where a murky/foggy scope could kill you.

I was debating see thru rings actually gun came with the irons but not installed so will have to install them holes are there....may have to be part of the fix as well

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[Lawdwaz]

Man, this is a winner!

 

If your scope isn't a POS Butler Creek scope caps should solve the problem.  I'm not sure but I think I've been using them for 35 years.

 

My Leupold scopes have never fogged on me but I guess that is just luck?  Not..................

 

See thru rings are not the answer to ANY problem.

[stoneam2006]

Man, this is a winner!

If your scope isn't a POS Butler Creek scope caps should solve the problem. I'm not sure but I think I've been using them for 35 years.

My Leupold scopes have never fogged on me but I guess that is just luck? Not..................

See thru rings are not the answer to ANY problem.

Don't like see thru rings?

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[Lawdwaz]

Nope, like a lot of things if they were free I'd gladly pass.

 

The Butler Creeks are the answer to your problem, trust me.

[stoneam2006]

Nope, like a lot of things if they were free I'd gladly pass.

The Butler Creeks are the answer to your problem, trust me.

Can i ask what makes you dislike them so much....

I will definitely look them up.

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[Lawdwaz]

A few things that quickly come to mind......

 

-To use them with the scope, your head won't be where it should be, down on the stock.  Thus you will be changing the sight picture as your head will be flopping in the breeze.

 

-If it is raining or snowing THAT hard, you'll have a difficult time lining up the bead with the rear sight in all the crap as the see thru mounts aren't that awful large.  Then try and paste the sight on a the deer's bread basket.

 

-Although I haven't handled them 36 (grin) years, I'd bet that they lack considerably in quality, I wouldn't trust them.

 

If you insist on using open sights in inclement weather, get a quick detach quality mount and go forth. 

 

Try some BC caps, you won't regret the $20 spent on them.  There are other companies that sell similar types of products but I've had the best luck with BC caps.

[stoneam2006]

Definitely a downfall on the shooting position I've never used them on anything so didn't know...

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[dbHunterNY]

if it's really bad i leave my butler creek bikini scope cover on.  i've pulled it off easily and completely quiet at a moments notice.  a vast majority of the time i just keep the gun horizontal as I can and I've got the lenses treated.  they were some wipes I got a while back but they're gone.  worked really well on beading up water and making the lens fog resistant.  since then I've used the similar stuff that I get with my glasses but it doesn't work quite as well.

[hunter49]

 I vote for the BC flip caps, I put them on my scoped 870 years ago after having the fog up problem & haven't had that problem since!  jmo.

[16. ga hunter]

Not all sight thru are bad and gun set up can make them work. I had to run them on my H&R 20 gauge to clear the hammer but it has a high comb as they must have known this when building gun. Also a trick I Learned from wearing I techs in my hockey playing years a little dish soap rubbed on thin will cut the fog.

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