Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Drop test your scope?

Been thinking about zero-retention lately and how my hunting rig would hold up. I've got a 4-9x SWFA MQ on a 7-08 Montana. Went shooting with some buds yesterday when one proposed a 1-shot, 1-kill challenge at 490 yards. Basically shoot 1-round into a 6" painted circle at 490 yards. No help reading wind from others or second shots allowed. We did this round-robin with 5 shooters.

I went first, but instead of flopping down in the dirt I put my rifle in a cheap plastic case (Dosko?). I threw the case about 15', from about 4' height onto dirt and logs. Threw it a second time... roughly the same distance and height. On the second throw, the barrel punched a hole in the case and muzzle went into the dirt.

Flopped down, and hit the white paint on the left target for a kill. There might have been a shift in zero, but I couldn't tell. It kept ringing steel the rest of the day without a hiccup

Should have disclosed that I removed the bolt before chucking my rifle.

The other shooters had a Leupo 3-9x, Leupo 6x, Vortex 3-9x, and a Weaver 3-9x Tac... but none were willing to try the drop test

I bet the Leupo 6x would hold zero best out of those others but will need to sweet talk those dudes into letting me chuck their rifles in the interest of research.

Anybody else throw their rifle's?

Betting you got some interesting reactions when you did that. Even more when it became evident that you hadn't lost your zero.

David

David,

I mentioned this "test" to those guys on a few occasions, but I don't think they thought I'd ever do it.

They didn't want any part of it, especially after seeing the barrel punch right through the plastic! The first throw hit the logs pretty hard too.

Jason

I would like to know how my FX-3 6x42 would fare in this situation, but don't think I could bring myself to actually throw it....

I seem to remember the scope on 'Sticks rifle that he broke in via a similar process (video) was a FX-3 6x42 w/ M1.

David

My guess would be that the FX-3 would hold zero the best. I'd be impressed if the VX-3, Viper, or Weaver held their zero.

But I've got no proof one way or the other.

I don't think a "drop test" is all that unreasonable to test a hunting rifle. The hard case helps protect the rifle and scope from dings and sharp impacts while still allowing the guts of the scope to get jarred.

I've had mishaps while hunting. One time a cased rifle fell out the back of my rig while unpacking, slamming into the ground. Another time I had a Leupo 6x and Tikka slam into a boulder while traversing a steep hillside near Hell's Canyon. Have driven that Montana onto logs while hunting the steep coast mountains.

I'm sure my test is mild compared to airline travel

Agreed. I'm glad there are people like you that are willing to do this sort of rigorous testing - it just makes me cringe...

David

I am not buying any more conventional variable riflescopes. Thanks and good info!,,

5 before and the 3 after....

I have never performed an actual "drop test" because I don't think it would tell me much. Meaning, just because POI didn't shift that time, I don't think I'd feel confident not checking zero if it took a similar drop in the field on a 7 day hunt.

Most of my rifles get treated poorly by most standards. The longer they retain zero and remain repeatable, the more I love them. That's become my "test."



Travis

I miss place my .338 one day elk hunting and it slipped and skittered about 50 feet down the side of the mountain away from me. It had a newer 4x weaver in the rings at the time. I finished the day hunting , a little nervous that it had shifted Point of aim. So the next day I carried a lighter rifle and killed a bull. Once I shot the .338 again the point of aim was still right on the money. The side down the hill marred the finish on both gun and scope but to what extend it took any impacts I do not know as it was loaded and I ducked behind the tree it was leaning against for cover till it stopped making noise.

Not on purpose. Dropped a Zeiss one time trying to mount using one piece Talley's on a grooved receiver by myself. The scope made it through. About a 6' drop on hardwood floor.

My 3-year and 8-year old sons dish out more punishment on my gear than most adults I think they inherited my ability to break things.

Your point is valid and single cycle tests can lead to a false sense of security but can weed out certain gear. The scope beatings will get more elaborate as time goes on.

Good post Formi.

Do the specialized .mil groups have unique drop test or impact requirements?

Jason

I did some drop tests a couple years ago. Succeeded in adding some beauty marks to my scopes, but never found a setup that held zero 100%. And I was using scopes with the best reputations for zero retention.

As a result my obsession with scopes being zero'd has not abated. I glue all my rails or bases on serious rifles, and really would like to get more Defiance Deviants, so the bases simply CAN'T move. I want to get those experiments back up and going one of these days, just as soon as life calms down a skosh.

Interesting and brave test! Though I'm not sure how you would draw a comparison with your buddies, unless their rifle, mounts and rings were all the same. Still, it's a good first data point.

Carl - I also epoxy the mounts on most of my rifles. Gives me more confidence. But I've never done this test on any of them.

Bob

Ditto to above.

My 14 year old grandson did a drop test on my rifle while we hunted last week. Savage 111 wearing a Leupold VXII 3-9x40 in Talley one piece rings/bases. He was trying to adjust the sling and had the muzzle up, butt against his upper thigh when he let the upper sling loose. The rifle muzzle swung in an arc down to slam into a massive embedded rock on which he was standing. No give to the stone and it put a 1/16” deep cut in the outer edge of the muzzle crown, with metal ridges pushed up on each side of the cut.

We stopped hunting with that rifle immediately until we could test it for zero. It hit so hard that besides concern for the scope I wondered if it had tweaked the barrel, or barrel to action alignment.

It shoots exactly as before. He killed a bear with it after we shot it to confirm that it was still shooting where intended.

I need to file those ridges down and reblue the shiny metal cut.

Carl,

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on scopes, rails, mounts, and actions. I'm sure others would as well.

Jason

I did an accidental "drop test" several years ago climbing a mountain in the dark, when my sling slipped off my shoulder and my rifle fell on a boulder, hitting on the scope. It made a "ding" in the scope, and what I didn't notice until I aimed at a deer later in the morning was that the cross hairs had parted! I didn't get that deer. Leupold replaced the crosshairs at no charge.