I saw a new scope get hit directly by a rock on the elevation turret. The scope buckled from the impact at the W&E housing. The rifle was slung over my son's shoulder and he slipped on a wet rock. He didn't fall completely down but the elevation housing took the blow.
You have a relatively thin aluminum tube inserted into the housing that contains the W&E mechanism - in many, but not all scopes. Carrying a 7 lb. or more rifle with the weight concentrated on such a joint seems like trouble waiting to happen. Murphy is alive and well.
(I also carry it upside down with my fingers around the magazine, never by the scope.)
"It is wise, though, to remember above all else: rifle, caliber, scope, and even bullets notwithstanding, the most important feature of successful big game hunting is to put that bullet in the correct place, the first time!" John Jobson
