Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Rifle scope reliability in super cold

Alaska......winter......not just sub freezing.....not just sub zero......but -30, -40, -50 below zero.

Any one have experiences....good or bad with rifle scopes?

Alan

Only -10 to -30F a few times.Maybe not cold enough?

Leupold fixed and variable. No issues.

Never been to Alaska,probably never will
BUT I would never be able to judge the reliability of the scope at -30,-40,-50 as I would be sitting in front of a fire!

To hell with hunting in those kind of temps.

Had a Swaro power ring freeze solid once in Montana at about -20 FWIW.

I'm slowly switching everything over to Leupy 6X whenever I find a deal.

That ain't a bad way to fly.

Haven't regretted the decision yet, though I do plan to keep some vintage fixed 4X stuff on things like my 300 Sav and Pre-war .270. I've a few newer and older fixed 2.5 stuff as well I have no plans to get rid of.

What are you hunting in that much cold. Around zero is my threshold for coyote calling hunted to about -10 a few times. No issues

I don't like variables in the cold unless I'm using them as fixed powers; switching power settings can be tough. I also don't like to sight scopes when it's cold as some of them tend not to move internally except when they are warm. (A rather trying session once involved adjusting a 6X Weaver scope. Moving the POI an inch and having almost no effect followed by another inch, followed by more nothing, then warming it up and going back out again……. only to find that the scope "remembered' every adjustment; that was pretty annoying and disheartening.)

But those issues aside, I've never had any sort of problems with fixed power scopes in the cold: no leakage, internal fogging, or significant changes in POI. The biggest trouble in the cold is avoiding fogging the lenses due to an exhaled breath or moisture from bare skin that comes too close to the lenses. (The best glass in the world loses a lot when it gets fogged even a little.)

Your adjustment experiences don't surprise me in the extreme cold Kilk..

Things work differently when it 40 or so below. Propane doesn't flow from bottles the same and rifles don't shoot the same either. It's probably best to stay inside when it gets that cold.

I've hunted with my scoped rifles in as cold as -40 several times. Never tried messing with the scope adjustments much in that weather, but the scopes worked fine and the rifles killed stuff. Just don't breathe on the glass, as klik says...

My variables work fine in the cold, but I usually just leave it on something like 4 or 6x and forget about it. In fact, now that I think about it, that's what I do most of the time regardless of the temp. Probably would get by with fixed just fine.

I shot a precision rifle competition in December with a high around -10 and a low around -25.

My Bushy DMR worked 100%, as did a number of other high end tactical scopes. Everthing did feel "tighter" though. One fixed SWFA did lose zero, I think the cap twisted free of the turret due to set screws that weren't up to the load. I do have a friend who used to be sponsered by Steiner who would switch to his Nightforce in cold weather, apparently his Steiner didn't behave itself, think it was an M5?

I would have to be awfully hungry to hunt in those kinds of temps. At the other end of the spectrum I have no problem hunting when the temperature is 105 degrees which might make some people stay inside.

Keep in mind that some animals - like caribou- which are migratory, can only be hunted when they are there.

Even generous, month-long seasons for some animals- like moose- can fall on months like January, when cold can extend for weeks.

Coastal hunts that involve rugged terrain can mean huge temperature differences. Deep river valleys can be 20-30 degrees colder than surrounding areas.

-40º hunting can be a real pain in the butt, it's much colder than -20º.

not in Alaska but up to -35c my bushnell 4200 3-9x40 and 1.6-6x36 still worked.

i tried an huskemaw scope that handle the same cold very well but that was not my scope.

You, sir, are tougher than I am. I've hunted at -6 a few times and my scope (Leupold M8 4x) worked fine. If it stopped working at colder temperatures than that, it wouldn't matter because I wouldn't be there.

Hah, I work outside year round, so hunting out in the same weather is not a big deal. "There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing"

Ihave never had any trouble, the normal foging from your breath/eye area is about it....I have had no trouble pulling back my "bow",in some minus 30 temps..but I AM a bit scared/when I do it ...but a guy has to eat.

Said no one who ever lived in coastal Alaska.

Same here, no probs with Leupold. Or Burris for that matter.