Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Do you use your scope as a carrying handle???

For some reason I feel the need to point out:

"Always keep a firearm pointed in a safe direction, away from yourself and others".

Just in case :-)

I have used my shotgun barrel as a hunting horn before but I took it off the receiver first <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

hmm, I thunked a jackrabbit with a shotgun barrel once after running out of ammo & attempting to take the beastly bunny down with my bare hands ...... but I don't know what a hunting horn is...... hmm, horn-hunt? Hmmm, hunting horn? I just can't think of what that could be.....

I use Trashco's and Simmons as hammers.......... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Rick

Is that a 5 lb Remington in 375 ultra mag ?

Conrad

Nope. But I have used the lever on a lever action to open a beer (grin).

BMT

Yup, I used to with a 7 and a half pound rifle. My new one weighs 11 and a half pounds, so I use the sling now. If the scope won't handle a little weight on it, how's it going to handle 35 or 40 pounds of recoil? Besides, like someone else said, "That why I buy a Loopy." I have a 33 year old bushnell on the Tikka in the light rifle that has had me land on it scope down against a rock. How many foot pounds is a 275 pound man falling from 5'11" onto an imoveable rock?? I quit hunting for the day, and went to a gravel pit to check the zero. Shot right to the same point as before. Happy me!

no, i don't. the thought never occured to me.

while i don't think it is good for the scope to do it, i don't think any damage can be done from carrying hunting-weight rifles that way. dunno - i just don't do it. haven't done it, and doubt i'll start.

Make me proud to own a pitbull. Of course mine is an inside dog that is quite tame.

Hunting horn...for calling in the dogs I presume. You know..toot, toot.

I've never held a rifle with a scope. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Regards, sse

The way I look at it, if you can't trust your scope as a handle, your scope or mounting system shouldnt be in the field in the first place.
Somethings wrong.

I carry my 7lb 14 oz 338 in the field by the scope and if the system can handle a 250 bullet haulin butt, it sure can handle my
delicate fingers.

Well, I guess this got quite the thread started. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I have carried a 30-06 with an old Tasco World Class on it quite a bit by the scope with no problems ever. I have carred my .260 by the Leupold 2x7 Compact for a few years with no problems. Yes, I do use a sling, but scope-carrying with no sling on it gets pretty addictive pretty quick. I'll let you guys know in a few years if I ever have problems--I don't anticipate any. It would seem crazy to me that a scope could take the G forces of severe recoil (say 375 or 458) and yet not handle the minute forces that carrying an 8 pound rifle would cause. All I can say is "Try it, you'll like it!"

!! I laughed out loud at that !!

Sycamore

Saying that if a scope will handle recoil it should be OK as a carrying handle is a false analogy. Scopes are built to withstand the direct horizontal forces of recoil. They aren't designed to take the perpendicular stresses of being used as a carrying handle with the weight of the rifle used as a lever and fulcrum.
Fortunately scopes are usually well built and tolerate all sorts of needless abuse. But it's best to not abuse them.........DJ

Oh well, I guess I will keep on abusing it until something goes wrong. I can't say as I think it is abusive anyway. I'll just have to hope that the 3 piece tube on the Leupold doesn't fall apart on me now...Maybe I should email Leupold and ask their opinion.

I use NightForce and Leupold scopes and Badger Ordnance mounts and if I can't carry my rifle by the scope, Marty at Badger would be getting these mounts back. I don't think twice, and my rifles weigh between 9 and 14#. I guess that's the beauty of using mil-spec gear....

A hand can barely fit between the rings. There is no lever and fulcrum affect worth considering.

Not just no, but hell no!

I don't use the scope as a handle. I do have a good buddy that does and never witnessed any problem. While a good scope may not suffer for it, it still isn't what it was designed for and I don't think Leupold or any other scope manufacturer would recommend it as an accepted practice.

It would be interesting to see Mule Deer or Jon Sundra to write an article in Rifle or some other major hunting publication about this with photos. I would like to hear what scope manufacturers would say and what reader response would be.