Will adjusting a scope make it go bad?

[Link]

Will adjusting for 100, 200 , 300, and 400 yards several times a week make your scope go bad ?

thanks Don

 

[Uthink Uknow]

Not unless you've maxed out and cranked too hard on the elevation adjustment. Okay, Why do you ask?

 

[Link]

Not unless you've maxed out and cranked too hard on the elevation adjustment. Okay, Why do you ask?

We have had several scopes loose POI and my shooting buddys blame it on adjusting for yardages every time we shoot. They are thinking a MOA scope would last longer. I know how a scope is constructed, but what usually happens to a scope when it goes bad?

 

[Gary in MD]

What brand of scope?
Some are advertised to constantly crank and some are made to constantly crank. Big difference.

 

[243winxb]

what usually happens to a scope when it goes bad?

Inside the scope tube, the reticle is housed in a smaller tube called the erector tube, which rests on springs that are on the opposite side of the windage and elevation knobs. When you adjust the elevation knob “down,” you are actually applying pressure to one side of the erector tube, which compresses the spring on the opposite side. If you adjust either knob as far as it will go, the spring either becomes bound up and refuses to move, or it becomes so relaxed that the adjustment knob starts feeling mushy and indistinct.

When the adjustments feel mushy, the spring that pushes against the erector tube is relaxed and not able to keep proper tension on the tube. A bump to the rifle or even regular recoil can push the erector tube to a different spot – and you end up with scope shift! Some scopes are designed to minimize this problem – but yours may not be, so keep scope knobs fairly well centered (up/down and left/right).https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2005/03/another-cause-of-scope-shift-over-adjusted-scope-knobs/

This is how i understand it.

 

[XTR]

Depends on the scope, that is part of why target scopes tend to cost more and have a different turret system from hunting scopes. They are designed to be more durable. This is one of the challenges today for guys shooting service rifle since the rules changed to allow optics. They need a scope that holds zero when dialed from 200 to 300 to 600 and back to 200 every time they shoot a match.

 

[Link]

No a Vortex isn't one of them. It seems as though there can be problems with all brands.
I am familial with how a scope works, that is why I use signature rings with offset inserts. No one that I know would bottom a adjustment out. [ I think ]
I wish everyone who reads this would post what problems they have had and how to determine a bad scope or what

 

[watercam]

Or just shoot match rifle iron sights at 1000. No spring issues. Ask the High Master Palma shooter who has one...

 

[Milo 2.0]

i hate scope problems!
You must be talking about a Vortex

All scopes have the potential to quit tracking, it's a mechanical working as I understand it.
I had a Leupold Mark 4 8.5-25 FFP scope that gave up. After yrs of sitting on a 40 moa base, I had 1 moa down from zero and 76 or so up. I sent it in for repair and remember the invoice upon return saying, "replaced erector set and greased". So if indeed there is some lube on those springs, a scope sitting in the hot sun has to turn a grease to liquid.
I've suspected more than one NF of not tracking, running a box test just revealed I was looking for excuses, lol

 

[Milo 2.0]

No a Vortex isn't one of them. It seems as though there can be problems with all brands.
I am familial with how a scope works, that is why I use signature rings with offset inserts. No one that I know would bottom a adjustment out. [ I think ]
I wish everyone who reads this would post what problems they have had and how to determine a bad scope or what

Run a simple box test. Google it or I can explain it to you.

 

[Delfuego]

Will adjusting for 100, 200 , 300, and 400 yards several times a week make your scope go bad ?

No. If it does, it is not a good scope. In our game we spin our turrets for almost every shot. We can shoot 250+ rounds in a weekend match, all at different distances. We crank them up and down repeatedly, sometimes to the max elevation (mine is 21mils/76moa), them right back down to zero and confirm. This is why we have to invest in highend scopes.

As for testing, first thing I do is swap it with one that I know is good. Check your base and rings carefully. Run it out to distance, then back to zero and see what you get. A Box Test or tall target test should work too.

 

[Link]

Run a simple box test. Google it or I can explain it to you.

I have shot a 4 MOA box test at 100 is that good enough?

 

[Delfuego]

4 minutes is not very much at all. I would run as many as you can on a large piece of paper at 100y. That's why a tall or calibrated target works well.

 

[Milo 2.0]

I have shot a 4 MOA box test at 100 is that good enough?

I would say no, should be 10 moa minimum. Or at least your dope to 400. How did it do on the test with 4 moa?

 

[Gary in MD]

What brand of scope are you having trouble with?
Some brands are just not going to hold up to constantly cranking them up and down, regardless of what their advertising says.

 

[Bc'z]

So my neighbor was verry adamant in telling me a scope will go out of adjustment from just sitting in the safe. Claiming no scope manufacturer is immune to this.
Not wanting to get into a pissing match with a guy I share a fence with, I agreed with him thinking he's full of fecal matter.
I was thinking its his factory ammo that he seldom shoots during different climates.
Thoughts?

 

[Milo 2.0]

So my neighbor was verry adamant in telling me a scope will go out of adjustment from just sitting in the safe. Claiming no scope manufacturer is immune to this.
Not wanting to get into a pissing match with a guy I share a fence with, I agreed with him thinking he's full of fecal matter.
I was thinking its his factory ammo that he seldom shoots during different climates.
Thoughts?

With older hunting style scopes this was way more common than you think, esp with bases and rings. Some of those systems you could about exasperate your total windage or elevation, therefore stretching the springs to zero the reticle, then they sit.
Todays mounting systems, pic rails, machined rings help a lot, plus we are paying for higher quality optics too.

 

[pirate ammo]

So my neighbor was verry adamant in telling me a scope will go out of adjustment from just sitting in the safe. Claiming no scope manufacturer is immune to this.
Not wanting to get into a pissing match with a guy I share a fence with, I agreed with him thinking he's full of fecal matter.
I was thinking its his factory ammo that he seldom shoots during different climates.
Thoughts?

reading your post,the Talisman is having an adverse effect on you,,starting to be to darn nice,,ship to new victim soon,,,

 

[Dusty Stevens]

reading your post,the Talisman is having an adverse effect on you,,starting to be to darn nice,,ship to new victim soon,,,

Looks to me like its made him an expert, far superior knowledge- now he just nods knowing hes way better than anybody else and theres not even a need to check his creedmoor before season-its on.

 

[Link]

The only time I post brand names is if I have something good to say or I am unsatisfied with warranty.
This is a 4 MOA box I shot with a known good scope. I haven't had time to box the unknown one yet.