Do we have the Skill and patience to realize the quality?

[JJHACK]

That's an interesting comment. I cannot imagine that my rifle scope would be better to see through then my field glasses!

I suppose that those folks that have a very High power varmint long range scope may have this potential? But the typical hunter out for big game with 8x glasses would not typically have more then 10X rifle scope?

Binoculars at 8X-10X are far easier to identify game with in my experience with, then a rifle scope. Especially while standing!

I think a rifle scope on a bipod laying prone would be quite steady, but that seems to be a less likely or common situation for me. I would sooner sit and use my elbows on my knees to see what I'm looking at and to count points, check hide quality, or to judge for a client.

My Binoculars are the most expensive of the optics I own. My rifle scopes only get used for shooting, and my spotting scope is not something I stare through for hours on end.

Interesting post

 

[MCgunner]

JJHACK,

Those guys were trespassing. What makes you think they wouldn't murder you rather than get caught trespassing by the game wardens? I'd have found cover and a good rifle rest, myself, maybe tossed a round their way. Bet they'd high stepped it outta there.

 

[torqem]

I wish my smartphone had 99% of its goodies ykw

all they do is add to the clutter and likelihood of failure (mine or the phones). Regardless of the "quality", of a glass, if you drop them on a rock, fall with them, etc, they're still broken. Life happens, and very, very few people have any need to spend that sort of money on something so fragile, likely to be stolen, broken, lost overboard, rolled on by a horse, atv, ski-doo, etc.

 

[JJHACK]

In my line of work, with the reputation of things important to success, clicking off a bullet in the direction of trespassers would not be a prudent option for my business.

Further, there were two of them and one of me! Two guys telling the authorities what happened against my single opinion is not exactly stacking the deck in my favor.

Explaining to them that I have them on trail cameras, and trying to play nice offering them my old nikons, in the end worked out better.

 

[Sam1911]

It wouldn't be a very good idea here in the states either. "They were scanning through their scopes and I think they were trespassing, so I shot (at) them!" will be an interesting case to present to the jury.

Considering how often we discuss the common problem of folks using their rifle scopes to scan for game -- which is a dangerous bad habit but not in any reasonable stretch of the imagination equivalent to attempted murder -- no one is going to buy a justification of use of deadly force against someone just for doing that dangerous but not ill-intentioned thing.

It's akin to the all too frequent discussions here about someone "sweeping" people at the range negligently. Some macho sort will always declare that they'll draw down on the guy because, "If'n yer pointing a gun at me, I'm going to assume you mean to KILL me!" That doesn't hold water. In order to sustain a claim of self-defense you have to establish that the guy you shot (at) actually was going to (try to) harm you.

It might be scary to be "glassed" by some idiot with a rifle, and there's certainly a potential for danger, but there is no reason to assume homicidal intent. Yeah, that's right, even if they didn't get permission to be on that piece of land ... if a person would trespass, you ASSUME they'd commit murder? The law won't assume that, and won't agree with your self-defense claim.

 

[MCgunner]

In my line of work, with the reputation of things important to success, clicking off a bullet in the direction of trespassers would not be a prudent option for my business.

Further, there were two of them and one of me! Two guys telling the authorities what happened against my single opinion is not exactly stacking the deck in my favor.

Explaining to them that I have them on trail cameras, and trying to play nice offering them my old nikons, in the end worked out better.

I've got a Texan's attitude about outlaws. Wasn't thinkin' you might not have been in the US. Then, shouting a stern warning to get the heck off my land would probably have worked, but I sure would have seeked cover and a rifle rest. That's only prudent, methinks. Glad it worked out, however you did it.

 

[MCgunner]

if a person would trespass, you ASSUME they'd commit murder? The law won't assume that, and won't agree with your self-defense claim.

I didn't say shoot 'em, I said shoot their direction. A "get off my land" warning if not a 'stop pointing that rifle at me" warning. Someone points a gun at me, I don't assume they wanna buy me a beer.

 

[Sam1911]

Really doesn't make any difference. "I was just shooting AT them..." isn't a lawful defense to the attempted murder charge you could earn for that.

You don't have to assume they are there to buy you a beer. You CANNOT sustain the supposition that they are trying to KILL you simply because they glassed over you with rifle scopes while (obviously) hunting. It's too common a thing to happen -- many thousands of times a year, regrettably, with generally no killings, fortunately -- to claim that some hunter "scoping" you is a deliberate attempt on your life.

Remember, what will matter isn't what claim you could possibly make ("Well, they were there with guns pointed my way...could have been assassins!") but what the DA and jury will believe. And most likely they're going to believe that you shot someone for trespassing.

Seriously, are there still people that think you can shoot a firearm at someone to scare them off from trespassing on your land?

 

[MCgunner]

Seriously, are there still people that think you can shoot a firearm at someone to scare them off from trespassing on your land?

Well, in my mis-spent youth, it happened to ME! I got the heck outta there and changed my ways. Now, I see the land owners side of things.

These guys trespassing isn't what would bother me, it's their pointing weapons...nay, AIMING weapons at me. I don't take that sort of behavior lightly.

 

[Sam1911]

Well, now, that's true. You may note that I've pointed out in the past that just because it isn't LEGAL to shoot you for trespassing, that doesn't mean someone won't do it anyway! Hence, it is a really bad idea, especially while toting a gun around. ESPECIALLY while pointing it at someone.

 

[buck460XVR]

While I would never advise to fire off a warning shot over someone's head, I too will check out game with my rifle scope. This does not mean sittin' on a hillside or in the back of a Land-Rover for hours at a time sweeping the landscape looking for animals, but to check the quality and shootability of animals already spotted. Since most of my hunting is done either sitting in stand where seeing 150 yards is a long shot or sneaking thru the woods still hunting, I don't need a pair of binos to pick an animal out. Not hard to distinguish a deer from a hunter in blaze orange @ 100 yards....at least for me. If and when I spot a deer in that scenario, my gun comes up, because A.) the deer is already in range, and B.) because the animal is so close already, any excess movement such as putting the gun down, digging out the binos to check out something I already know is a game animal, then putting the binos away and then bringing the gun up again, may spook the animal and take away any opportunity I have of getting a shot. When still hunting, if my firearm is a rifle, it is carried like a shotgun during bird hunting, almost always in a ready position. Binos need to be secured someplace where they will not be swinging around as I crawl thru brush and out of the way if I need to quickly shoulder the gun to shoot.(50% of my shots when still hunting happen within 20 seconds or less of first seeing an animal). Since the majority of my deer hunting is done still hunting with a iron sighted handgun, the scope part is a moot point and I am relegated to using binos or nuttin' at all.

 

[MCgunner]

So, anyway, we agree that glassing with a scope is dumb. If someone see's you glassing him, what's he to think? You could wind up dead, even on your own land!

 

[buck460XVR]

Funny......on the new episode of "Swamp People" last night, Troy Landry and his son were both " Glassin' " gators in the canal from their ATVs using...yep, the scopes on their rifles. Now I know that " Swamp People " is a far cry from a good example of gun handling safety, just thought it a strange coincidence that we would talk about it one day and a example in prime time would be on the next.