Locking scope turrets are a thing, but locking bolt handles aren't?

I'm not opposed to hunting with tactical style turrets if the optic has most or all of the other features I'm looking for. I've shot three elk and three deer using scopes with tactical style non-capped, non-locking turrets and they worked well every time. That said, I chose the rifle to hunt with and they happened to have those Nightforce and Premier Reticles optics on them.

I'm possibly in your camp though when it comes to hunting in that I like hunting optics to be as simple as possible i.e. low profile capped adjustments, no parallax to mess with, and a reticle that allows me to hold over for range and wind. I have four Zeiss Conquest MC scopes and a Zeiss HD5 scope (with parallax knob) but they're all SFP optics which is ok but it adds another way to make an error i.e. the magnification is on the wrong setting for the reticle to be accurate i.e. for 300 yards and further. I would say that the Zeiss optics I have are the best I've found for my type of hunting since they all have the excellent RZ600 or RZ800 reticles before Zeiss moved away from numbering the stadia. If they were illuminated reticles I wouldn't complain, but as that sit they're very good for what they're designed for, as long as you have the magnification on the right setting for longer shots.

 

There's someone on another forum that uses tape on their turrets ... I'll have to find a photo or two.

I've never looked into clear electrical tape but now I'm curious.

 

A few years ago I was down near Great Falls hunting with some friends on 40,000 acres of farm land that they lease and manage. We waited for hours for a herd of 80 elk or so to move off private farm land onto land where we could shoot them. We figured out that we'd have a window in the 650 to 850 yard range to shoot a nice bull or two. I had my Accuracy International AW with a Nightforce NXS 3.5-15x50mm scope, a range card out to 1,000 yards and an AI mag loaded with 10 rounds of Federal Vital-Shok Trophy Copper 150gr. I had practiced a lot with that setup and those elk were going to be in big trouble. After 2 hours of laying down in the snow and hoping that they'd move where we needed, the lead cow decided to take them all deeper into the Twilight Zone and away from us. My point is that it wouldn't have even been an option if I'd had my usual hunting rifle and optic.

 

They are usually cheaper than equal quality covered turret scopes.

 

Stoked! I didnt know the windage were capped on the HTRs......just got my first one in.

 

Thats a good explanation of a locking bolt, with three position safety.

There are also two position safety that lock the bolt handle. In fact the original 700 design locked the bolt handle down, it wasn't until the late 70s (I think) they went to a non-locking system.
The browning A-bolt and Xbolt also have two position l locking handled. The X-bolt adds a button to the root of the bolt to allow you to disengage the lock without taking the rifle off safe.
All other two-position locking handle guns require you to set the rifle to fire, to open the bolt.

 

I like a bolt locking 3 position safety, controlled feed, claw extractor.

But I don’t like belted magnums.

However, I’m ambivalent when it comes to locking turrets as I have scopes with and without.

 

Since most of my hunting to date has been on foot with a round chambered, I consider a locking bolt to be a necessity regardless of what I'm hunting - when that rifle comes up to the shoulder, I wanna know that all that I need to do is go off safe and shoot when ready. If, on the other hand, my hunts were conducted by carrying an unloaded rifle to a shooting position and then chambering a round for the day, then I would probably feel differently.

 

That's how I hunt too, with a round in the chamber, safety on position 3 if it's a Kimber or position 2 for a Tikka and similar. Either way, the bolt is locked and I keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times, usually up in the air since the rifle is over my shoulder most of the time.

 

No offense either transmitted or received.

My hunts have been solo endeavors in the NoTexas scrub, where I tried to jump hog and deer when they scampered out of their day beds. No ranging has been required yet - all shots have been inside of 200yds (most inside of 100yds) - and the emphasis is generally on target acquisition, target identification, and snap shoot/no-shoot decisions. I will admit to losing at least one shot on a coyote trotting between the rises in a clearcut because I neglected to clear the safety in time (ha!), so I try to keep things as mechanically simple as possible.