"Scope bite" ... when was the last time?

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If all you shoot is larger-bore hunting rifles, chances are you are pretty careful about your eye relief.
But for me, I got used to shooting ARs regularly for about forty odd years, normally got the nose right up to the charging handle ... and then when I went out to shoot "real" rifles ... well, you're gonna get whacked sometime.

Hookeye said:
Wonder what % of bites is from trying somebody elses rig
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That's been the last coupla times it happened to me. Last time it was with a .223 WSSM (never fired one before) -- all I heard was the ".223" so I snugged up on the scope big-time. Bled like a stuck pig. But hey, chicks dig the scars, right?
 
I can honestly say never. But the worst I’ve ever seen was not so close buddy of mine who wanted to shoot my brothers 41. Magnum, it was scoped for hunting season. The guy picked up the gun, T-cup grip and eye about an inch from the scope. My brother stopped him and said “that’s not how you shoot it!” The ol’ boy replied “I think I know how to shoot a expletive pistol!” my brother simply said “Ok then, go ahead”

the blood that came out of that guys face was really impressive, he didn't shoot it but once.
 
December 7, 2011 is the last time I was bitten (metadata on the photo taken has more accurate recall than my mind). My wife and I were hunting together and had patterned a group of deer to know if they hadn’t arrived by 5, they’d traveled a different route on the other side of the property, so we booked it to the truck and drove around to the other side of the property. Sure enough, there they were. We stalked out a ways, and planning to let my wife shoot, I left my rifle in the truck. She leveled on the buck, grazing at 250 yards, but said she wasn’t comfortable taking the shot so far in such low light. She handed me the rifle to allow me to glass him, and when I saw the buck in my reticle picture, I whispered, “man, he’s a beast, and I could smoke him from here.” Her reply, “do it!”. I immediately pulled back the hammer and sent the 325grn slug flying - not realizing I was holding the rifle left handed, and not considering her much shorter stature than mine - meaning her scope was much farther back and my head was in an unnatural position, tilted forward as I compressed my neck to the rear of the stock. The Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40mm atop her Marlin 1895 45-70 drew blood from my eyebrow, but the buck was laying in the dirt. Sadly, that was the SECOND TIME in as many weeks that her scope had bit me, as I’d cut my right eyebrow on the scope a few weeks prior when confirming zero for her rifle.

E5FF230E-E320-4BA4-87DF-582E435E1DD5.jpeg
 
Not since I learned at 12yo can I remember every getting hit by one. Spent some time with my church’s Boys Club group shooting 22lr rifles at an indoor range. We then went to an out door range, firing an SKS, 12g and solid wood stock, scoped 30-06, in that order. I remember the 30-06 feeling mind numbing powerful at the time. I would joke after calling it “The Finger of God”! Had a friend the same day, a year older than I. He shot the 30-06 before me and received a nice cut on his schnoz! He was bigger & stronger than myself, so of course I quite nervous. My first lesson that it’s technique, NOT strength which controls recoil.
 
Never had it happen to me but I find it extremely amusing when it happens to other “more experienced” deer hunters.

“Oh yea these thirty aught six bullets rise for the first 200 yards then drop after I still got the same box I bought with the rifle in 98’ Aint never missed a deer I got one on the run at 305 yards last season”

POW—> bloody nose.
 
I haven't had it happen yet. I got taught to set a scope at a distance where you had to stretch your head far forward to get in eye relief range. Which means your head is going backwards almost exactly when your shoulder does.

I haven't been bitten by other's rifles yet. Probably because I hardly shoot other's scoped rifles.
 
Haven't used a scope for 30 years, just don't like them, and I'm well trained on open sights. Only advantage I ever found was being able to spot antlers more easily. However, the last time was a hot loaded 7.7 Arisaka carbine, which I still have, and still wears a scope. Now it just hangs on the wall, as a reminder of my early youthful hunting days. We did have some adventures, that 7.7 and I.
 
It was upsetting to figure this out as I find it's 60 years ago. Two years in a row my uncle let me shoot his 300 Wby magnum. In spite of his warnings I acquired the famous "Weatherby eye".
I did inherit the rifle as an adult with no future adverse consequence.
 
It happened to me last year with a .308. Not bad enough to break skin but it did leave a welt. I had gotten used to shooting 6BRA, which is mild on the recoil spectrum. Decided to shoot my .308 in an F/TR match, didn’t have the butt tight to my shoulder and got thumped on the first shot
 
South Prairie Jim said:
You’ve mentioned the scope caps as a contributor.
I worry about my Daughter shooting her 300 Weatherby so the caps are definitely something to be aware of.
Congratulations on the Elk , I know they can be a lot of work. How long of a pack in and out did you have?
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I have Butler Creek flip up caps on a Zeiss Conquest MC 3-9x that sits on my .375 H&H and have never been bitten by that scope despite hunting with it a lot more than any other rifle. I've shot hundreds of rounds prone and seated and never had a problem. I think it's the ~3" eye relief on the Nightforce in combination with the Tenebraex flip up caps that created the issue. The Tikka is a great rifle so if I'm going to use it regularly I either have to move the scope forward, change the flip up caps or change the scope.

Thanks re the elk. It wasn't much of a pack out I'm afraid ... not the quintessential Montana elk hunt that so many dream of. "Packing out" featured the use of a plastic sled that I bought from Murdochs a few years ago.
 
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Year before last I built myself a nice little Remington Model 7,and with scope,sling and a full magazine it weighs 7 pounds.After I got it put together,I loaded some Berger Classic Hunters for the first rounds through it.Even with a scope with a lot of eye relief,the combination of a light rifle,a heavyish bullet and a loose hold had blood dripping down my snout.I got a lot more respect for that little rifle,and it shoots just fine with 150 grain bullets.
 
MCMXI said:
I have Butler Creek flip up caps on a Zeiss Conquest MC 3-9x that sits on my .375 H&H and have never been bitten by that scope despite hunting with it a lot more than any other rifle. I've shot hundreds of rounds prone and seated and never had a problem. I think it's the ~3" eye relief on the Nightforce in combination with the Tenebraex flip up caps that created the issue. The Tikka is a great rifle so if I'm going to use it regularly I either have to move the scope forward, change the flip up caps or change the scope.

Thanks re the elk. It wasn't much of a pack out I'm afraid ... not the quintessential Montana elk hunt that so many dream of. "Packing out" featured the use of a plastic sled that I bought from Murdochs a few years ago.
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I’ll take an easy pack out any day’
Nice going still...
 
I've got 2 rifles that have drawn blood on the wrong end. A Rem 700 .243 that was my dad's. He loaned it to his partner who had not shot rifles very much and thought you had to put your eye right up against the scope. He's lucky he did not lose his eye. And a Marlin 336 in .30-30 I loaned a buddy for his son. Probably just creeped up a little too close to the ocular. I have never had it happen to me (knock on wood!)
 
I haven't had it happen so far, but .338 Win mag is the most violent recoiling round I've fired. .30-06, .300 win mag, .45-70, and .50 ML with 3 50gr pellets haven't gotten me. I try to treat scopes like the airbag in my steering wheel. Be as far away from it as I can be, comfortably, while still be effective.
My bother OTOH, gets scope eye every time he shoots a deer, no matter what he shoots it with.
12ga slug gun? Check
.45-70? Check
Muzzleloader? Check
Perhaps he should get his own guns and quit using mine.
 
My eyes used to be good.
Can still shoot irons but they are work.
And on moving critters, a low power scope makes things way easier.
Unfortunately many people don't mount scopes at right height, or position.......and may even choose an optic of less than forgiving design.
A properly mounted good optic is wonderful.

Even with good eyes.

When your eyes start to go, they become even nicer.
 
South Prairie Jim said:
How long of a pack in and out did you have?
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As I mentioned in an earlier post, it wasn't much of a hunt and there were no heroic feats involving deep snow and heavy packs. To be honest, it was shamefully easy from start to finish. Here's the elk, which I'll have mounted, and the sled that made it a lot easier. My friend at the meat processing place estimates the elk to be about 3 years old and probably 450 lb prior to gutting, skinning, etc. Not a big bull by any stretch but decent for this part of MT.

elk_1.jpg

elk_2.jpg
 
I had originally installed a Nikon 1X4 on my Marlin Guide Gun with quick release Warne rings. But, despite having decent eye relief the relatively light Guide Gun would come back at me on too many occasions and try to scope me, especially when stepping the ammo up to "Bear" level stuff. My solution is a scout mounted Burris Scout Scope. It too is on Warne rings so I have quick access to iron sights should there be some odd reason I would prefer them (like a damaged scope or strictly dangerous animal protection up close).

IMG-4154.jpg
 
Grayrock said:
Nice. 3Crows: what is the eye relief on your scout scope?
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I do not know offhand the relief but the Burris Scout is current production and seems very generous in both the relief and tolerance for being a little either way. It is also bright and quick to use. You may also notice how low it sits on the rifle, my cheek weld and shooting position hardly changes when going from irons to scope. I used to not like scout scopes and in some cases still do not but they have their place and this is one of them, it will not scope me now and it points quickly and intuitively with the scout configuration!

Mine is the fixed power, I was trying to stay compact and minimal and I think I made the right choice for my purpose:

scout-riflescopes
 
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I've been bumped by the scope many times but the only time I ever scoped myself badly was in high school shooting a 25-06 prone across a frozen lake. I split my eye brow open and bled all over the snow.

I had a bushnell scope I bought a few years ago on sale as a spare that had a ridiculously short eye relief, like 2", and a sharp metal lip on the back of the eyepiece. I put that on my 444 marlin handi rifle, and I knew before I ever shot it that this marriage was going to end with my blood on the ground, so I took it right back off and put it on a 22. One of those things you learn from experience lol.
 
Never happened to me and I've sighted at least a hundred rifles and shot thousands of rounds out of my rifles. I've installed many scopes and always take my thumb and index finger to quickly measure the distance from the edge of my glasses to the scope I've either mounted or about to sight-in.
 
I have been bit several times from several different guns. The first time was many years ago shooting Federal 1 1/4 oz 12ga slugs with a Rem 870. I had just shot several other types of slugs and all had substantial recoil. The 1 1/4 oz Feds made them all seem mild.
Shot three deer the first weekend I used my 450 bushmaster AR. Got bit all three times. I think I was just subconsciously expecting .223 recoil.
 
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