DannyLandrum
Member
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2017
- Messages
- 439
I would like to discuss The Rain Rifle as a concept, akin to the Scout, except in a sense the opposite in that the Scout is an an all-purpose rifle whereas the Rain (& snow) rifle is a specialized beast.
Don't know if anyone has discussed this before, but the origin of this for me is that I enjoy hunting in the rain and wet snow, provided that it's not too cold, a light or moderate rain, and I have appropriate clothing. I like it mainly because it often turns into a harvest (at a higher rate than clear skies), because I find that game moves around a lot during a light rain, and above all, you can stalk silently. Also, few other hunters in the woods on those days.
However, I've been frustrated over the years with *fogged scopes* (not to mention wet and fogged eyeglasses, but that's another story - now that I've had cataract surgery, I finally have good distance vision for the first time in my life, so I can dispense with glasses, making this rain rifle concept more important to me now). Yes, you can put anti-fog coatings on your glass, and many scopes come from the factory with coatings that are anti-fog and/or cause rain to bead up and eliminate better, but the problem is still there, I find, at least with the scopes I'm able to afford (low-mid-range to mid-range price).
Flip up caps are not a solution, as it is simply not fast enough for stalking and taking a quick shot, whether deer or piggies or whatever. The fogged and wet scopes always hamper my vision, sometimes preventing a shot altogether. The other day, I shot a doe at maybe 70 yards during a light rain, and my scope was fogged and wet enough that I couldn't see very well. I killed it, but shot 8-9 inches farther back than I wanted to - I hit the liver but not the lungs. I can't say for sure that the fogged scope is the cause of the bad shot but it might have been. Not the kind of hit I like to get.
Hence the rifle rig specialized for this purpose has been on my mind for a few years now. The idea is to (1) eliminate the scope, meaning iron sights or an ESD / RDS of some kind, where there is no "inner chamber" with a differential interior air temperature that can lead to condensation (fogging), and (2) of course, rain resistant - stainless steel or cerakote / duracoat, and weather-resistant stock.
Which brings me to the rig I recently (finally) put together for this purpose. Behold the rain rifle - in this case a SS/ synthetic Rem Seven with RMR-DI 9 MOA dot on it (no batteries needed - always ready to go). Note that shots in the rain will never be really all that far, so that means that the rifle need not be that accurate (a 3 MOA rifle would be suitable), and the range limitations imposed by a 1X sight (and its crude adjustments) are not an issue with the rain rig; hence the dot sight that serves a couple of purposes. I have not extensively tested the RMR-DI in the rain, but initial cursory results from sprinkling water on the sight and looking through it around the house are promising. Also note that ESDs / RDSs with an internal chamber are probably out; need a holographic style of sight, or good iron sights, for this type of rig.
So, should this be a thing? Am I reinventing the wheel and/or missing something? It's regrettable that there aren't more factory-iron-sighted options out there these days.
I'd also like to note that your rain rig *could* be your scout rig too, if it meets the other requirements of a scout, but it doesn't necessarily have to be. This one is close but not close enough to be an actual scout (no stripper clip cutouts etc). You could make a good case that "all scouts are rain rifles, too" since scouts always have a BUIS (correct?), and therefore, in scope-off configuration, meet the rain rifle criterion. So I suppose all scouts are rain rifles, but not all rain rifles are scouts.
Also note that, unlike a scout, there is no weight requirement of a rain rig, so it could definitely be a lever, pump, or even semi-auto... no problem there. Usually when it's raining, you're not going to walk that far in (though you could). There is also no need for a HSLD buttstomper chambering. Could even be a single shot in .357 mag or max, or similar.
Don't know if anyone has discussed this before, but the origin of this for me is that I enjoy hunting in the rain and wet snow, provided that it's not too cold, a light or moderate rain, and I have appropriate clothing. I like it mainly because it often turns into a harvest (at a higher rate than clear skies), because I find that game moves around a lot during a light rain, and above all, you can stalk silently. Also, few other hunters in the woods on those days.
However, I've been frustrated over the years with *fogged scopes* (not to mention wet and fogged eyeglasses, but that's another story - now that I've had cataract surgery, I finally have good distance vision for the first time in my life, so I can dispense with glasses, making this rain rifle concept more important to me now). Yes, you can put anti-fog coatings on your glass, and many scopes come from the factory with coatings that are anti-fog and/or cause rain to bead up and eliminate better, but the problem is still there, I find, at least with the scopes I'm able to afford (low-mid-range to mid-range price).
Flip up caps are not a solution, as it is simply not fast enough for stalking and taking a quick shot, whether deer or piggies or whatever. The fogged and wet scopes always hamper my vision, sometimes preventing a shot altogether. The other day, I shot a doe at maybe 70 yards during a light rain, and my scope was fogged and wet enough that I couldn't see very well. I killed it, but shot 8-9 inches farther back than I wanted to - I hit the liver but not the lungs. I can't say for sure that the fogged scope is the cause of the bad shot but it might have been. Not the kind of hit I like to get.
Hence the rifle rig specialized for this purpose has been on my mind for a few years now. The idea is to (1) eliminate the scope, meaning iron sights or an ESD / RDS of some kind, where there is no "inner chamber" with a differential interior air temperature that can lead to condensation (fogging), and (2) of course, rain resistant - stainless steel or cerakote / duracoat, and weather-resistant stock.
Which brings me to the rig I recently (finally) put together for this purpose. Behold the rain rifle - in this case a SS/ synthetic Rem Seven with RMR-DI 9 MOA dot on it (no batteries needed - always ready to go). Note that shots in the rain will never be really all that far, so that means that the rifle need not be that accurate (a 3 MOA rifle would be suitable), and the range limitations imposed by a 1X sight (and its crude adjustments) are not an issue with the rain rig; hence the dot sight that serves a couple of purposes. I have not extensively tested the RMR-DI in the rain, but initial cursory results from sprinkling water on the sight and looking through it around the house are promising. Also note that ESDs / RDSs with an internal chamber are probably out; need a holographic style of sight, or good iron sights, for this type of rig.
So, should this be a thing? Am I reinventing the wheel and/or missing something? It's regrettable that there aren't more factory-iron-sighted options out there these days.
I'd also like to note that your rain rig *could* be your scout rig too, if it meets the other requirements of a scout, but it doesn't necessarily have to be. This one is close but not close enough to be an actual scout (no stripper clip cutouts etc). You could make a good case that "all scouts are rain rifles, too" since scouts always have a BUIS (correct?), and therefore, in scope-off configuration, meet the rain rifle criterion. So I suppose all scouts are rain rifles, but not all rain rifles are scouts.
Also note that, unlike a scout, there is no weight requirement of a rain rig, so it could definitely be a lever, pump, or even semi-auto... no problem there. Usually when it's raining, you're not going to walk that far in (though you could). There is also no need for a HSLD buttstomper chambering. Could even be a single shot in .357 mag or max, or similar.
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