Rifle Scopes Expected durability of a scope, and once damaged..

[yocan]

So I have a scope, for me a pricey one (roughly 1k) It was on an ar15, set it in a corner at a hunting lodge and being stupid caught my toe in the sling, pulling it over, kinda abruptly. Long story short, it was on concrete. I stripped 1 line of threads out of the battery cap/scope. I had to put a set of plyers on the base and vice grips on the top to get it to open (battery was dead when it fell) Cleaned out threads, not as slick as before but it opens and closes without tools. Battery cap is marred up, scope seems dandy except the internal threads where the cop screwed into.

Should I blame myself, or should a 1000 dollar optic take a hit like that being a combat scope. How should I address talking to A the manufacturer or B the seller.

After all it with granted a little extra force from me fell from the height of the buttstock being on the ground... Scope still works so not the end of the world.

 

[J322]

Re: Expected durability of a scope, and once damaged..

Threads are touchy and always wanting to give to physics due to their .005ish tight tolerances and softness. It does not matter how awesome your engineers and building techniques are, they will always yield to the harder object. (I.E. Aluminum vs. Steel vs. concrete ect...) Physics is physics.

If the internals where messed up due to impact thats a different story.

 

[DirtyDave]

Re: Expected durability of a scope, and once damaged..

Most optics companies have a good warranty/repair program. I would call the manufacturer before the retailer. If for some reason (depends on the company) you have trouble getting anywhere with the manufacturer, then maybe get the retailer involved to see if they have more pull to get it done.

 

[Redmanss]

Re: Expected durability of a scope, and once damaged..

Shoot it through a box test to see if there is an actual problem with the functioning of the scope. Internal damage is always possible from a hard hit, but I've seen many optics take a tumble and function just fine afterwards. Otherwise it sounds like you have a perfectly functioning scope with some character and a lesson learned.

Knowing the brand of the scope would help too. There's a difference in service after the sale between Vortex and pretty much all the rest. Vortex has a "no questions asked" warranty. Some like USO would fix you right up, while others might give you a RMA headache to make you say screw it. They might be able to chase the threads with a die and get it back into full working order for a minimal cost.

 

[yocan]

Re: Expected durability of a scope, and once damaged..

I would bet money it still works, it didn't even lose zero, killed a pig the next day with it.

Thanks for the thoughts guys. Its really not a huge deal. I think an e-mail asking for a new battery cap might be reasonable. I don't even feel the need to ask for the scope to be rethreaded.

 

[R6Hybridd]

Re: Expected durability of a scope, and once damaged..

The damaged cap makes it look tough. "It ain't a safe queen, I use this bitch!"

 

[42769vette]

Re: Expected durability of a scope, and once damaged..

I hope its not a 1000 dollar counter sniper