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Rifle Scopes Using the rifle scope as a carrying handle for your rifle

pineoak

pineoak

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Feb 15, 2017
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Piggybacking off the "effects of strapping a heavy bag to your barrel" thread...


I've heard both sides of whether it will damage your scope if you carry a 15# rifle using it as a carry handle.

Someone on the strap/bag thread mentioned that internals could get damaged carrying it by the objective

the scope tubes are aluminum, which is strong, but thin


I've erred on the side of caution and always carried my rifles by the receiver (scopes cost too much to be replaced or repaired without effort). But it looks so much easier to use the scope as a handle.


In addition to Hiders, Frank, wjm, ILya, anyone with experience with tons of scopes... please chime in.
 
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i have grabbed mine by the scope before but it is just to pick it up then i grab the stock and i always grab it between the rings where it should be the strongest.
 
My buddy told me, "they don't even let you use the carry handle for a carry handle," in the army. Is it really that hard to reach a few inches lower, and pick it by something that would equate to a club; rather than a fine instrument.
 
With a quality scope and mounting system, shouldn't be too much of a problem. I know I am guilty of picking up my rifle by the objective end.
 
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Just the thought of doing that makes me cringe. I'm probably overly cautious, but I can't imagine using my optic as a handle in anything other than the most dire of situations.
 
Kinda hard for me to believe that anyone would invest big bucks in a scope, then use it as a handle to pick their rifle up. To each their own, but I have to wonder if this thread is indicative of a lowering of the average IQ of today's shooters.
 
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I wouldn't recommend picking the rifle up by the scope....fucking ever. I would also never strap a bag over the bell of an optic or even use the ol wrap your hand over the scope to pull down on when on a barricade. If I showed you the deflection in most optics when even the lightest pressure is applied you would shit your pants and never touch it again.

A friends scope trashed out inside and locked up tighter than a frogs pussy when someone picked his rifle up by the optic to move it. It is one of the top tier $3k optics.
 
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Once as a young person, I tried to pick up my dads rifle by the scope, between the rings like a carry handle. What happened next is a little fuzzy, but when I woke up it was clear that was something I should never do.
 
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Killswitch Engage said:
I wouldn't recommend picking the rifle up by the scope....fucking ever. I would also never strap a bag over the bell of an optic or even use the ol wrap your hand over the scope to pull down on when on a barricade. If I showed you the deflection in most optics when even the lightest pressure is applied you would shit your pants and never touch it again.

A friends scope trashed out inside and locked up tighter than a frogs pussy when someone picked his rifle up by the optic to move it. It is one of the top tier $3k optics.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing this this the same story I've heard from a PRS match a while back.

Scopes can (and do) flex under recoil, but that doesn't mean we should make a habit of picking up 15lb rifles by them. If you have to, pick it up by the rings, not the scope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5pVya7eask
 
We had a similar thread over on the other site about 6 months ago. Oddly, the responses ran almost opposite to those expressed here. In that thread, the prevailing attitude seemed to be that if your gear wouldn't stand up to that kind of treatment, you need to get better gear. Further, that most of those guys routinely hoisted their rigs around by the scope, and if you didn't, you were just ignorant.

That kind of thinking just escapes me. I definitely agree that quality gear SHOULD be able to take that kind of treatment, day in and day out, absolutely. However, this does not translate into justification to abuse my gear just because I can. For example, I just bought a new 4x4 truck. It is capable of traveling down the creek, if I want or need it to. But when I drive into work every day, I take the highway and not the creek.

I guess I come from a different mindset than some of the competition shooters. Coming from a hunting background, we may work for an entire season for the opportunity to take just ONE shot, and it had better be ON. In a competition, if they're zero gets off, it may cost them a few points, but once they can spot a miss and dial a correction, they're right back in the game. I try not to touch a scope, beyond normal operation, any more than I have to after it is zeroed (and I run top-tier gear like Defiance, SB, and Spuhr). In a situation where it was somehow necessary to grab the rifle by the scope, I know I can do it without fear, but I'm just not going to do it otherwise. It serves NO purpose of usefulness to me. There seems to be a newer attitude of, "I abuse the crap out of my gear, because it's the best, and I can." I'm just more old-school, and was brought up more alone the lines of "Take care of your gear, and it will take care of you."

edit: Killswitch posted here while I was typing. He was part of the old thread I'm talking about, and one of the few, along with me, who just couldn't agree with the idea of it being standard practice. I'm sure you remember that exchange, KS?
 
I guess I am on the other end of the spectrum. While I typically don't pick my rifles up by the optics I would be fairly angry if one of my scopes was affected by using it as a handle to pick up my rifle. The amount of money that these optics cost now warrants them to be robust enough to take that kind of use. That doesn't mean go out and start doing curls with your "15lb rifle" but for fuck sake it is a tool to be used in an active environment. I would like to think the higher end manufactures build them strong enough for that. I have dropped (knocked off stupid fat elbows) a Nightforce off a 40 inch table that was mounted to a 12lb rifle direct hit to scope on concrete. It snapped the ARMS throw lever mount on the bi-pod after it bounced. Scope suffer some road rash but still functions as it should. Moral of the story buy quality shit.
 
I dont see how it could ever be good practice. Sure maybe your uso can take the abuse but why anyone would ever abuse it purposefully when its so easy to just reach 3 inches lower is beyond me.
 
birddogsx3 said:
I guess I am on the other end of the spectrum. While I typically don't pick my rifles up by the optics I would be fairly angry if one of my scopes was affected by using it as a handle to pick up my rifle. The amount of money that these optics cost now warrants them to be robust enough to take that kind of use. That doesn't mean go out and start doing curls with your "15lb rifle" but for fuck sake it is a tool to be used in an active environment. I would like to think the higher end manufactures build them strong enough for that. I have dropped (knocked off stupid fat elbows) a Nightforce off a 40 inch table that was mounted to a 12lb rifle direct hit to scope on concrete. It snapped the ARMS throw lever mount on the bi-pod after it bounced. Scope suffer some road rash but still functions as it should. Moral of the story buy quality shit.
Click to expand...

there not much moral to your story...90% of us have the best gear you can buy
 
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i beat the crap outta my stuff...if someone asks my advice on equipment ive used i can usually say its has or hasnt held up without a doubt...being near Rifles Only my rifle gets bounced thru the mouse trap alone about 10 times a year just in matches...if someone says their gear can take a beating but they baby it...then their opinion is worth 2 farts in a paper bag...nobody wants that hot air

do i carry mine rifles by the optic? no...but if i reach down and thats where my hand lands, ill pick it up that way then get a better grip...if it doesnt hold up, it goes away, and im ok with that...do what makes you comfortable

and im one of the few shooters who doesnt worry about checking zero when i get to a match...
 
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The gun and scope is going through much more abuse from shooting it then just by picking the whole gun up by the scope. If you are, get some better scopes and or mounting solutions.
 
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birddogsx3 said:
I guess I am on the other end of the spectrum. While I typically don't pick my rifles up by the optics I would be fairly angry if one of my scopes was affected by using it as a handle to pick up my rifle. The amount of money that these optics cost now warrants them to be robust enough to take that kind of use. That doesn't mean go out and start doing curls with your "15lb rifle" but for fuck sake it is a tool to be used in an active environment. I would like to think the higher end manufactures build them strong enough for that. I have dropped (knocked off stupid fat elbows) a Nightforce off a 40 inch table that was mounted to a 12lb rifle direct hit to scope on concrete. It snapped the ARMS throw lever mount on the bi-pod after it bounced. Scope suffer some road rash but still functions as it should. Moral of the story buy quality shit.
Click to expand...

Being mad wouldn't un-break your scope. Moral of the story, play stupid games win stupid prizes.
 
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morganlamprecht said:
i beat the crap outta my stuff...if someone asks my advice on equipment ive used i can usually say its has or hasnt held up without a doubt...being near Rifles Only my rifle gets bounced thru the mouse trap alone about 10 times a year just in matches...if someone says their gear can take a beating but they baby it...then their opinion is worth 2 farts in a paper bag...nobody wants that hot air

do i carry mine rifles by the optic? no...but if i reach down and thats where my hand lands, ill pick it up that way then get a better grip...if it doesnt hold up, it goes away, and im ok with that...do what makes you comfortable

and im one of the few shooters who doesnt worry about checking zero when i get to a match...
Click to expand...

And yet the same equipment may fail with little use for someone else. So, I guess all opinions are worth 2 farts in a paper bag.
 
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supercorndogs said:
And yet the same equipment may fail with little use for someone else. So, I guess all options are worth 2 farts in a paper bag.
Click to expand...

how many gen 2 razors failed with little use? what about spuhr mounts? how many AIs? everything CAN fail..not everything is as durable as the next when you look at the big picture
 
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I get the argument that it should be able to stand up to that, but IDGAF. I will certainly never do it, and I'll look at you like you've got a dick growing out of your forehead if I see you do it. I'm a grunt Marine, so shit like that has been beaten into me. It's also something I would curb stomp my squad for doing. My platoon sergeant took away all the SAW gunner's slings for the field op because one SAW gunner picked his weapon up by the sling. Picking a rifle up by the "carry handle" or optics will literally get you a beating.

Now, does that all have a direct application to the civilian world? Probably not.. but it's my way of thinking.

It's kind of like someone looking at you and telling you "I carry my pistol without a round chambered" as if they were making the point that there's a good reason for it.
 
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I have grabbed the rifle by the scope before but don't make a habit of it. I know my gear can take it so it doesn't worry me to have to do it but I try to grab the stock for the vast majority of the time.
 
While I'm sure you could do it, why would you...
 
Do it all the time, have for years... Provided you don't have a BSA scope mounted with ductape there's literally nothing to worry about.
 
I started out thinking that a scope wasn't meant to be a carry handle. Then, I started experiencing my rail started to shift around on my savages(Ya both). The screws come loose with extended fire and they heat up, back out all buy them selves. A little red lock tight and the proper torque solved that problem. Then I was introduced to the world of Spuhr mounts a well, plus 34mm tubes on the vortex gen 2. If a 48 oz scope isn't strong enough to pick up a 12Lbs. rifle i don't know what is? I would pick it up to see if there was any movement in the system as a check. Now that I'm moving on to a Barrett MRAD I don't know if that will continue, in the fact that picatiny rail is integrated into the chasis. Just my .02. Take it or leave it.

IanHusaberg out
 
Like what's been said before, I don't do it habitually, but have done it incidentally. I have also knocked my rifle over onto the scope, cringing while it fell, but when you buy the sturdy tools for the job, they will take an aw-shit ... just like they are designed to.
https://youtu.be/l6LXAXu15eg
 
I think it's a bad habit and would avoid doing it. Even if the scope is fine with it mechanically, you can accidentally move elevation/windage knobs and not know it, etc. I also think it's easier to drop the rifle when not being held securely where it belongs, plus it's slower to bring into action if needed when carried by the scope.

In my experience, the optic and mounts are the single biggest failure point on most rifles. Why treat it carelessly and risk problems?
 
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I have never even given it a thought till this thread. I will probably be paranoid to grab it that way again. It does bring to mind a video clip of the people at nightforce putting the scopes in the rest and running tracking tests, then taking the scope and using in as a hammer against the machine, then testing the tracking again on all of the scopes.
 
devldogs55 said:
I get the argument that it should be able to stand up to that, but IDGAF. I will certainly never do it, and I'll look at you like you've got a dick growing out of your forehead if I see you do it. I'm a grunt Marine, so shit like that has been beaten into me. It's also something I would curb stomp my squad for doing. My platoon sergeant took away all the SAW gunner's slings for the field op because one SAW gunner picked his weapon up by the sling. Picking a rifle up by the "carry handle" or optics will literally get you a beating.

Now, does that all have a direct application to the civilian world? Probably not.. but it's my way of thinking.

It's kind of like someone looking at you and telling you "I carry my pistol without a round chambered" as if they were making the point that there's a good reason for it.
Click to expand...

This whole thread has the 03 in me going crazy.

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk

 
Oh my God, I've been carrying my elk rifle for years by the scope. It's amazing the scope does not look like a pretzel by now.
 
funny how some people buy a battle proven scope only to be queer about carrying the rifle by said scope...lol.
 
It seems like the guys who really advocate for carrying a rifle by the scope are focusing on the fact that a quality scope shouldn't fail for that reason, or they've been doing it that way all their life and haven't had any problems... I don't carry my rifle properly because I'm worried that carrying it by the scope will cause any piece of my rifle to fail. I carry my rifle properly for the same reason that I pull my pants all the way up.
 
I do it routinely on my AW with a 4-16 s&b. Only reason I dont do it to all of them is that my hand doesnt fit between the scope and rail on most rifles. Never seen any evidence it's being harmed. Off the top of my head, and excluding trigger malfinctions, I've never broken a firearm or a scope. The less I worry about the equipment, the better I shoot. It's amusing to see people cringe when they see it. Lighten up you guys!
 
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Scopes do break. That's why these companies all have service departments. And they do break more than any other part of a rifle in my experience even if they are high end. Why push your luck by using it in a way it was not designed (they are not designed to be carrying handles).

Even if they don't break, the mounts most people use are made to handle recoil in a particular direction. The mounts are not made to be swung about with a full weight rifle hanging from them like a monkey bar. Think about those tiny screws used to attach many mounts to a receiver. Why would you want to hang the weight of your rifle off them and swing it all over the place? If you have a permanently affixed rail, you still have the mounting rings which can be affected. Even if the scope is fine, you can still screw up the alignment or work something loose.

Carrying a rifle by the scope offers no advantages to carrying a rifle properly where it belongs by the stock.
 
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I do it once in a while. If you have a good scope and rings, why not? But I definitely wouldn't run like that haha.
 
My hunting partner does this all the time and it drives me crazy, why would anyone do this, your scope is not a flippin handle. The argument that oh well if it cant take the abuse I'll just get a better one is crazy, just carry your rifle like it supposed to be carried.
 
I've been guilty of picking my rifle up by the scope. Be it laziness or just not thinking in the moment but I'd never make a habit of it and sure as shit wouldn't advocate doing so. I mean don't get me wrong I don't baby my gear. In fact I beat the snot out of if that's what the situation dictates. That's why I buy the nicest gear I can afford but unnecessarily abusing that gear or using it in a manner that was never intended just seems retarded to me. I'm willing to bet these same guys saying it's cool to grab a scope by the objective bell or main tube would have a fucking fit if someone went to cleaning their objective or ocular lenses with their dirty shirt sleeve. I mean if it's scratched or the coatings damaged it's got a warranty, right?
 
Ive heard countless stories of stupidity and seen a lot of broken rifles in almost 25 years of doing this. Wildly over pressure rounds, pierced primers, neck sizing types continually camming closed their bolts on oversized brass causing galled lugs, dropping their guns, throwing them on purpose to prove a point, backing over them with their cars, breaking off their bolt handles from rough use. Genuine abuse. I cant ever recall a single failure of a scope or a mount by picking up a rifle by the scope. I dont think the quality of the scope matters here either. Not sure it can qualify as abuse. Todays tactical scopes and mounts are wildly overbuilt.
 
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I use NF optics on my long range rigs, I don't hesitate to pick them up gently by the optic, but never carry by using them as a handle. I don't want to accept the liability of those actions on a hunting trip. Which is the only time any of us spend multiple days packing a rifle with no vehicular transportation.
 
I'm new to this game but I've made it a habit to pick my rifle up by the scope and give it a little shake occasionally. I had an embarrassing day at the range once because of a loose mount so now I check for that.
 
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