Scope in bush help

[CanAm500]

Most Hunters use Pie Plates.........

Thats a new one...ill try that

[Ozone]

Here print off some targets.

http://www.targetz.com/targets01.htm

print some off and keep under the foam of your gun case. Put some thumb tacks with them.

[~T-BONE~]

Better to be safe then sorry!! Take some advice check it! Go with yer gut for peace of mind! I had to learn this the hard way... Early in the season (pre rut) I had a bad spill and took my rifle for granted thinking it was bullet proof! So later in the season had rattled in a nice big 5x6 blacktail.. fired and missed!!! After a few more shots that this buck was giving me I still could not hit it. To make a long story short he walked away to live another day! Later checked my gun and the rifling was shot (gunsmith told me) and not to mention the fall knocking my scope out earlier in the season. Moral of the story is check yer gun often! It could be a hard lesson to learn. Trust me... memory is still vivid ..

[hoochie]

Lap your rings, and put index marks on them and the scope using a fine white marker. Make sure your scope is well protected by good quality foam, and make sure your windage and elevation knob covers are tight.

[CanAm500]

Ok, thanks all. I will be heading to the range this weekend.

[Elkhound]

So later in the season had rattled in a nice big 5x6 blacktail.. fired and missed!!!

Thats tooooo bad. Now. Where abouts was this deer?

[Franko Manini]

Better to be safe then sorry!! Take some advice check it! Go with yer gut for peace of mind! I had to learn this the hard way... Early in the season (pre rut) I had a bad spill and took my rifle for granted thinking it was bullet proof! So later in the season had rattled in a nice big 5x6 blacktail.. fired and missed!!! After a few more shots that this buck was giving me I still could not hit it. To make a long story short he walked away to live another day! Later checked my gun and the rifling was shot (gunsmith told me) and not to mention the fall knocking my scope out earlier in the season. Moral of the story is check yer gun often! It could be a hard lesson to learn. Trust me... memory is still vivid ..

I have a similar story... I had been hunting for 3 years without shooting a buck. I was determined to get one the fourth year and I was trying different tactics. I did a lot of hiking and scouting (and falling down) and found a great little place to sit one evening.

This particular day, I was trying out a call, and I didn't see anything. It was the last few minutes of shooting light and I was getting ready to pack up, collecting my things and putting them in my pack. I looked up to the ridge I was watching and standing there was a nice buck. It was the first shooter buck I had seen on Vancouver Island and a nice one at that. I'm not sure if it was a 4 point or what, but I didn't have to check it with my binos because I saw this huge "basket" on his head. I shouldered my gun and let one rip. He backed up and boogied. I looked for him for 3 hours that night, and did not see any blood or hair or sign. I skipped out on work the next morning and went back and looked for another 3 or 4 hours with my dad and his dog and found nothing.

Later that day, I set up a target at the same range I shot at the buck (about 80 yards). I used a rest and could not hit it. I wanted to hunt again that weekend so I went out to the gravel pit with a HUGE sheet of cardboard from a refridgerator. I found out that my gun was shooting 3 feet to the left, and 18 inches high at 100 yards.

A nasty lesson to learn on a buck. Now, whenever possible and reasonable, when I'm done hunting, I try to blast a round off (outside my hunting area) to make sure I haven't buggered up my scope in a fall.

[MichelD]

If I'm driving from one hunting area to the next or heading off to a hunting area where I might see one from the road I rest my rifle behind the driver's seat in my king cab on a bed of blankets and wool jackets to buffer any jolting.

If I'm the passenger and we're heading out somewhere to hunt but there's a chance of seeing something on the way, (it's unlikely but there's always a chance) I hold my rifle upright, resting the butt on the floor or on my foot as long as I can and try to keep the scope from touching anything like the gear shift or dash panel.