OT sighting in muzzleloader
Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.
Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.
Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
OT sighting in muzzleloader
Long story short, I won this inline muzzleloader at a Whitetails banquet back in 01 and have never fired it. This year I have desided to hunt with it. I've got all the stuff to sight in. The rifle came with a scope on it. My question is: Should I take the scope off and sight in with iron sights first, then sight in with the scope on? It's not a high dollar scope, a Blazer. I've never hunted with a scope before, so I don't really know what to expect. What do you think?
-
J Miller
- Member Emeritus
- Posts: 14906
- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:46 pm
- Location: Not in IL no more ... :)
veeman,
To me a scope is an unreliable device that will most likely fail on me just when I'm needing it.
So - I would pull the scope off and sight it in with the iron sights.
then put the scope back on and sight it in with that.
That way if the scope fails all you have to do is pull it off and keep on hunting.
Joe
To me a scope is an unreliable device that will most likely fail on me just when I'm needing it.
So - I would pull the scope off and sight it in with the iron sights.
then put the scope back on and sight it in with that.
That way if the scope fails all you have to do is pull it off and keep on hunting.
Joe
-
AmBraCol
- Webservant
- Posts: 3815
- Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:12 am
- Location: The Center of God's Grace
- Contact:
Yeah, what J Miller said.
The proper procedure is sight the iron first. Then put the scope on and sight it in. The reason being that your zero can change when you remove the scope and then replace it. So it's best to sight in the iron and then the scope. If the scope louses up during the hunt you can pull it and keep on going. Irons can go bad too, but it's not as common. My dad had his rear sight come loose one time while hunting. He tightened it up with his hunting knife then "bore sighted" it by pulling the bolt, resting the gun on some branches and adjusting the sight to match up with something he could see through the bore. If I recall correctly he ended up shooting a small buck shortly there after. But "iron" sights tend to be reasonably reliable and rugged. Good quality modern scopes are too, for the most part, but many of us are still suspicious of them.
The proper procedure is sight the iron first. Then put the scope on and sight it in. The reason being that your zero can change when you remove the scope and then replace it. So it's best to sight in the iron and then the scope. If the scope louses up during the hunt you can pull it and keep on going. Irons can go bad too, but it's not as common. My dad had his rear sight come loose one time while hunting. He tightened it up with his hunting knife then "bore sighted" it by pulling the bolt, resting the gun on some branches and adjusting the sight to match up with something he could see through the bore. If I recall correctly he ended up shooting a small buck shortly there after. But "iron" sights tend to be reasonably reliable and rugged. Good quality modern scopes are too, for the most part, but many of us are still suspicious of them.
I've only had two scope failures in my life and both were on inline muzzleloaders. Those things can generate some stiff recoil when you get to, and past, 100 grains of powder. I like having back-up iron sights.
Derek aka "shootnfan"
Middle Tennessee
24 hours in a day.....24 beers in a case. Coincidense? I think not.
Middle Tennessee
24 hours in a day.....24 beers in a case. Coincidense? I think not.
Take care, just "where" the scope (and it's lenses) is positioned, in relation to the breech face.
Some inlines "blowback" in that area, and can damage a scope or dirty the lenses - and may require a scope coat/protector.
https://secure.tcarms.com/store/index.p ... vstart/72/
Some inlines "blowback" in that area, and can damage a scope or dirty the lenses - and may require a scope coat/protector.
https://secure.tcarms.com/store/index.p ... vstart/72/