anybody else use a rifle scope for a spotting scope!!

[noneck180]

SG,

are you hunting/guiding in jeans?

[sheepguide]

Originally Posted by noneck180

SG,

are you hunting/guiding in jeans?

Yep until it gets colder then I break out the wool.

DSCF0924.jpg

OH AND THIS WOOL GOES IN MY PACK ALSO!

[uglyelk]

What confuses me is the folks claiming they can't carry the extra few pounds for a spotting scope etc. How the hell are they planning on getting the mutton off the mountain...roll it Down? If you can't carry it stay home.

[sheepguide]

Originally Posted by uglyelk

What confuses me is the folks claiming they can't carry the extra few pounds for a spotting scope etc. How the hell are they planning on getting the mutton off the mountain...roll it Down? If you can't carry it stay home.

X2

[Rantastic]

sheepguide nice pics... it shows you have really worked for ur trophies.

180+ keep on diggin dude. ur OP said it all. lots of great ideas here for you to consider next time ur goin out or maybe leave the binos at home and just use the spottin scope eh? Either way we all know what you meant or you wouldn't have created this thread. You didnt make this thread to ask if anyone else field judges their sheep through their riflescope... your busted... just give it a rest.

And I'll take one of those kevlar blaze jackets and belaclavas...

Originally Posted by 180+

Got some flack on this sight for using a high power scope on my rifle for a spotting scope!! I hunt lots in the mountais and carry a good pair of binos!! just do not see the need to carry 3 optics on my back humping mountains all day does anybody else do the same! My schmidt and bender 4-16x 50 on my rifle is the best optics I have ever seen!! just asking if anybody else does the same!!

The simple answer to your question is "NO!"

You really need to look through a Ziess or Swaro spotting scope if you think your rifle scope is the best optic you've ever looked through. It is indeed a fine rifle scope but it comes no where near the long-range spotting performance offered by a high-end spotter. Rifle scopes are for aiming...spotting scopes are for spotting. Never the twain shall meet.

I have spotted a lot of things that looked like sheep through my binos that turned out not to be when examined closer with my spotting scope. Things it would have been very irresponsible to point my rifle at for a better look. So no, a rifle scope does not double as a spotting scope....

[6tmile]

5 yrs ago ran into 2 young fellas in the mountains, we were all sheep hunting, they were using a rifle scope for a spotting scope, they had it attached to an old cut down rifle stock , and painted orange. It was a lot lighter than my spotting scope set up. I invested over 1000 clams into my rig, i left there shaking my head thinking why didnt I think of that, I could of saved a bunch of money, and put it toward another hunt. As for having to have a spotting scope, I believe each to there own, use what you can afford, use it ethically and legally, at the end of the day I would have rather been scoped than actually shot at, I have heard stories of individuals on opening day of sheep season, actually dodging bullets from hunters shooting at rams from extended ranges from down below the mountain, I dont know if the stories are true,but anything is possible

[yamfan]

I agree with all this never scope someone talk (Obviously) this has nothing to do with that scenerio but also think about this one,

Your walking down a bushline or something and a buck steps out, you don't always have excess time to bino him and then decide on whether or not to take him or not so you raise your rifle, scope him and decide to pass or fire. So you are raising your rifle and pointing it towards something (a identified buck You know what your looking at) but still something you are not 100% sure you will take, Is everybody gonna tell me this is completly unacceplable i mean you are pointing a firearm at something you may not want want to take so that is a no-no right??? I believe in this hypothetical situation the act of surveying the animal is acceptable!! No????

P.S. keep in mind this is hypothetical so every other safe procedure is followed, nothing behind him ect. its a safe situation not argueing that.

[Rantastic]

Originally Posted by yamfan

Your walking down a bushline or something and a buck steps out, you don't always have excess time to bino him and then decide on whether or not to take him or not so you raise your rifle, scope him and decide to pass or fire. So you are raising your rifle and pointing it towards something (a identified buck You know what your looking at) but still something you are not 100% sure you will take, Is everybody gonna tell me this is completly unacceplable i mean you are pointing a firearm at something you may not want want to take so that is a no-no right??? I believe in this hypothetical situation the act of surveying the animal is acceptable!! No????

This is completely acceptable and everyone does it.... this situation however is completely different than the one asked about in the beginning of the thread imo. UR asking about sizing up an animal(normal thing to use a riflescope for) and the OP seemed to be about spotting around for animals... (not acceptable)

Ur situation is A-OK

[jaybull]

I've been scoped a few times. One time i walked down a cut to the guy and he said, I never even saw you there. I believed him. Thats the scary part, he was just looking up and down the cut with his rifle scope. Who even nows if it was loaded. And thank god a deer or elk never walked out between us. Thing is i saw him perfectly though my binos " glassing " both sides of the cut. I have seen game with my eyes then binos and then scope cuz it was heading into bush ect. But i always know what i'm pointing my rifle at. I also when hunting my blind or tree stands range trails the game use and then have my scope on appropriate setting and parallax adjustment ready to go. So i guess i point my rifle at something i'm not gonna shoot. I have also without anything in the chamber held cross hairs on does walking down trail to practice keeping still. Is this wrong to do? I do the same thing with my bow minis the arrow. Is this wrong? I don't think looking at game through your scope is wrong, but glassing looking for game is. JMO

[ishootbambi]

Originally Posted by jaybull

I've been scoped a few times. One time i walked down a cut to the guy and he said, I never even saw you there. I believed him. Thats the scary part, he was just looking up and down the cut with his rifle scope. Who even nows if it was loaded. And thank god a deer or elk never walked out between us. Thing is i saw him perfectly though my binos " glassing " both sides of the cut. I have seen game with my eyes then binos and then scope cuz it was heading into bush ect. But i always know what i'm pointing my rifle at. I also when hunting my blind or tree stands range trails the game use and then have my scope on appropriate setting and parallax adjustment ready to go. So i guess i point my rifle at something i'm not gonna shoot. I have also without anything in the chamber held cross hairs on does walking down trail to practice keeping still. Is this wrong to do? I do the same thing with my bow minis the arrow. Is this wrong? I don't think looking at game through your scope is wrong, but glassing looking for game is. JMO

yes doing that with your bow is wrong. if your release fails your bow is going to be severely damaged. if you are drawing it to warm up or to test your arm muscles if you have been sitting for a while put an arrow in and point it in a safe direction. a deer you do not intend to shoot is not a safe direction. IF thats is why you are drawing your bow, use your fingers...safer yet.

[uglyelk]

I mean why carry around all that extra weight?

[Rantastic]

anyone notice how skinny that soliders legs are??

[Jimboy]

Originally Posted by crazy_fool1

anyone notice how skinny that soliders legs are??

YUP ,not much to eat over there, cept snakes

[albertadave]

Originally Posted by noneck180

SG,

are you hunting/guiding in jeans?

What's so funny about that? I wear jeans when I hunt sheep. Lots of guys do. One of the best sheep guides I ever worked with climbed in blue jeans and rubber boots.

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by crazy_fool1

anyone notice how skinny that soliders legs are??

You obviously don't have a 20 year old son. He's perfectly normal. Stop looking down at your own thunder thighs and comparing!

[ishootbambi]

Originally Posted by delburnedave

What's so funny about that? I wear jeans when I hunt sheep. Lots of guys do. One of the best sheep guides I ever worked with climbed in blue jeans and rubber boots.

he accused another forum member of being a road hunter because he wore jeans hunting must be shooting sheep out the windows

[ishootbambi]

LOLOLOLOL. i thought id bring this thread up rather than whiz on another guys thread and distract from his success. imagine my surprise when i see post number 2 in this thread, yet the same guy who said that is accusing me of having no class in another thread for saying the same thing????? so, hypocrite, senile, good for goose....i dunno. it seems that most agree that using a rifle scope as a spotting scope is frowned upon by the majority. so gramps....what do you really think? im confused now on what your opinion actually is.

[jaylow?]

Originally Posted by ishootbambi

LOLOLOLOL. i thought id bring this thread up rather than whiz on another guys thread and distract from his success. imagine my surprise when i see post number 2 in this thread, yet the same guy who said that is accusing me of having no class in another thread for saying the same thing????? so, hypocrite, senile, good for goose....i dunno. it seems that most agree that using a rifle scope as a spotting scope is frowned upon by the majority. so gramps....what do you really think? im confused now on what your opinion actually is.

at what distance can you tell the difference between a man and a deer from?

[pdfish]

Originally Posted by ishootbambi

LOLOLOLOL. i thought id bring this thread up rather than whiz on another guys thread and distract from his success. imagine my surprise when i see post number 2 in this thread, yet the same guy who said that is accusing me of having no class in another thread for saying the same thing????? so, hypocrite, senile, good for goose....i dunno. it seems that most agree that using a rifle scope as a spotting scope is frowned upon by the majority. so gramps....what do you really think? im confused now on what your opinion actually is.

You're having a hard time differentiating between a person using a rifle scope for "glassing", and a person looking thru his scope at a target already positively identified as a deer. You've never looked at a deer thru the scope and not pulled the trigger? I know I have, and I can pretty much guarantee that it will happen again. Sorry, but no one is being a hypocrite, and you've got to relax a little.

[sheepguide]

Originally Posted by pdfish

You're having a hard time differentiating between a person using a rifle scope for "glassing", and a person looking thru his scope at a target already positively identified as a deer. You've never looked at a deer thru the scope and not pulled the trigger? I know I have, and I can pretty much guarantee that it will happen again. Sorry, but no one is being a hypocrite, and you've got to relax a little.

I think what is been pointed out is that unless you know for sure that it is something to pull the trigger on one should be using different optics than your rifle scope. Pointing a gun at anything other than a known target is very unsafe.
And yes im sure most have had a gun on a deer and decided to turn it down for being not quite big enough but not before we knew it was a buck. And not before knowing what it was before hand.
The main point is that rifle scopes should not replace bino's or spotting scopes. End of story. Id risk loosing a shot at an animal before id ever point a gun at an unknown object. Even if im pretty posative its a deer or what im hunting the first thing I "ALWAYS" look through is my bino's.
SG

[jaylow?]

Originally Posted by sheepguide

I think what is been pointed out is that unless you know for sure that it is something to pull the trigger on one should be using different optics than your rifle scope. Pointing a gun at anything other than a known target is very unsafe.
And yes im sure most have had a gun on a deer and decided to turn it down for being not quite big enough but not before we knew it was a buck. And not before knowing what it was before hand.
The main point is that rifle scopes should not replace bino's or spotting scopes. End of story. Id risk loosing a shot at an animal before id ever point a gun at an unknown object. Even if im pretty posative its a deer or what im hunting the first thing I "ALWAYS" look through is my bino's.
SG

your missing it too bud, bambi is just dragging an argument from another thread back to this ancient one. and it was like 250yds or something. there was no question whether it was a deer or not , it was whether it had any horns or not. two different things. one is scoping and one isnt. this case isnt.

[ishootbambi]

so when a guy asks if its ok to use a rifle scope as a spotter, gramps responds with

Originally Posted by gramps73

Im not sure if this is for real or not but a short answer is
NERVER

so when a guy tells a story of doing exactly that....he saw a deer and cranked up his rifle scope to verify that he was looking at a doe not a buck....and i suggest thats not a great idea to use a rifle scope as a spotter then gramps says

Originally Posted by gramps73

Guys like you have no class, this kid knows right from wrong.

now if it isnt talking out both sides of your mouth then what is it?

the guy knew it was a deer but not sure if it was a suitable target. sure its less offensive than looking at a hunter on purpose, but it seems the majority of posters in this thread kinda feel the same.....dont use your rifle scope as a spotter. that just seems common sense in the goal of safety. ugh!

[ishootbambi]

Originally Posted by jaylow?

at what distance can you tell the difference between a man and a deer from?

different answer in every situation jaylow. in good light on a clear day, pretty far. snow, fog, dawn or dusk, much less.

and i think you're the one missing it. pointing your gun at anything you dont know for sure is a safe target is a poor idea. im starting to side with potty....some rifle hunters are pretty hillbilly in their safety practices. i dont get it.

[jaylow?]

i must be a little thick. im missing why it is your putting your binos or spotting scope on a known target. if this is a step you need to verify something or make yourself feel good then giver. i know if someone did that next to me and a trophy whitetail walked out he'd be watching a buck hit the ground through his binos when he should have been shooting. also , at 250 yrd your going to look halarious pulling a spotting scope out.

[sheepguide]

Originally Posted by jaylow?

your missing it too bud, bambi is just dragging an argument from another thread back to this ancient one. and it was like 250yds or something. there was no question whether it was a deer or not , it was whether it had any horns or not. two different things. one is scoping and one isnt. this case isnt.

not missing anything. A rifle scope was used to identify a target. The best method for this is bino's. The deer wasnt known to be shootable until it was scoped. The best practice is to never point a rifle until its know that the trigger is going to be pulled. If you can posativly tell that via eyes, bino's or a spotter than sure put your rifle scope on it but until that point looking through your scope at things to determine sex, size or legality is not the way its done.
Maybe when im out teaching my 8 and 10 year old how to identify things(bucks,does etc.) ill just tell to use and let them look through my rifle scope.
No wonder so many people are getting scoped and have rifles pointed in there direction these days!
SG

[redranger15]

I'm with jaylow on this. If i'm hunting deer and a nice bucks walks out, the first thing I grab is my rifle. If I decide he's to small then down goes the gun if not it's bang time. Call me unsafe but sometimes you only have a few seconds to make up your mind and take or not take your shot. By the time the binos come up then down then grab my gun he could be gone. Big difference in buck walking out and a unknown object though and a little common sence always helps.

[ishootbambi]

Originally Posted by redranger15

Big difference in buck walking out and a unknown object though and a little common sence always helps.

the last sentence is the difference. in the other thread, the guy said he wasnt sure if it was a legal target.

Originally Posted by moosehunter3-0

I turned the scope to 10X to check for head gear, made sure it was a doe and shot her in the chest.

[sheepguide]

Originally Posted by redranger15

I'm with jaylow on this. If i'm hunting deer and a nice bucks walks out, the first thing I grab is my rifle. If I decide he's to small then down goes the gun if not it's bang time. Call me unsafe but sometimes you only have a few seconds to make up your mind and take or not take your shot. By the time the binos come up then down then grab my gun he could be gone. Big difference in buck walking out and a unknown object though and a little common sence always helps.

Well I guarentee that if things are happening that fast your not accuratly judging an animal anyways.
And your right common sense does go along way but like I said id rather risk not getting a shot than risk pointing my gun at anything im not going to shoot. I guess some take the safety of others and the chances of a gun going off at something we dont want to tag a little more serious than others.
So all you guys keep on judging and glassing with your rifle scope but when some young guy or inexperienced person points a gun and scopes you one day thinking he saw something he thought was shootable because he read on an outdoors forum that it is cool and safe to do so then we best not hear anything on here about there actions. Just remember that some guys arent as great out there as yourselves so they may in their mind think they saw a deer in the edge of the bush and decide to get ready so that they dont miss the oppertunity at that big deer the so dream about and see on AO and end up with the buisness end of a rifle pointed in a very unsafe direction.
SG

[redranger15]

Originally Posted by sheepguide

Well I guarentee that if things are happening that fast your not accuratly judging an animal anyways.
And your right common sense does go along way but like I said id rather risk not getting a shot than risk pointing my gun at anything im not going to shoot. I guess some take the safety of others and the chances of a gun going off at something we dont want to tag a little more serious than others.
So all you guys keep on judging and glassing with your rifle scope but when some young guy or inexperienced person points a gun and scopes you one day thinking he saw something he thought was shootable because he read on an outdoors forum that it is cool and safe to do so then we best not hear anything on here about there actions. Just remember that some guys arent as great out there as yourselves so they may in their mind think they saw a deer in the edge of the bush and decide to get ready so that they dont miss the oppertunity at that big deer the so dream about and see on AO and end up with the buisness end of a rifle pointed in a very unsafe direction.
SG

I didn't say an unknown object I said a buck. Never said it was cool either, and if was to only think I seen a deer at the edge then yes I would and do use my binos. Like I said common sence and yes I do take saftey seriously.