Thread: Scopes that can take a beating

Some cheap scopes can surprise you (although good luck rather than good manufacture I suspect). Many years ago I fitted a cheap Japanese 'Hunter' 4x32 (trade price $15) to a mates SMLE sporter. We were clambering round a bluff above a small tarn in the Lewis Pass when my mate slipped and dropped his rifle. It bounced off a rock which sprung the Millar mounts off the front of the base and disappeared into 6 feet of bloody cold water. It took about half an hour to fish it out and the scope was still clear. I slackened the mount clamp screws with tip of my Green River skinner and refitted the mount. That rifle and scope were still going a few years later when the same mate had slipped a couple of times on a clay track up the back of Goose Bay on a goat hunt. He shot at a goat and the last 4 inches of his barrel blew completely off the rifle and disappeared, obviously well packed with clay! The scope survived that as well! I never went hunting with him again.