Fogged scope

[widgeon]

I got out to my hunting spot around 3pm today and went up a tree with my climbing stand. As I pulled my rifle up ( .270-Win. 70 ) I noticed that the scope looked a bit dirty or something. Once I had it up, I realized it wasn't dirty, but fogged on the inside. I had it out in the rain a couple weeks ago, but thought I had thoroughly dried it. I guess not.

The scope is a Nikon Buckmaster 3X9-40

You guys know if there is anything I might be able to do to un-fog it?

 

[DrMike]

It means your nitrogen (or argon, or other inert gases) has leaked. You will need to send it back to the company to be resealed and recharged.

 

[widgeon]

Thanks DrMike. I will look in to that.

 

[DrMike]

The Buckmaster has a full lifetime warranty. If you contact them, they will repair or replace at no charge.

 

[widgeon]

Yeah, that makes me feel a lot better. I just went on to their website and got the info I need to send it to them.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[DrMike]

Sounds as if you've got matters well in hand. Have a blessed Christmas.

 

[JD338]

widgeon

As DrMike said, your scope has a leak. Let us know how the return and repair turs out for you.

JD338

 

[widgeon]

widgeon

As DrMike said, your scope has a leak. Let us know how the return and repair turs out for you.

JD338

I won't get around to sending it out until next week at best, but I will certainly let you know the outcome.

 

[Kodiak]

In over 60 years of squinting thru many different brands of scopes, I have had only one that mal-functioned. It was a very early silver 3-9x40 Leupold.

Good luck with the Buckmaster repair,

 

[widgeon]

I finally got the scope off today. It took me a while to find the special wrench for the rings. Anyhow, I also took the scope of of my .243, which I plan on selling anyway and will put that on the .270.

I was planning on leaving the bases and rings on the rifle and just laying the other scope in in place, but I thought I should ask the experts before doing so. Is there any reason that I should take it all down and start from scratch?

I'm going to give the rifle a thorough cleaning before moving forward, which may be a day or two before I get to it anyhow.

Thanks for any advice,
Tony

p.s. The scopes are both 1" tubes.

 

[ROVERT]

I was planning on leaving the bases and rings on the rifle and just laying the other scope in in place, but I thought I should ask the experts before doing so. Is there any reason that I should take it all down and start from scratch?

I'm not sure I qualify as an expert, but I do swap more scopes around than the average guy. I see no reason to take the bottoms of the rings or bases off unless you have doubts as to whether they were installed properly in the first place. If your scope held zero before, I wouldn't worry about it. If the rings were not lapped when installed, it would be a good idea to do so, but not absolutely necessary. The vast majority of rings are not lapped and work just fine for the average shooter.

 

[DrMike]

If you were taking off a one inch tube and putting on a one inch tube, there is no need to change out the bases.

 

[widgeon]

Thanks for the advice. I will carry on. :mrgreen:

 

[Desert Fox]

It's really frustrating when that happen. A few years back a friend of mine was about to pull a trigger on a trophy mullie. When he raised his rifle to shoot, all he saw was a cumulus cloud. His scope was the old Redfield Accutrac. He came closed to tossing his rifle down a ravine. It can happen to any brand of scope. The older the scope the more likely the nitrogen/argon charge will leak out.

 

[widgeon]

I had the day off, so finally got around to cleaning the gun, installing the new scope and bore sighting. I used the mirror technique I saw in another thread here, prior to installing. When I put the laser in the bore and looked through the scope (Mil dot reticle), it was about 1.5 mil to the right and about 0.5 mil low. I adjusted the windage, but left the elevation alone. I think I'm ready for the range. :mrgreen: