Scope frozen soild, saftey frozen solid

greenpeter

Went out today after a fox and what a complete disaster,
Followed track into a bog


Found the den under another pile of log


Found a nice vantage point on another pile of logs and sat back and waited in about -4ish for 30 minute,
Then bingo a big dog fox comes out.
Rifle at the ready heart starts thumping lower my head to the stock and can not see a thing,
The scope lens was a sheet of ice,
Panic sets in so i take a snot rag (used) from my pocket and get rid off as much ice as i can,
Finaly i can see this whopper fox in the cross hair:D
I'm steady as rock on a piece of bog oak,
put the pressure on the safety not a budge,
Frozen solid:mad: no way would it move.
All i can do now is watch the fox and it only tuck about 15mins or so before he had a kill, a rat.
A bad evening shooting but was enjoyable to sit and watch pheasants going to roost and snipe and woodcock looking for some water on the bog.
Mite go back tomorrow and see will it come together.
What can be done to stop the lens and saftey freezing?
Was -15 here last night.

declan1980

thats a sickener alright, but at least you know where he is

Cass

Lense caps (if needed with a cotton wool insert) and a sock. Cut the end of it. Slip it over the trigger, safety and bolt. When you are settled and ready to shoot, pop the cap, and slide the sock back onto the butt stock.

The safety, bolt, etc are all in "the line of fire" when you exhale, hence your breath and the moisture from it can sit on these and in such low temps - freeze.

greenpeter

Cant let it happen again, was like a bull.
Thanks for the tips.

johngalway

ezridax wrote: »

pop the cap <---- Really really quietly!

My Butler Creeks go POP! Scare a fox off in a heartbeat they would.

Cass

Don't forget lad, that even though its freezing hard the humidity levels for the last week or so have been running at around 90 - 100%. The means dampness. So even with dry stock, barrel, mechanism, etc there are water molecules/vapour in the air that will stick to your gear and freeze.

The best piece of advice i can give is to cover as much as possible. It doesn't have to be permanent or prevent you from shooting, hence the sock idea, but keep your rifle and all gear well protected and more than that when you get home CLEAN, AN OIL well.

Cass

johngalway wrote: »

<---- Really really quietly!

Heh, heh, heh, heh ......................... read that and thought of this ..........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiEUDzIrEQE

endasmail

thats a kick in the stones
lesson learned though
must watch that myself next time im out

Grizzly 45

johngalway wrote: »

My Butler Creeks go POP! Scare a fox off in a heartbeat they would.

Need to loosen them a slight bit in the part that sits around the scope tube.The POP is caused by partial vaccum of the air contracting in the scope cover,so you need it to leak a small bit.:).

Better and cheaper IMHO,a one piece scope lens cover made from an old inner tube of a car. An old Alaskan hunting guide trick.
Cut a piece of inner tube,appropriate to the scope length.so you have a thick giant rubber band.Slip one end over the eye piece and one over the lens.No need to do anything with the turrets,as they are accesible by the hole in the band.
Fit should be snug but not extremly tight that would prevent a quick removal.To use,just pull upwards at the eye piece,it should have enough power to fly forward and clear the lens if it is needed quickly.[Like flicking an elastic band].Or you can pull both down off the lenses and keep it hanging around the mounts..You lose it.no big deal,simply cut another one.Practise abit,and it is surprising how quick and with little movement you can deploy this.

ormondprop

was thinkin of getting something like this to keep my scope protected, should keep it nice and warm aswell:D
http://www.scopeshieldalaska.com/

johngalway

ezridax wrote: »

Heh, heh, heh, heh ......................... read that and thought of this ..........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiEUDzIrEQE

Seems ya can't trust anyone with personal videos anymore, what has the internet come to

Cass

johngalway wrote: »

Seems ya can't trust anyone with personal videos anymore, .........

Apologies John next time i'll blank your face.

Tackleberrywho

greenpeter wrote: »

Cant let it happen again, was like a bull.
Thanks for the tips.

For all moving parts that may be affected by moisture.

And in regards the Butler creek, if ya use them enough they will lose the pop (and open by themselves !)

macadam

Leave the Extra cool mints at home as well, allthough if you get them hot enough the might thaw all your bits.

clivej

Am I reading this correctly??

Is it not the water vapour or water that will freeze,
so how will the scope and safety freeze if there is not any water in there in the first place??

Did you get snow into the workings of the scope and rifle??

garv123

clivej wrote: »

Am I reading this correctly??

Is it not the water vapour or water that will freeze,
so how will the scope and safety freeze if there is not any water in there in the first place??

Did you get snow into the workings of the scope and rifle??

condensation from his breath could have led to moisture on the lens which would freeze and the same if he was in a position where his breathing was landing on the safety.

Grizzly 45

ormondprop wrote: »

was thinkin of getting something like this to keep my scope protected, should keep it nice and warm aswell:D
http://www.scopeshieldalaska.com/

Just a more refined[and expensive ] version of the inner tube shield.;)

kay 9

Spray all working parts with silicone spray, can be got in most auto factors and is good in many ways. Handy on door seals and locks too in frosty weather;)