I'm learning to fly so I can do more moose hunting. I like flying, and I like the backcountry, and I like hunting moose. It's a natural fit. I've wanted to do it for a very long time.
I use a .308 for moose hunting. It's a Model 70 Winchester Featherlite, pre-64. It was my fathers, and before that, my uncle's. It's been in the family a long time and there is some sentimental value. It's a nice rifle.
Like most high powered rifles, this one has a scope. It's a 4x Scope Chief, by Bushnell. It was a great scope in it's day, but scope technology has advanced quite a bit. They zoom now, gather light better, and generally just have way better optics.
Over the last three years I've had several long range run ins with moose. One I shot, but it was long. Two others I let pass. Talking with other hunters led me to believe I could have shot them provided I had a range finder and knew what my rifle would do. I also decided to add a new scope to the mix.
I picked up a new Bushnell Elite. Where the Scope Chief would magnify things by 4 this one ranges from 3x to 10x. It gathers lots of light and just looks way superior to the old technology. Much as I appreciate and respect the old scope, this one is a big step up.
Scopes and scope talk seems more confusing than it is. The sales staff didn't clear much of it up. They seemed to just be waiting for me to tell them how much I'd spend. While they agreed that more money got you a better scope, they didn't really explain why.
Mounting he scope would have cost me $100. There was no way I was throwing that money away without a good reason. It didn't look that hard to mount a scope, so I decided I'd do it myself. Besides, I like being well acquainted with all aspects of my gear.
Changing one scope for another can be very easy. In this case I use the same mounts, and only change the rings. The result is that all I'm doing is undoing screws.
The scope is attached to the rifle with a combination of rails, bases and rings. The rails are screwed to the receiver. The rings attach to the bases by a system of hooks and screw compression. The bases slide onto the rails and are cinched tight by screws.
The swap scopes you can use the same rails. However, you may have to change either the rings or the bases. In fact, sometimes you have to change both. In my case that's what happened. The new scope is shorter, and so it needed new bases. The new bases allow the scope to slide forward and back. The old bases didn't allow for any adjustment.
The job was completed quickly. All that was required was to swap the bases, and screw them down, which was two screws. Then, four more screws tightened the rings to the bases, holding the scope securely. The only thing left is sighting the weapon in.
It's that easy. If you're using the same rails just swap the scope and sight it in. After that, throw your gear in the plane and hit the backcountry for some self guided hunting.
I use a .308 for moose hunting. It's a Model 70 Winchester Featherlite, pre-64. It was my fathers, and before that, my uncle's. It's been in the family a long time and there is some sentimental value. It's a nice rifle.
Like most high powered rifles, this one has a scope. It's a 4x Scope Chief, by Bushnell. It was a great scope in it's day, but scope technology has advanced quite a bit. They zoom now, gather light better, and generally just have way better optics.
Over the last three years I've had several long range run ins with moose. One I shot, but it was long. Two others I let pass. Talking with other hunters led me to believe I could have shot them provided I had a range finder and knew what my rifle would do. I also decided to add a new scope to the mix.
I picked up a new Bushnell Elite. Where the Scope Chief would magnify things by 4 this one ranges from 3x to 10x. It gathers lots of light and just looks way superior to the old technology. Much as I appreciate and respect the old scope, this one is a big step up.
Scopes and scope talk seems more confusing than it is. The sales staff didn't clear much of it up. They seemed to just be waiting for me to tell them how much I'd spend. While they agreed that more money got you a better scope, they didn't really explain why.
Mounting he scope would have cost me $100. There was no way I was throwing that money away without a good reason. It didn't look that hard to mount a scope, so I decided I'd do it myself. Besides, I like being well acquainted with all aspects of my gear.
Changing one scope for another can be very easy. In this case I use the same mounts, and only change the rings. The result is that all I'm doing is undoing screws.
The scope is attached to the rifle with a combination of rails, bases and rings. The rails are screwed to the receiver. The rings attach to the bases by a system of hooks and screw compression. The bases slide onto the rails and are cinched tight by screws.
The swap scopes you can use the same rails. However, you may have to change either the rings or the bases. In fact, sometimes you have to change both. In my case that's what happened. The new scope is shorter, and so it needed new bases. The new bases allow the scope to slide forward and back. The old bases didn't allow for any adjustment.
The job was completed quickly. All that was required was to swap the bases, and screw them down, which was two screws. Then, four more screws tightened the rings to the bases, holding the scope securely. The only thing left is sighting the weapon in.
It's that easy. If you're using the same rails just swap the scope and sight it in. After that, throw your gear in the plane and hit the backcountry for some self guided hunting.
About the Author:
If you want to learn to fly you'll need to study the PSTAR. This is very important for bush pilot training. You can find out more at www.bushpilotintraining.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment