Neoprene scope covers

[Mark Biggerstaff]

The two most useless things I took for my first safari were scope covers and a sling. Pulled the scope covers off midway thru first mornings hunt. Left sling off on day two and never used it again. The sling was always in my way. We hunted alot in thick cover and was always taking it off shoulders to go under limbs or thru brush and it kept hanging on stuff.

 

[Alistair]

Another option to maybe consider is the cup and string type design, but with clear plastic cups.

Like this: https://www.eurooptic.com/swarovski-z5-52mm-transparent-lens-cover-mpn-44102-swarovski.aspx

My S&B scope came supplied with such a design and they're pretty good. At a pinch, you can see through the cups well enough to get a shot off, espcially at close range which is usually when time is most critical, and it's the work of a moment to ping them off for a longer shot.

I've shot 1 deer through the cups which I would've missed otherwise (woodland stalk, 30 odd yds) and it means that if you have to crawl or push through thick stuff, snow, mud etc your lenses remain clear and unscratched. Best of both worlds.

I just put a zip tie round the string at the middle of the scope and let them hang freely when shooting. Can't lose them that way.

Plus, they're way more durable than flip ones. The number of pairs of butler creeks I got through on my old air rifle going after bunnies...

 

[Laniarius]

Another option to maybe consider is the cup and string type design, but with clear plastic cups.

Like this: https://www.eurooptic.com/swarovski-z5-52mm-transparent-lens-cover-mpn-44102-swarovski.aspx

My S&B scope came supplied with such a design and they're pretty good. At a pinch, you can see through the cups well enough to get a shot off, espcially at close range which is usually when time is most critical, and it's the work of a moment to ping them off for a longer shot.

I've shot 1 deer through the cups which I would've missed otherwise (woodland stalk, 30 odd yds) and it means that if you have to crawl or push through thick stuff, snow, mud etc your lenses remain clear and unscratched. Best of both worlds.

I just put a zip tie round the string at the middle of the scope and let them hang freely when shooting. Can't lose them that way.

Plus, they're way more durable than flip ones. The number of pairs of butler creeks I got through on my old air rifle going after bunnies...

I haven't seen those, interesting. Thanks.

 

[YancyW]

When the rifle are in the rack in the back of the truck, I always put the cover on, when I get out to start walking, it comes off and stays in the truck.

I will also use a flip cover on the front of the scope if I am going to be hurting in the rain for wet conditions. I usually don't bother with one of the back.

 

[Bruce]

I have only hunted in hot temperate areas ( Africa/ Brazil) and have NO experience with snow etc. My scopes all have the FACTORY supplied lens covers which stay on during storage/ transport, but come off when arriving at the camp. I do NOT use or LIKE flip up covers... you will lose out on the trophy of your dreams one day or another. To date, after more than 50 years of hunting, I have never failed a shot due to dirty lenses. I keep lens pen and camera lens wet wipes for the lens( and my eye glasses and binos) and this has worked for me without fail.
I cannot imagine that scope lenses will get so dirty that you cannot see through them, UNLESS you slip in the muddy river banks and then carry on hunting with a muddy and suspect rifle???

 

[Laniarius]

Thanks again, everyone, it's good to hear your experiences.

Up until my recent experience with wet snow, I would just take off the factory cup and string before heading out into the woods. And even for the wet snow, an actual scope cover probably wasn't necessary, I could've just put an empty Ziploc bag or something on the front lens because it's only relevant while sitting waiting for game.

What prompted me to think about this was that I happened to hear the topic discussed in two different podcasts I listened to recently. In one, Ryan Cleckner ("Going Ballistic" podcast) was talking about his recent Africa hunt. In his opinion, many hunters focus too much on avoiding dings and scratches on their rifles while not focusing on keeping their optics clean. I think he uses high quality flip off covers, and I expect a guy like him (former Army sniper) would be well trained in flipping the cover at the right time. However, among many differences between sniping and big game hunting, I suspect that the timing is very different. If I understand correctly, snipers take a lot of time and care to get into the position where they're going to shoot, so remembering to flip the cover before a shot is perhaps less of an issue because there's lots of other build up to the point of taking the shot. Whereas with big game, especially spot-and-stalk, there's the potential for a quick, unexpected shot (which I guess is more like infantry on patrol in that aspect, and I'd guess those guys don't have their scopes covered).

The other was Steven Rinella ("Meateater" Podcast). It came up in one episode, I don't recall which, that after trying various options over the years, his preference is a neoprene cover. Rinella is into many kinds of hunting, but his focus is spot-and-stalk western hunting, and the deeper into the back-country, the better. In those harsh conditions, perhaps a scope cover is more necessary than other kinds of hunting.

Anyway, those are just two opinions I happened to hear recently and it got me thinking. There are people on this site with hunting experience comparable to or that exceeds those guys (and way beyond my own), and I really appreciated hearing your experiences and opinions.

Incidentally, I discovered both podcasts by searching "Africa hunting podcast". No results ever came up on Google, but I found them after switching to DuckDuckGo, which apparently doesn't have ideological filters. Neither podcast is focused on Africa, but Cleckner happened to have the recent series on his Africa trip, and in one podcast Rinella interviewed Thomas McIntyre about his 2016 book Augusts in Africa. I'm in the middle of that and quite enjoying it.

 

[TTundra]

@Laniarius , one of the great things about hunting, and why we have new products to make, is hunters going out there and finding solutions to issues they encounter.
If you run into the same problem on your hunts and figure out a way to solve it, that makes for a satisfying experience. Hunting Africa is different from sitting in a stand in 20F degrees and snow. One of the reasons I use flip covers as I've had snow covering my lenses and a simple flip cover was my solution and worked for so much more.

If a neoprene cover solved your problem in the field and is a safe fix, awesome!

 

[Rob404]

I travel with good scope protection, in the field I used inexpensive rubber Bikini scope covers, if I lose them no big deal