The life of a scope...?

[zachomega]

How long should one reasonably expect a scope to last?

I bought a used Winchester Model 70 chambered in 30.06 and it came with a Tasco scope. I took it to the range to sight it in and found that after every couple of shots the scope would be completely out of whack again. This became more and more prevalent as I used heavier ammo. With the 180 grain rounds, it would throw the scope completely out. It mostly threw out the horizontal adjustment.

I figure now I have a nice monocular. But back to the original question, how long should one expect a scope to last and what factors play into this life? What can one do reasonably to preserve their scope for as long as possible?

Thanks in advance for your responses,
-Zach

[wheeling365]

Honestly I'm suprised it lasted that long on a 30.06 bolt gun. Optics are one of those things that you really get what you pay for. Alot of the cheaper scopes don't handle the larger centerfire calibers well.

Some of it is the gun as well. A semiauto gun will have less recoil to it in the same caliber since some of the engery is used to cycle the action unlike a lever, bolt or single shot break open that allows all the energy to push the bullet.

The weight of the gun also plays into it. My AR-50 weights in at 30lbs+ and it first had a super sniper(high end tasco) on it. It worked fine for plinking but sucked at or near dusk. If it was on an AR-15 with the 50BMG upper conversion thats pretty light it might not fair out so well.

Looking at some of the optics I've bought I've spent almost as much for them as the guns they went on. Leupold has a lifetime warranty that I've used already to get a new scope with no hastle at all. They offer alot of accessories also like sun shades, calibrated turrets for the mildot scopes etc.....

As for how long they should last? Ideally as long if not longer than the rest of the gun. In reality if its a hunting rifle that you zero and never move the turrets again once its set nothing moves to wear out. On a gun that you are changing dope with then its only a matter of time til you wear out the turrets or something fails.

The only other suggestion I have is to make sure that the bases and rings are mounted correctly and that the scope is square in the rings. If the rings are not fit to the scope right it can move around in them or cause uneven pressure and flex the scope body causing it to break or loose its zero.