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G&A

j a n u a ry 2 0 1 5 | G u n n o t e s

will probably be in camp rather than immediately availbetter with a scope, and we acquire targets more quickly.
able, it isnt always practical to check zero at the moment,
There remain some very specialized situations where iron
perhaps because of daylight or concerns about the noise.
sights are superior, such as during a driving rainstorm or
A pre-zeroed scope in compatible detachable rings will be
blizzard, when hunting with hounds and for all elephant
plenty close enough to
hunting. For close work,
continue the hunt, but
too much magnifcation
Blaser R8/R93 QD saddle mount
I still suggest verifying
is dangerous, but with
with 1-inch offset low rings for
Zeiss optics. $638
zero as soon as you get
a low-powered scope
a chance.
turned all the way down,
In this case, a spare
that problem is solved.
scope may be just that,
Under most circumwhether similar to the
stances, I cant imagine
primary scope or truly
a sane person removing
a spare, something you
a functioning scope in
can get by with if the
favor of iron sights. Alneed arises. There are
though I have generally
other reasons to have
followed the crowd and
multiple scopes or sights
used detachable mounts
set up for a given rife.
on dangerous-game
For my Blaser with a .300
rifes, I can honestly say
Weatherby Magnum barI have never removed a
rel, for instance, I trade
scope in favor of irons.
back and forth between
Well, I did that once, but
two scopes, the Zeiss 3-12X mentioned earlier and a Leit was because the scope kept smacking me between the
upold VX6 2-12X. Either is a good choice for open-country
eyes, and I was afraid I was going to bleed to death.
or mountain hunting, but the Leupold has a dial-up custom
Ken Elliott, my long-time boss at the Petersen Publishing
turret for a certain load. If I want to use a different load, I
Company, frmly believes that a hunting rife should wear
switch to the Zeiss scope with the Rapid-Z reticle.
iron sights, and his usually do. If you have iron sights, a deAnother sound option is setting up with disparate sighttachable makes sense, even if the likelihood of actually using
it is low. These days I see a lot of detachable mounts on rifes ing systems. Hey, we do this all the time with our ARs,
right? How about a magnifying scope for longer range
that do not have iron sights. There are good reasons.
and perhaps a refective red dot sight for closer work? I
For one thing, scopes can fail. This can be a mechanical
have a .375 set up exactly this way, with a Leupold VX7
failure, which is rare, but it does happen, and Ive seen it
1.5-6X for general use and an Aimpoint Hunter for close
happen with just about any brand you can think of. More
cover, both in Leupold detachable rings. Uh, yeah, this ricommon is for the scope to take a serious knock from a slip
fe also has very good iron sights, but
in the rocks, from a train wreck with a
I need to be honest. These days Im
horse or from doing something stupid
LETTERS FROM KEITH
having increasing diffculty resolving
like leaning the rife where it can fall
I would forget the 7mm Mag[num] for
iron sights, so the Aimpoint offers a
over (or something even more stupid
Africa and take a .375 and a big double
as your best bet.
much faster and more visible option.
like leaning it against a vehicle and
Elmer Keith, March 1970
I cant see myself removing the scope
driving over it).
in favor of iron sights especially
With baggage limits as they are
today but last March in Burkina
these days, I try not to fy with two
Faso, I did remove the scope in favor
rifes, but I often carry a spare scope.
of the Aimpoint when it was my turn
Historically, a lot of guys like me have
to hunt buffalo. I cant properly call
advised this with the tagline already
it a charge, because it really wasnt,
set in rings. Thats good, but detachbut after receiving the frst bullet, the
able mounts are so reliable today that
buffalo ran straight toward me. That
you can go a step further and say,
red dot was bold and bright on the
already set in detachable rings and
center of his chest, and the second
pre-zeroed. I continue to recomshot dropped him faster and cleanmend always checking zero when
er than I could have done with iron
removing and reattaching a scope.
sights.
However, even though a spare scope