I am going on a buffalo hunt in the Omay in Jul 10. I intend to use a bolt action with a monte carlo stock in .416 Rigby as sole rifle for this hunt.I have a Leupold || VX-3 1.5-5x20mm scope fitted on the rifle using Lynx mounts. Is it worth it changing to WarneQD mounts(readily available is SA) in the event of a mishap with the scope?

you'll probably get alot of disagreement on this, but i really don't think so. I used QD's for years, and never took the scope off. #2 - you probably have a leatherman tool on your belt. the screwdriver will undo the normal screws just fine, and if you're going to follow a wounded animal into the brush, you'll have plenty of time to unscrew the mounts. BY the way - welcome to the forum

Machiel - You didn't mention if the rifle had fixed sights or not, but I assume that it does. All the rifles I own that have fixed sights attached I use QD mounts for the scopes.
Why not?? It's much easier to acces the fixed sights when you can turn two levers ( two seconds) and it's off. Plus the scope can then be remounted without resighting when the action is over. I always have a "spare" scope with me mounted in the same QD's, pre sighted in and again able to make the switch in seconds and no resighting required. Also I take my scopes off on some rifles quite frequently to practice with the irons, so QD's are the ticket for me.

Do you have to have QD's? Of course not. But since you do need scope mounts why not make them as practical as possible?

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

My 458wm and 375h&h have qd mounts as well as fixed sights. I detach the scope when elephant hunting as I cannot break the habit of sighting over the sights at close range: cost me an elephant a few years back: could not acquire a sight picture quickly enough!

Considering the overall cost of a hunt, the rings are a relatively small cost. Of course, we all know all of the 'small costs' do add up.

Still though, I would for sure use QD rings just in case. And, like Larry, I take a spare scope in case of Murphy's law. Good QD rings return to zero pretty well. When I travel on the airplane I do not have the scope mounted on the rifle, it is in the carry on with the binoculars etc.

I have claw mounts on my .416 hoffman, and find them very practical. The scope can be put on or taken off in a matter of seconds, and maintains it's zero always. On a Botswana lion hunt, I put that scope on and took it off several times when tracking the lion I ultimately shot. Each time we'd come to a thick island of vegetation, off would come the scope, and as soon as we'd hit more open grassy plain, back on it went. It was easy and worked fine. I have a Leupold 1.5x5 on top, and find it to be a great scope for a DG rifle.

I don't think it matters one way or the other. Regular mounts detach fairly quickly if necessary. With a 1.5x scope you probably can shoot just as effectively up close with the scope on. I can.

I think it comes down to what you prefer and what you are comfortable with. I have QD on every rifle I own that also has sights.

That said, what Butchloc says it VERY true. Any "emergency" (the only one is a scope taking a shit on you) in which you need to use the sights a screwdriver on your leatherman will do the job fine.

I respectfully yet STRONGLY disagree with DLS.

I use the Leupold QD and Talley QD on my rifles which also comes on and off in seconds with no loss of zero.

BUT When hunting anything from cape buffalo and bears to rabbits and deer I have never had the need, time or luxury to take on and off a scope when going from one open meadow to a thick stand of brush.

THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF HAVING A SCOPE WITH A LOW POWER ON A DG RIFLE..... You keep the scope down on 1.5 and you can shoot a target up close quite well and if you need to take a "long" shot you can crank it up to 5X.

That said, I fully accept that a scope is no substitute for the simplicity and reliability of a good peep sight or express sights.

My Marlin Guide Gun in 45 70 is my go to north Maine woods deer tracking rifle. I have Ashley outdoors peep on it and it works great. I also never have to worry about fogging, condensation and snow which are constant factors to deal with when hunting deer in Maine. It allows me to shoot a 3 inch group at 100 yards and that is plenty good for the rain forest thick distances I see up here.

I also have a Searcy 470 with express sights ONLY. They are fast and quick from zero to 100 yards and I don't need any more than that for minute of mogobo or tembo.

Just my 2c

quote:

I think it comes down to what you prefer and what you are comfortable with. I have QD on every rifle I own that also has sight

Bingo!!

quote:

Originally posted by Honkey:


I respectfully yet STRONGLY disagree with DLS.

I use the Leupold QD and Talley QD on my rifles which also comes on and off in seconds with no loss of zero.

Just my 2c

No worries.

I guess I should have posted that those islands had visibility of less than 15 yards, so yes, I wanted no scope since we were tracking a pride of 5 lions. I ended up shooting him at about 100 yards in short grass, with the scope on. Perhaps it was unwise, but that lion sure made a nice full body mount in the end.

The piece that gets missed is that Machiel already has the scope on his rifle. Given that it is low power, I would say don't mess with it. If he was wanting to change the scope or rings anyway, I would say go with QD.

Thanks for the advice so far . Does anyone have experiance of an iron sights and a monte carlo (not straight "english type") stock combination. In theory the hight of the comb could be a hinderance. I'll have the rifle back from the stockmaker today. I'll post pictures later.

I would. I have hunted Africa twice w/ one rifle & took two scopes in Leup QD mounts. Piece of mind if something goes bad.