what happens to the internal parts of a scope and do you lose the adjustments that it takes to return to zero?

I had a gun fall over in a stand and had to re-zero the scope becuse it was shooting 6" low and about 6" right after the fall.

I'd take off the scope, rings and base and start the mounting process from scratch. This will ensure that something other than the scope has not been compromised.

Then, after sighting back in, I'd shoot the square to make certain everything is in working order.

If you aren't familiar with "the square," simply fire a group (can be a 2-shot group), move the scope up 16 clicks and fire another. Then move it right 16 and fire a group.

Next, go 16 clicks down and fire a group.

Lastly, move left 16 clicks, which should put your final group on top of the first.

Hey Harold

I would disagree with Bobby Tomek (seldom disagree with BT, might be first time) about taking the whole thing apart and putting it back together. I used to hear about "beating up" a scope which is to mount the scope and then take a rubber hammer or such and tapping around all the rings to relieve the stress of anything that was "in a bind".

So essentially you have relieved some slop or binding in your mounting system by dropping it. If it were me I would check all the screws (using a good torque wrench and the appropriate inch-pounds) and rezero it.

This has happened to me and a rezero was sufficient. Hopefully you have not damaged the internal scope adjusments but if you have taking it apart and reassembling it will not help there either.

Like Woods, I used to always suggest one simply give the gun a once-over, re-zero and go from there.

But a couple of years ago I changed my thinking. A neighbor had a .243 WCF that took a fall. A cursory glance didn't reveal any damage, and all screws seemed to have adequate tension.

I walked out to the shooting bench, set the gun up on bags and heard the "clank" of something falling onto the metal desktop. The locking nut on the old-style Weaver rings had come off, and further inspection showed the bolt body to have developed a lengthy crack as well.

This could have resulted from him overtightening it initially (he had a rep for that till I set him up with a good torque wrench), from poor metallurgy, from the fall or from a combination of all three. Had it happened on a hunt and he not noticed, it could have resulted in a miss or wounded animal.

Since then, I've adopted the "take 'em apart" philosophy. It takes a bit more time, but it eliminates any potential problems that may not been seen right away.

I too disagree with Bobby for a change. If there is anything wrong with the scope mount set up after being dropped that is not visible it should show up when the gun's zero is checked, I've dropped a few and been around a bunch of dropped guns over the years, the largest majority of the time, if they've got a decent scope on them, they hold zero, hard riding on a ATV is tough on scopes as well.......BTW if you're going on a hunting trip, it is a good idea to shoot one or two aimed rounds at a 25 yd target and take the target with you, then if for some reason you need to check your zero in the hunting camp, you can just step off 25 yards and shoot the target. Same hole, no problem. It is much easier to find 25 yards than 100 or more out in the bush.

I feel that both schools of thought here have merit.

If a rifle is propped against a tree and slides down, then, of course, a simple re-check of the zero is generally more than ample.

But if the mounting system took the brunt of a serious impact, that's when I'd consider removing the scope, rings and base and starting over.

Regarding the .243 that I referenced earlier, it took several days for the damaged nut/bolt to make its presence known. IIRC, the rifle fell during a weekend hunt, and I think it was the following Friday that he brought it over for me to look at. Had I checked it the same day it fell, I could have re-zeroed it and sent him along on his merry way.

But disaster would have been lurking around the corner as that locking nut and bolt were ready to give up the ghost.

To me, it's not worth taking the chance.

With that being said, however, a good mounting system and good optics generally hold up quite well to any torturous treatment.

One of my favorite rifles is a 20" Contender carbine in 7mm Bullberry. I don't baby it: it rides in the pickup, gets bumped into trees and has managed to attract numerous character marks from a few years of hard use.

But it never, ever seems to change zero.

I rezeroed the scope last Suday as best i could in a 20+ MPH cross wind. This weekend I will see if it holds its zero from that. I don't know how the rifle hit the floor of the stand as I was going down the ladder when it happened.

I was just wondering about losing the internal adjustments forever?

Harold-

You won't "lose" the adjustments, but if the impact was great enough, it could scramble things enough to warrant a trip to the factory service center.

But hopefully all will be well and you won't have to worry about that.

Thanks guys, I guess time will tell. I have only lost the zero on one other scope and that was from rideing around in the front seat of a truck on a busy weekend with several clients. I don't know what conditions caused the scope to get knocked off that time as others drove that truck that weekend as well. Rezeroed that scope, but it never tracked the same or as well from that point on.

Don't know if I will be able to perform a box test this weekend as components are tight still and I just want it to shoot POI the same each time right now.

I will just add another real world experience. I took a heck of a fall on ice while bear hunting one year. I was walking at sling arms and fell flat on my back right now! No warning, no nothing, just Wham and I am down. The rifle hit hard, the scope, a 1972 Redfield 2-7 (traditional, not Widefield), had the paint scratched off on the top surface of the objective bell and the elevation turret cap was dented in pretty bad. I took a shot in the woods at something and it appeared close enough to hunt with. I took the gun to the range the following Sunday and was amazed that the zero was perfect.

All I know is that if my scopes lost zero every time they took a fall like that described I would never have a zeroed scope. My scopes may not have the highest resolution or clarity of some others and my main criteria for selecting a scope and mounting system is that it works in the conditions that I travel and hunt in. All of my scopes and mounts are sturdy, are simply constructed, and are overtorqued relative to suggested specs. If a scope or a mount part fails (even to hold zero) it doesn't get a second chance I just get rid of it.

I have more than 25 scopes. Quite a few are fixed power and just as many have friction adjustments as click adjustments. I do have a couple of scopes with adjustable objectives, just because I didn't see any way around it. I don't have any scopes with "target turrets, adjustment tube locking mechanisms, "Euro" style focus fixtures, or complicated reticles.

I use three types of steel mounting systems including standard Redfield/Leupold (w/ Leupold or Burris rings), screw detachable Warne/Talley, and Ruger proprietary mounts. Each of those systems has proven itself through lots of rough handling and dozens of falls.