Well, I took my first Moose hunt last week in Northern Newfoundland with Viking Trail Outfitters. I got a cow on Sat. Morning right before jumping on the Beaver Sea Plane. Being my first moose hunt, I learned alot. But most of all, I wasn't expecting my gun to be off 10 feet at 250 yards. Don't know how it happed, but it did with Leupold rings, bases and Vari-X III scope.

After three days of hunting and only seeing Caribou, and moose around 1000 yards away, on Friday we heard a cow call. We climbed down a 40 foot cliff and saw a nice 15 point bull and cow. It looked to me to be 300 yards max, but after the guide ranged it, it was 450 yards. This land played tricks on my eyes. I got 250 yards away and shot and shot under him by a long shot according to the guide. He never left the cow and the wind was in our face. I shot 5 more times raising each time. I was very upset at this point, since I have worked for one year with this gun getting 1.1" groups at 200 yards. So we snuck up 150 yards. I told the guide, I had only one bullet left. He yelled, "thats all". So I knew the gun was off, so I put it 7 ft over its back. This time, we saw the hair fly but it was too high. I over shot it.

That was supposed to be our last day. But the cook loaned me her 30-06, and we tried for a few hours in the morning. And I got a cow at 80 yards. While we were quartering it, the plane came. I had to go so I only took 200lbs of meat back in a hurry. Got 120lbs after it was wrapped.

What I learned; a range finder is a plus if its your first trip. These badboys were huge.
2:know your gun well if you plan to shoot over 150 yards.
3:Never assume your rifle is sighted after a trip on the plane. Also, if you fall down, also could be out severely.
4:I will never make fun of people with see thru sights again.
5:Carry a full box of ammo, you never know when you might get lost and need it or need to take more shots.
6:Guides was wrong almost every time on distance, they do bull**** a little.

I asked several times when I got there to shoot in my gun. They insisted that it was a waste of time. I think next time I will get a boresighter and make note of zero. and if i fall down or after the plane ride, make sure its in zero. It was a great country, and all they seemed to worry about was if I was having a good time. But something in my head was telling to me to shoot in that gun. Its my fault but, don't want anyone else to make this mistake.

I'm glad everything turned out well in the end.

I'm kinda shocked that they wouldn't allow you to sight in. I've never yet had to take a plane to hunt but have learned just as you did that travel of any kind can be hard on guns. I always make it a point to test my rifles out as soon as I get to camp.

-M

I like your idea of taking a bore sighter along with you to make sure the scope hasn't shifted from your sight-in zero. There might be times when it wouldn't be prudent to go blasting away at a makeshift range in hunting camp. Guy

Yes. Any time you get bounced around, you need to check your zero. I've had them shift a few inches after falls, etc.
There is always a danger of loss of zero, regardless of make and mount. Leupold has the best reputation, but they are not unbreakable.
Recoil, from heavy kickers in the .300 Mag. class will do it, often in 300-500 rds. With the bigger, and heavier the scopes, the faster they fail. One of my long time internet buddies had his big Leo., a 4.5-14, fail in 300 rds. out of a 338 RUM.
Just the altitude changes in airline flights can do it. As will riding around in 4WD's.
I usually take two complete rifles with me on hunts. Or, at least, a spare scope on detachable mounts. For an extra scope, or backup irons, the Ruger system is hard to beat. BTW, I've had the front scope ring on my Ruger come loose from a fall. Checking the mount for tightness is a good idea as well. E

Good for you on your hunt. I make sure I'm zeroed before I leave, I check zero again once I get where I'm going and I check every couple of days on the hunt. Most of the time, my rifles say zeroed. Some times the go off a little. That happens, a proper bedding and mounts that are mounted properly go a long way in keeping a good zero. Hunts are not cheap by any means, a little tweaking makes good sense.

I agree with bringing a bore sighter - considering the cost of the hunt and all the prep time it would seem like a good investment. I have missed some of the finest animals you could shoot at because I had a 4X Leupold that failed me - twice - on a 25-284. Leupold always repaired but? and - there is nothing more infuriating than hunters sigting in their rifles in the national forest when I am out hunting in the area. I would think that a good guiding service would have access to some sort of range facility for clients to check there weapons - your story is a benefit for the rest of us - congrats on the moose.

I am also puzzled that your outfitter didn't accomodate you with a couple of targets; I always find someplace to check the rifle after a trip. I got surprised a few years ago by one that changed POI, probably due to humidity as it had changed halfway back when it got home ( fortunately there was another rifle in the truck ). It's now in a synthetic stock.

Tom