I was out bear hunting in Minnesota again this year and had a major problem. I was sitting in the stand and a nice boar came in at 20 yards. I put the crosshairs on him squeezed the trigger and he took off like a rocket. I searched for hair or blood and found none so I walked down the trail he left on and determined I missed. I was wondering how I could have missed so I went to our gravel pit to shoot a few rounds the next day. The first three shots were all over the place and on the fourth the lens inside my scope fell apart. I sent it back to see if it is under warranty,but we'll see either. I did see four more bears the after that night, But I passed them all up so they get bigger next year. All in all I seen five bears while on stand and two others scouting. We did get a Brute that dressed at 380 and the taxidermist said the skull is almost 21 inches.

 

sorry to hear about your scope...i always use quality scopes, cheaper ones lead to problems that you listed...

sounds like you have an excellent area for bears....I was guiding some hunters from New Hampshire this past weekend on a muzzleloader cow elk hunt, one of the guys hunting near us took a 400 pound bear, brown phased.....

good luck on the rest of your hunt and post some pics if you get a chance....or should I say a link to some pics....

 

What kind of scope was it?

 

The scope was a Bushnell Trophy. I have used it for 9 years without any problems so I don't know why it to a crap all of a sudden. We do have a very good spot for bears and this year was the worst we have ever done and that was because of my issue and a couple guys hardly hunted. We still are at 50%, but we usually fill out with six to eight guys. The one place we hunt usually produces multiple bears from the same stand and is the same spot we shot a 425 lb, 415 lb and the 380 lb field dressed bears. Thanks for the replies and if they don't cover this under warranty I am going to look at better scopes. Although this scope was $150.00 9 years ago which isn't expensive, but it isn't cheap either.

 

I think it should have a lifetime warranty on it. Bushnell's Elite scopes ,like I have, have a lifetime over-the-counter warranty on them. I think the Trophey line of scopes are a lower grade of scope, but I have a Sportsman, thier entry level scope on a muzzleloader and it does pretty good for the $70 I paid for it. Maybe you just got a bad scope.

I really like my Bushnell 4200 Elite, its the clearest and brightes scopes I've seen for under $500.

What kind of rifle do you shoot? A medium grade scope lastin on a hard recoilin rifle for 9 years aint that bad.

 

It has been my experience that the more inexpensive scopes simply will not take the beating of a magnum rifle. No more than a month ago I was with a friend who was attempting to sight in his new 300 Remington ultra mag. He had some tasco 3x9 scope I think he said he had bought at wal-mart. He didn't get a half as dozen round through the rifle before the scope self destructed. Even if it had held together the crosshairs moved after each shot.

You may be able to get away with inexpensive scopes on .22s or light recoiling centerfire rifles but for anything else they will just drive your crazy.

I prefer Leupold for my bigger rifles. And my smaller ones for that matter. I've never had one fail.

 

The scope is on a semi-automatic 30-06 and has performed well until now. I have been looking at new rifles and if I buy a new rifle it will get a better scope. I believe in buying quality products, but I also have to stay within my budget. That scope wasn't the brightest scope, but it held up for nine years and I have taken several deer and bear with it so I can't complain. My son starts deer hunting this year and will be using a shotgun, but next year he will need a rifle and I figure he can have mine and I will buy a new bolt action and a new scope.

 

I received a new scope today from Bushnell and I have to say I am very pleased with their quick response. It is a good day in the neighborhood, I got the new scope, My enclosed deer stand is ready to be re-assembled in the woods tomorrow and I bought another 4 wheeler. Actually I bought it for the wife, A 2006 kodiak 450.

 

I have always used Bushnell scopes, the Sportsman I think, and have never had a problem. I shoot a Browning A-Bolt in .300 WM and I shoot it a lot.
Thunderbolt, I think I asked you this before, but where is North Branch. We do our bear hunting up north of Grand Marea. I'm still in Afghanistan so I will miss another year of hunting.
Check out my pictures. I put the rear tracks on when I was home in Sep. They work great except they kick up a lot of dirt. I'll put the front ones on when I come home in Feb and try them out in the snow.

 

Starky,
North Branch is about 110 miles straight south of Duluth or about 40 miles north of St Paul.
Where I bear hunt is straight west of Black beear casina on highway 210. I think the Grizz looks cool with the tracks, How much did they cost ? I have a low spot in my woods that gets pretty soft if there is a lot of rain so I bet they would help spread the weight.

I see you are in Afgahanistan so I figured I would say thanks for all you guys are doing over there.