Rifle Scopes Keeping crud off of your objective

[TonyAngel]

Hey guys,

Whenever I get out in the field, I invariably forget to close my objective cover or are just plain not using one, like on my Nightforce where I use the bikini cover. Even when I'm trying to be careful, I always wind up getting crud on my objective.

I don't know about you guys, but cleaning the objective makes me nervous unless I can really flush it out with something before I got wiping on it, so that leaves me looking through my very nice scope and getting a not so very nice view. So...I thought I'd try to do something about it.

I went to bestbuy and found one of those camera lens UV filter lens protectors. I got the one that was just slightly smaller than the sun shade of my scope. In this case, I got the lens protector for a 55mm lens and the scope is my NXS 5.5-22X50. I chucked the sun shade up in my lathe and turned it out until I got a good press fit for the filter into the sunshade.

I then put a thin layer of Devcon epoxy around the edge of the filter and then press fit it into the sun shade where I turned it out.

Now, I'm figuring that I'll just be able to wipe off any crud that would have landed on my objective lens.

I'm still wondering if I'm going to have problems like fogging. I'll have to wait and see. If I do, I figure that I can use some of that anti fogging solution that is available for glasses and such.

Quite frankly, I'm now starting to question the wisdom of using epoxy instead of something like red loctite. I mean...what am I going to do if need to replace the protector. Well, it is threaded with a lock ring, so I figure I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

That blue masking tape is just what I put on the sun shade to keep the jaws of my lathe from marring the finish.

 

[High Binder]

Re: Keeping crud off of your objective

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TonyAngel</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I mean...what am I going to do if need to replace the protector. Well, it is threaded with a lock ring, so I figure I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

</div></div>

Yeah you're kind of fucked now but you can always pop out the lens and turn out the devcon when that lens gets bad. Like the idea though.

 

[pc3]

Re: Keeping crud off of your objective

There are ones available that screw straight on to a 56mm nightforce Hoya are the brand if I recall correct it was a 62 or 63mm clear UV filter

 

[High Binder]

Re: Keeping crud off of your objective

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: pc3</div><div class="ubbcode-body">There are ones available that screw straight on to a 56mm nightforce Hoya are the brand if I recall correct it was a 62 or 63mm clear UV filter </div></div>

DOH!

Do they make ones for 50mm?

 

[TonyAngel]

Re: Keeping crud off of your objective

If they make for one for a 50mm, I'm gonna feel like a dum ass. I looked around for one, but couldn't find one.

What the hell, I was bored anyway.

 

[TonyAngel]

Re: Keeping crud off of your objective

OK, I went and check out Hoya's website. I see the 62mm filter, but for the 50mm scope, the 55 was a bit too small and the 58 was too big.

 

[pc3]

Re: Keeping crud off of your objective

The Hoya one I have screws straight on to my 56mm NXS it must be the 62mm one.....Im at work ATM so cant verify this.

 

[Plange]

Re: Keeping crud off of your objective

You don't see any degradation of performance in the scope? Typically when you add another lens or in this case just a glass filter over an optical system you can create problems- I am not just talking about light transmission here, I am talking about reducing resolution, clarity etc as I doubt the filter is as good a quality glass as what is in the scope.
Just a thought as I could be totally wrong here.
Seems to me to be similar to looking through a scope out of your window, your scope is only as good as the initial input given to it.
My 2 cents.
Paul

 

[condor22]

Re: Keeping crud off of your objective

UV filter camera lens protectors 10 $ to about 50 $ SPAM or Info Mercial. This product has a high markup for no or very little actual value. It is absolutely not made of safety glass? Poor attempt at merchandising?

Being constructed of a very thin, fragile FLAT piece of glass that will shatter quite easily and just what I want is shards of glass impacting the objective lens and bouncing around inside the sunshade.

This type of post has appeared on several other forums and dismissed as being not a good idea unless you want a very fragile dust cover, I'll stick to my shatter proof 'BUTLER CREEK' flip-up protective scope covers.

Wonder why the OEM's like USO-NightFore-SWAROVSKI haven't jumped on this money-maker?

Sam

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: Keeping crud off of your objective

this is all lipstick and so very ghey...................




savvy a nylon footie and a rubberband to keep the schmootz out of the objective barrel.....and keeps the water out too.......


fucking priceless.........................

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

Re: Keeping crud off of your objective

Yes Hoya makes filters for just about any size. I use them on my Cameras.

I DON'T use them on my rifles.

Riggers tape stays closed through a stalk and stalking is about the roughest treatment my rifles get.

Also, if you place the filter in the end of the sunshade, then it negates the utility of a sunshade.

 

[pc3]

Re: Keeping crud off of your objective

Never thought of the "shattering" part I may remove mine, it was on there mainly to keep the VERY fine red dust of the aussie outback of your lense when zooming around in the ute with rifle out the window.