I have been wondering. Do you guys leave your scope shade tubes on all the time or only when you need them. I know that when I put an ARD on my scope I can actually see the difference on how much light gets in. I cant really tell with a scope shade and I know part of that is my eye adjusting. I know from photography leaving the shade on gives a little protection from the wind. Does leaving it on really affect how much light the scope gathers? So what about everyone else. Do you leave it on all the time or only when you need it?
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Scope shade tubes
- Thread starter sarcasmn
- Start date
In certain situations the increased length of the scope with the shade will keep you from getting the rifle inserted completely into certain barricades or obstacles.
I shoot early in the morning 90% of the time. Around 8am the sun is at an angle that without a scope tube I can't shoot for about 30 mins or so. So I've started to just leave mine on full time.
On all the time. Mainly because I carry over the same mentality regarding lens hoods and camera lenses for front element protection.
On. Always. At least in my experience it does make a difference as soon as your outside. And I like to extend rubber flip caps on the eye piece for little bit of shading. I'd even use a "pigs ear" if I had no prescription glases. Sadly the two don't go together well...
And last but not least I have them on for aesthetics. I don't like the look of scopes without sun shade.
And last but not least I have them on for aesthetics. I don't like the look of scopes without sun shade.
That's really the point of a shade. You want an imaging device, be it a rifle scope or a photographic system, to gather light from what you're shooting, and not from what you aren't. Extraneous light causes lens flare and reduces contrast by raising the black levels. That's why we use lens shades, matte box eye brows, French flags and other types of light blocking equipment. It doesn't effect the amount of light from your subject (target) hitting an imaging sensor, unless it's obstructing the subject.
I one time purchased a UV filter for a camera lens and installed it on my scope. It had the same thread pitch.
I used that for a year or so. It worked perfectly, I then sold the scope and never tested the idea again.
It would be interesting to test that theory again, I didn't need scope covers... I wanted to try a Polarized filter for sunny days and mirage... but never got around to do it.
I used that for a year or so. It worked perfectly, I then sold the scope and never tested the idea again.
It would be interesting to test that theory again, I didn't need scope covers... I wanted to try a Polarized filter for sunny days and mirage... but never got around to do it.
That's a really interesting idea for long range use. A polarizer would definitely reduce the amount of light from your target, and while useful for glare off of bright objects, I don't think it would help with mirage distortion. Worth a look though. Did you notice any vignetting caused by the UV filter holder?
It was so long ago, I was just starting out into long range shooting. I was coming from pistol shooting and archery.
This was over 12 years ago. I always like photography so that's where the idea came in.
I never noticed any distortion but I wasn't super experienced, plus I was using a Steiner at that time ..
I might start a new thread with this question and ask @koshkin about the effects of UV filters or Polarized filters will have on a scope. Worth a shot.
The idea came up after a crazy windy day sandblasted my scope , I wanted to protect the finishes on the lenses
Polarizers and UV won't help with mirage. You can try two things to help with mirage, if needed. First is a mirage cap. They are made to fit certain scopes, and are basically a threaded lens cap with a smaller hole in it to reduce the amount of light coming into the scope, thus increasing your depth of field at the target. I've tried one, with marginal success with my old eyes, but you may be interested.
Mirage Cap | Kreativ Solutions
Mirage caps aid reading mirage over a longer distance. Reducing the objective diameter of a scope has the same effect as changing the “F” setting on a manual camera. The result allows less light and increases the depth of field, allowing you to read mirage over a much longer distance. With your...
www.kreativ-solutions.com
The second is a mirage tube. Basically, a poly tube (lightweight) with some velcro fuzz on the outside diameter to give it a friction fit inside the sunshade. I shoot benchrest and use one of these most times in the winter, where I shoot from a warm room out into cold air. Turbulence at the window I shoot through is terrible, and this definitely helps by getting the view through that area of turbulence into the cold air.
FYI only, a couple of thoughts/suggestions you might try.
This is the exact problem I have, warm room on a cold day. Hoping these aperture reducers will help.
no idea if it a bad thing to do , but I have left mine on for about a year now only taking it off to clean as for some reason my stuff seems to walk away from where I put things and the darnedest thing no one ever knows where it gets to so I just decided to leave it all together and that seems to help it decide to stay put .
I have run mine all the time and I have had this issue multiple times and has cost me time and probably multiple hits.
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