LIGHTS OUT!! HANDI KO's BANNER IN THE 106th ROUND!!

[Survivor]

Never in my life have I had a scope break but my Banner 24 power is caput!  I've shot around 100 rounds through the 30-06 with good results.  I got some overlapping holes at 50 and again at 100 yards.  I shot around 10 rds fouled and was very happy.  Almost 12" high fliers after a really good cleaning and got close to zero again. 3 rds in (+ 3 fouling shots) at my 100 yrd bench and my scope goes from 24x to like default(9x) but mostly just black and blurry.  Very disappointing.   Apparently the 30-06 is toomuch gun for the Banner.  PLUS!!I just bought this d@mn scope!!  I'll take it up with Midway.  MAybe Bushnell.  Hopefully they will credit me and I'll $$$ the difference on an upgrade.

1.Ever heard of a gun stomping a scope?
2.Who shoots a Handi over 300?  What scopes you got?

[Graybeard]

I will not say ALL but will bet over 90% of such failures were not the fault of the rifle or scope but of the person who mounted it. Few scopes will ever fail from recoil forces but from poor mounting. If you mount one in a bind it will die sooner or later and the more recoil and the more it's binding the sooner it will fail. Did you use Burris Signature Rings? If not did you lap the rings? If not then almost without a doubt YOU not the gun killed the scope. Don't blame it.

[Survivor]

I used Burris Signiture Zees (0's).  Please elaborate on binding.

[knight0334]

binding is where the two mounts aren't perfectly aligned.  It happens more often than you may think. ...some more than others though.  Most of the time, nothing ever comes about it, but then theres occasions like yours where scope failure happens.

[daddywpb]

Midway sells a scope ring lapping kit that also aligns the two rings. It's well worth the extra few minutes it takes to smooth things up inside your rings. A friend of mine had a Nikon Buckmaster mounted on a Winchester M70 in 300 WSM in Burris rings and could not get the scope to stay still. Despite using everything from rubber cement to duct tape, the scope would still move in the rings under recoil. Lapping and aligning the rings solved the problem.

[Dillohide]

Regardless, Bushnell will replace your scope and I have heard of them letting you upgrage.

[huntnut]

The o6 isn't to much for the banner I have one one my 300wm for 10 years had it still is good as it was when I put it on there. You chould have got a bad scope it does happen but as said before the tube probably got bowed from over tighting the rings or miss alinement of the rings.

[Survivor]

This a almost an Optix question but as long as we're all Holics here I think it's relavent.  My initial question still stands, whatcha got on your Handi over 300?  I also must add that my concept for this gun was to keep things compact.  After the scope was mounted I felt that the 24x was a little long and possibly changed the balance of the rifle.  However, I do like the 24x.  I'm looking around and may suck it  up for a lower X scope to keep the set up lean.  Thank you for the explanations.  AND Midway will accept the return/credit.  Q 2,  What's a good upgrade for < $300. 

PS Do you lap the inserts in the Signiture Zees or do you lap the rings alone first? 

[carbineman]

Many years ago I had a Leupold rep tell me that the industry standard for scope failures was on average 3-5 % simply because they are assembled for the most part using machinery. If each one was hand assembled we would not be able to afford the price.

That said, a relative of mine and myself bought five used/demo 1.5-5x20mm Leupold Vari-X III scopes on a close out when they were switching over to the VX designation. We installed every scope on his EA Brown falling block rifle with Browns own air guaged rings and set about to "check" the scopes. This rifle was extremely accurate and had a 10oz. trigger pull. We shot a fair amount of rounds and determined that two of these scopes were faulty. They were sent to Leupold, with one needing a new erector spring and the other had been previously turned past the useable adjustment. This caused a noticeable binding in turning the power ring. These scopes were repaired and returned. The repair was done by hand assembly and would have cost a fortune without the lifetime warranty.

Sounds like you may have one of the 3-5 percenters that have failed. With the competition in the optics business today, I'm sure you will be taken care of. Good luck and post the results here.

[quickdtoo]

Burris Signature Zee rings with the polymer inserts don't need lapping, they're self aligning. Regular Burris Zees DO need lapping, they're no different than any other weaver style ring. Zee is Burris' name for Weaver style rings, Burris Signature rings come in several styles, not just the Weaver(Zee).

Tim

http://burrisoptics.com/rings.html

[Survivor]

In that case I will further trust my Zee's AND their (0) polymer inserts and pursue Bushnell or Midway.  I would love an across the table exchange but the upgrade may be for piece of mind.  (REX?)  We'll see.  I will definately keep you posted...Pun intended.   

[quickdtoo]

Scopes fail, there's no doubt about that. The Banner line is pretty stout from what I've read, the 1½-4½x32 Banner is real popular with the 45-70 1895 fellas and holds up fine to .45-70 recoil which is heavier than .30-06, so I think ya just got a bad one.

Tim

[Siskiyou]

If it was my scope I would take a look at the warranty information, and send it back to Bushnell.  They provide good warranty service.

[Graybeard]

As long as you were using the Burris Signature rings it unlikely mounting caused this one to let go. It was just one of those rare ones that come apart for no apparent reason. Stuff happens. It's possible to mess up with the Signature rings but extremely difficult so they most likely didn't cause it.

[boommer]

IF it is the scope it's self 'Ive had lots of bushnell's and I  broke one my fault they fixed it for free probly ten years old no warranty papers hard to beat that!! I am lucky I guess never had one fail on their part SO JUST CALL ME MR. LUCKY!! OR I JUST JINKS MYSELF 

[MZ5]

Good luck with the scope.

What do I use out past 300 yds?  The Williams aperture and Lyman globe that are on my Buffalo Classic barrel, of course! 

[nomosendero]

Good luck with the scope.

What do I use out past 300 yds?  The Williams aperture and Lyman globe that are on my Buffalo Classic barrel, of course! 

On crows?

[aulrich]

Generally banner's have served me well over the years but last year I had a banner 6-18 go bad it was not recoil that got it. what happen was I had it standing on a 13" bipod and I tipped it over. The dirt was soft (a freshly seeded field) but the scope was 3' off at 100 and I could not move it back. The day I sent it in to the day I got it a new one back was about 6 weeks and that was over Chritmas too.

[270Handiman]

I had a Tasco "Golden Antler" that served me well on my 270 for 8 years.  I think I only paid like $50 or $60 bucks for it new when I first got my handi.  Anyway, took the gun out to check zero before deer season.  On the second shot, the crosshairs jumped diagonally and mis-aligned.  It looked like 4 lines coming roughly together near the center instead of 2 lines crossing.  JUST BROKE!   This was the first time I actually saw a scope fail.  Oh well, it was time for an upgrade anyway. 

270