How many of you hunt without using some kind of a scope cover? I know I did on my first hunt, then after that I never went hunting without one. I had to learn my lesson the hard way.
I was 15 years old and it was my first big game hunt. I was hunting mule deer in Utah. The same area my father has been hunting since he was very young so we knew the area well. We knew exactly where to go and almost exactly at what time we should arrive there before first light. Opening morning we'd been hiking for a couple of hours and it was starting to get light. We were almost in position and sat down to wait for first light. It was about 15 minutes before first light and it started to gently snow. I didn't think anything of it, then about 30 minutes into first light a nice 4-point mule deer (8-point buck in eastern terms) buck stepped out. I instantly threw up my rifle and looked through my scope but all I could see was blackness. I was thinking "what the heck?" I flipped my rifle around to see what was going on and noticed that my scope was packed full of snow. I quickly cleaned it out and watched as that nice 4-point buck went over the hill.
Being young and full of energy I took off on a dead run after him. I wasn't about to let that big boy get away from me. I ran about 300 yards and noticed some movement out of the corner of my right eye. I turned and looked down the hill and it was him. He looked right up at me and we locked eyes at about 70 yards. He realized that he'd made a mistake running downhill and was in the process of making a U-turn heading back up the hill. It was kind of a daze after that because adrenaline was coursing through my veins like a river. I pulled up my rifle fired off a shot and watched as he slid down the hill backwards on his rump. I'd hit him. I let out a scream of excitement like an old Indian war cry. Just like an old majestic Indian warrior on his first hunt and kill. I was so excited I couldn't contain myself. I hollered to my father and cousin who was also with us that I'd hit him.
I was on cloud 9 after that day for the rest of the year until hunting season came again.
After that hunt I also learned how important having a scope cover can be and is. If that buck would have decided to run uphill instead of downhill like he did, I might have went home empty handed and with a broken spirit. But instead I developed a lifelong passion and addiction.
The following day after that hunt I went to the local K-mart and bought a scope cover for my 3X9 Leupold scope. I started out with a rubber cover. They're called bikini scope covers and I now switch between various rifle scope covers depending on what I'm hunting, where I'm going to be hunting and the weather. Nothing is worse than having a big buck sitting in front of you and having a fogged up scope.
So yes, rifle scope covers are very important especially if you're hunting in thick brush, it's snowing or it's raining. I can't count how many times my scope covers have saved my lenses from getting scratched or being packed full of snow. Not to mention getting fogged up.
I urge everyone to choose some kind of scope cover when you go hunting this year. Don't make the same mistake I made years ago.
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