The simple things..

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H&Hhunter

H&Hhunter

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I pulled out a couple of my most favorite hunting rifles last week and took them to the range to verify zero. Both rifles shot great but I was having a terrible time getting a clear focus through the scopes on either of them. Nothing I tried helped. Focus, parallax, glasses on, glasses off.

I figured that my eyes had finally given out on me. Or both scopes had gone T. U. at the same time.

Turns out both scopes were nasty dirty. The lenses on both had a grimy coating of greasy dust on them. I struggled to get them clean and could not figure out what in the heck was coating those lenses, it was almost like a thin coating of dust impregnated bacon grease. And the coating is highly resistant to any and all commercially available lens cleansers.

I do think I figured out what it is that coated those lenses though. I am almost certain that it’s the dried up cleaning fluid from a lens pen. I really don’t know what else it could be? In any case the stuff is nasty and it’s a pain to get cleaned off.

So before you throw away your scope or run off to the optician take a close look at your lenses on your scope. Apparently you are supposed to clean those lenses once a decade or so. Who’d a thunk it?;)
 
BTW I went through all of my scopes and found that all of them that I’ve used a lens pen on had some degree of this waxy/greasy coating. It’s very thin and almost undetectable until it starts collecting dust.
 
I opened my gun safe the other day to find a mass of blue-green "crud" on the floor. Apparently the foam lining self destructed after 30 years. There was a film on all the guns and the scopes. So I assume as it deteriorated, it gave off a vapor within the safe. Now I ask myself, did the foam break down on it's own, or did minute amounts of cleaning solvents and oil left on the firearms as they were put back in, contribute as they off gased? Hard for me to believe that any quality lens pen would leave enough of a film to promote the buildup you describe. While I know some have anti-fogging agents, all I have used instruct you to polish with an appropriate clean dry cloth....which should leave little or no residue. Also, FME, can't see how a non ammonia glass cleaner is going to be any harder on the lens coatings than a lens pen that leaves that kind of residue. Ammonia type glass cleaners(like the original Windex formula) are a big no-no tho. Since scopes are waterproof, I generally flood the lens with water before any cleaning to make sure all minute traces of sand and grit are off first, before the use of cleaner and a cloth.

...and yes, scopes should probably be cleaned once a decade or so!
 
buck460XVR said:
I opened my gun safe the other day to find a mass of blue-green "crud" on the floor. Apparently the foam lining self destructed after 30 years. There was a film on all the guns and the scopes. So I assume as it deteriorated, it gave off a vapor within the safe. Now I ask myself, did the foam break down on it's own, or did minute amounts of cleaning solvents and oil left on the firearms as they were put back in, contribute as they off gased? Hard for me to believe that any quality lens pen would leave enough of a film to promote the buildup you describe. While I know some have anti-fogging agents, all I have used instruct you to polish with an appropriate clean dry cloth....which should leave little or no residue. Also, FME, can't see how a non ammonia glass cleaner is going to be any harder on the lens coatings than a lens pen that leaves that kind of residue. Ammonia type glass cleaners(like the original Windex formula) are a big no-no tho. Since scopes are waterproof, I generally flood the lens with water before any cleaning to make sure all minute traces of sand and grit are off first, before the use of cleaner and a cloth.

...and yes, scopes should probably be cleaned once a decade or so!
Click to expand...

You could be on to something with the off gassing issue.

You are correct Sprayway is definitely ammonia free, it should be coating safe and it does a bang up job. I was kind of joking about not cleaning more often than once a decade, my scopes get a quick cleaning often and usually a thorough cleaning pre season. They all got a detailed cleaning last night.

You are also most likely correct that it isn’t a lens pen issue. I am going to keep an eye on the scopes now that they’ve been cleaned and see if they are picking up any residue while sitting in the safe sans lens pens. Thanks for your input.
 
Sometimes I spray a layer of gun lube over my guns in the gun cabinet, deal with the scope lenses later, or have lens covers on 'em. I've taken to SCOPE covers in recent years, though. Don't really like those Butler and Creek things, just use a simple neoprene scope cover that drops clear when removed.

Now, when my cataracts were first becoming noticeable, I freaked out. I was looking outside and everything looked foggy. I went to the eye doc and he said I had advanced cataracts in both eyes. I couldn't really afford the surgery until that November when I turned 65 and got on medicare. I was near blind that particular hunting season until November, then couldn't shoot heavy recoil guns. It really affected my bird count that dove season. Whew, glad that's over. I've got new problems, now, but at least it ain't with the eyes. I have a new appreciation for what it feels like to be blind.
 
Captcurt said:
Butler Creek Lens Covers will solve some of that if you junk the lens pin.
Click to expand...

All my scopes have lens covers. I prefer the Alumna caps as I can’t get the new Butler Creek caps to survive a whole season without breaking. I’ve got older Butler Creek caps that are great but the newer ones are made out of super brittle plastic and they don’t tend to last very long.

In the conditions I hunt in dust, mud, snow, rain etc. I wouldn’t dream of taking a hunting rifle out in the field without lens caps. And even with lens caps, lenses get dirty after a while.
 
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