scopes as viewing devices

[frank505]

I was scoped twice this last weekend over in Sheridan by two *********. My first reaction was to hit the deck and kill them both. If you are pointing a loaded rifle at me from 400 yards ( I very much doubt you could hit me) and then walk within a hundred and point at me again you must be very stupid. If I did this to a law enforcemant agent he would be justified in killing me, so why and where did these idiots learn this behavior and why is it tolerated anywhere. No, I didn';t speak to them, I was too angry. I did leave a note on their truck explaining why they were lucky to be alive and a suggestion to buy some binocs before they run into someone meaner than me.
This si the first time this has happened to me and I will not tolerate it again. It is very unerving, and in this day it could be deadly to me with anti- hunters who have no regard for humans, just animals or some mooslem camel dung eating murderer out there.

[testhop]

i heead this happen to me only he shot over my head while i was hunting so (being young and foolish i though i just showhim what it felds like )he was standing on a leiche rock hill
so i dump a round in the hilldown came the hill shooter he decied that the fun was over he said he was sorry and left

[9.3X62AL]

If I don't see binocs on at least one of the hunt party members, I try to keep a hill between myself and that bunch if possible. Having "face time" with some Earth First! weed eaters, I have zero doubt that at some point those whackos will engage hunters with lethal force.

[NVcurmudgeon]

I may get a ticket someday for "failing" to wear "safety" orange. I prefer to look like a weed and wait for other hunters to go by. If they can't see you they can't shoot you.

[frank505]

All I wear and am required by law to wear in Wyoming is a cap of idiot orange. I pretty much stay out of other hunters way and try to keep avery low profile in the field. We love the wool hats that convert from an everyday color to blaze. Kinda nice when you crest a ridge away from your outfit and disapear. Most game wardens are truck rangers anyway, it seems they cant leave the truck like most hunters.
These two bozos had actually walked up a ridge line and circled south into us skylined the whole way. We were sneaking on some antelope and did not see them.

[Lloyd Smale]

penetration testing media pal!!!

[HORNET]

Frank505,
If your post #5 is right and ALL you were wearing was an orange hat (:holysheep), I'm not surprised they kept pointing their guns at you..:kidding:

[Char-Gar]

There are few things creepier than being in the woods, and having some body put the scope of a loaded rifle on you. I fear it happens with great frequency. I am agin the practice.

[waksupi]

Looking at me through a scope, will draw fire. I have had idiots walk within yards of me when I have been wearing orange, and they wouldn't see me. And they expect to get a deer or elk?

[I Haines]

A few years ago I was hunting in a wilderness area with a few others. We had rode our horses in and hadn't seen any other camps so I figured we wouldn't see anybody. Opening morning I was walking through a large area of waist high brush and saw something out of the ordinary about 200 yards away. I pulled my binos out from under my jacket and took a look. There was this idiot, all camoed out (i had on an orange vest) and he was looking at me through his scoped rifle and waving to me. Well I waved back but with only one finger. Kinda expected this sorta thing closer to all the road hunters but not in the wilderness area. Guess stupidity has no bounds. IH

[Linstrum]

Hi, Frank505,
I think you did the best thing for those particular circumstances and I totally agree with how you feel.
Some thoughts:
I use an old Redfield Tracker 3x-9x variable power scope as a telescope, the reticle doesn't bother me and the optics are pretty nice since nobody makes a variable power monocular or binocular that is as light weight and inexpensive as that old scope. I cut a piece of PVC plastic water pipe to use as an eyepiece to brace against my eyebrow for the real long eye relief and it is very comfortable to use for bird watching or watching the full moon coming up over the mountain. BUT I DON'T USE IT WITH IT ATTACHED TO A RIFLE! Jeez! Pointing a gun at somebody is assault.
I have a buddy who did all of the Inconel alloy machining on the oxygen and hydrogen nozzles for the main engines built for the first three Space Shuttles. Because he worked on fabricating those engines for years as part of the team of specialized machinists who built them, he felt they were his special “babies” and he has gone to every single Space Shuttle landing at the alternate landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. He listens to the Astronauts on a police/fire/paramedic scanner when the Shuttle is coming in and he also listens to the the Edwards Air Force Base Military Police as well. He told me that the number of incidents reported to the military police of landing site observers pointing scoped rifles at the shuttle when it is landing is just mind-boggling! So far nobody has taken a shot at it (as far as we know) and all the incidents he followed up on where the MPs apprehended the people with the rifles, they were not loaded and the stupid idiots just wanted to use the scope to see the shuttle better. You'd think the idiots would at least stay out of view instead of standing out there in front of everybody pointing a high powered rifle at the shuttle! It redefines the definition of stupid in my book!
Man, that sure would be a tough judgment call if I saw somebody pointing a rifle at me. I hold human life sacred - - - but that includes my own, and I come first! If somebody was obviously pointing a rifle at me and there was no doubt at all that it was just for the purpose of looking at me, then they would get an eyeful: A middle finger up like I Haines did and they would see my mouth moving saying expletive type of words that would require only the most minimum of lip-reading ability to understand. My lips moving would of course be accompanied by yelling at them, telling them what I thought their brains are made of. On the other hand, if I couldn't tell what their intentions were, they would see me disappearing from their view as quickly as possible since the best way to prevent getting shot is to be out of sight. To continue preventing myself from getting shot I would leave the area as quickly as possible IF POSSIBLE since a confrontation is quite pointless when somebody who may be out to get me has the upper hand. If there was some way of identifying who it was I would report them to fish and game, or whoever would have the most authority to handle such matters, for murderous behavior. I know that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee at McDonald's for all that it is worth as far as getting something done about it, but sometimes making a report can be useful for preventing problems in the future and I consider preventing such behavior a worthwhile endeavor. Out in the woods or great out-of-doors, I would only fire on somebody if it were the last resort to save my own skin if I couldn't flee, but there would be no hesitation AT ALL in pulling the trigger, you can bet on that! In my own house or car it would be an entirely different matter there, though. But that is a bit different scenario from Frank505's incident.

[corvette8n]

I talked to a hot air ballon pilot that carried a .45 with him in the balloon, he said he used it to shoot back at hunters that shot at him. Seem like it is a common occurence in the fall mountain areas.

[felix]

Both are stupid! ... felix

[frank505]

To Hornet;
Yes all I was wearing was a blaze orange cap and other clothes(he he ) in two foot tall sage brush and some grass. You are missing the point and excusing completley stupid behavour. DO NOT POINT YOUR RIFLE AT ME, BUY SOME BINOCULARS OR STAY HOME AND WATCH MORE IDIOTIC HUNTING SHOWS

[floodgate]

The Goodyear blimp frequently had bullet holes to patch after a flight out over the boondocks; so did the "Shenandoah", "Akron" and "Macon" dirigibles back before WW II. When they transported the 200-inch mirror for the big telescope at Mt. Wilson out to CA, they carried it in a heavily-armored crate on the rail-car they used. Some people!!!

floodgate

[standles]

But yet the sporting industry encourages this by putting a .... CAMERA in the scope now.


http://www.biggameproshop.com/smartscope-smart-scope.htm

[HORNET]

frank,
You just have to keep up with the current trends. If you check Peterson's "HUNTING" for Sept 2007, there is a Tech Corner column by Dick Metcalf telling everybody that they ought to have 6-24X variables on their deer rifles so they don't have to carry a spotting scope (or apparently binoc's) and lose time trying to reaquire the deer in the rifle scope after locating it. I guess the old rule of not pointing a gun at anything that you didn't want to shoot is going by the wayside thanks to similar advised idiocy. :roll:
On the plus side, at least they were looking first. We used to have some quarterwits (couldn't pass the test to be halfwits) around here that were big on shooting at sounds. You'd be amazed at how long it seemed to take for some of them to run the guns empty.:Fire:
Watch out, those lunatics are everywhere.

[wolfspotter]

Friend of mine got scoped once. He walked over to the kid and politely commented on what a nice rifle he had and could he look it over. Then he stuck the barrel between two trees, bent it as much as he could and handed it back.
Sometimes actions speak louder than words.[smilie=1:

[MT Gianni]

I have taken to wearing more than the 400 sq in MT requires as I cover it with a back pack on occasion. I can't stopevery idiot from scoping me and worry about the ones I don't see. I believe game is more spooked by motion and things out of place than color. Gianni