Last fall I shot a nice bear with my 35 Whelen and while descending the rise where i had hidden I slipped, fell and landed hard on the rifle and scope. I cleaned the gun up an put it away but made a note to closely inspect and test the optics this spring. Visual inspection revealed no damage other than the expected cosmetic scratches. Today I took it to the camp and set up at 100 yards off of a rest. First shot was 12 inches off zero. I took a second shoot without adjusting to see if the rounds would group and they did (about 1 inch apart) made the adjustments to move it about half way back to zero and fired 2 more rounds. The second set of rounds grouped as well and moved the appropriate amount towards the point of aim. I than made another set of adjustments and fired 4 rounds and all hit within 0.5 inch of the point of aim.

My question is, can a scope get that far out of whack from an impact and still be able to hold zero i.e be functionally undamaged? or should i be worried that the zero i just set will drift even though it seemed to hold for those 4 rounds.

In case it matters the scope is a Swaro Z3.

Apparently the answer is yes. You can always shoot it some more to make sure.

X2

Years ago I dropped my .308 out of a cedar tree and the Tasco 4-12 took the brunt of it, leaving a dent in the bell. Later that afternoon I missed three shots at a deer with it (killed him with another rifle I had with me). I sighted it back in and hunted with it for several more years.

Is it a vortex?

Swarovski scopes are not known for strong internals. Keep checking zero, if you can. Spread it out over days and weeks. I would put the scope through some small, controlled impacts, as well. Like, tap the knobs with the handle of a screwdriver, just before checking zero.

A lot has to do with the rings and bases and how well they can hold up to impacts. A weak set or a set that is not designed very well will often have a POI shift from a fall or bump. I would firm up your rings and bases first before re-zeroing the rifle to make sure the bases and rings are still solid and in place. Scopes can take a good beating, poor rings and bases, not so much.

I agree with Chad. I would certainly check the base and rings and specifically the torque values

Something like this product is what I'm talking about as far as a weak design. Leupold makes a one piece base that has 2 major flaws.

1- it only uses 3 out of the 4 available action holes for mounting. This greatly reduces the support of the scope.

2- The rear windage screws of this system often have movement based on the edges of the screws holding the rings in place. I have seen these screws allow movement and even sheer off the "wings" of the ring base. This system should be outlawed, IMO.

Here's the link I put together about the issues I've seen with these style of bases.

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum...e-of-rings-bases-for-a-rifle#Post6987525

Thanks for all the great feedback. Mounts are not one piece but are Leupold. Will check the torque values this weekend.

Can you send it back to Swaro and have them check it?

What Chad and fireman said...I would suspect the change in poi came from the mount shifting more so that the scope. That said, shoot a group, then tap the top and sides of the scope and shoot another group. See if the POI shifts. If it does, and you had already checked the mounts, then send the scope back to Swaro. If it doesn't, hunt with confidence...confidence in your scope. The mounts, not so much. LOL.

Love Swaro binocs, scopes.....not so much, at least the SwaroA 1' tube model I had (think it's the Z3 now). It went south while I was shooting at a big 190' mule deer buck at 150 yards with a dead steady rest. I shot the poor thing to pieces before having to track him to where he was laying and finish him off. It took 4 shots when it should have taken 1. I took it and a corn sack to a caliche pit and it was 9" high and almost 12" right of POA. Swaro fixed it good as new, then I sold it.

Can you post up a pic of your rings and mount?

Best pics i have right now. Gun is at the camp right now - won't have access to it until Saturday.

Good set of rings right there. I'm a user of low strength LockTite on all base and ring screws. Cheap insurance, and the screws will come out if you need them to. If you don't, they will stay put.