*%$! scope covers!!!

Does ANYBODY make decent flip up scope covers anymore that will stay put, work as they're supposed to work, and will last?

I don't like bikini style covers. If I have to completely remove scope covers to use my scope, it's all but guaranteed I'll lose 'em, and have lost several.

Likewise, I can't stand the neoprene scope covers. Although they protect the scope pretty well, they're slow to install and remove and like the bikini covers, if you must completely remove it from the scope, I WILL lose it.

The standard BCs, as others can attest, evidently ain't what they used to be. I've broken several. In addition, unless your eyepiece or objective housings are on the large side of the diameter range, they don't stay put. BC needs to use a more compliant material that grips the scope better.

I like the Quake Bushwacker flip ups better than the BCs because at least they stay put better. I've broken a couple of them too, but not as many as the BC.

Yes, the Aadmount flip ups are very nice, but they don't offer the full range of sizes I need, and even though I can fully understand why they cost what they do, I guess I just don't place THAT much value on scope covers, as I'm not willing to spend their MSRP to get a set.

The Leupold Alumina series flip ups are very nice...if I was needing caps for a Leupold. I don't, and again, despite the fact I can understand the price, I'm still just not willing to pay that much for scope covers.

I was happy to see that BC introduced their "Tactical One Piece" flip open scope covers, so I ordered several sets this week (Kudos to SWFA for lightning fast shipment, BTW!). These covers are all-rubber construction rather than having brittle hard plastic parts that crack, so they are pliable and should last a long time. I thought I'd finally found the answer to my scope cover quandary. However, leave it to BC to screw up a simple idea! First, the sizes available are very limited, and there are gaps in the size ranges that BC doesn't cover. So, they didn't have models for half the scopes I need covers for. Second, just like with their other caps, if your eyepiece or objective housing diameter happens to fall on the low end of the specified diameter range, they'll easily fall off because the rubber used isn't compliant enough. On the other hand, if your scope housing is on the upper end of the diameter range, it distorts the cover enough that the caps refuse to stay closed. Even some of the caps that fall right in the middle of the size range wouldn't reliably stay closed for me. VERY DISAPPOINTED! This isn't rocket science, BC!!!

Why doesn't someone offer simple solid rubber caps made of a sufficiently "stretchy" rubber, where both the rings AND the caps both fit directly over the eyepiece/obj housings, just like those provided with many binoculars? I don't want hinges; they break. A simple rubber strap connecting the retaining ring and cap is all that's required. Just a simple freakin' cap with a retaining ring in ONE piece of rubber! Simple and durable! I don't want the cap to snap into the ring; That doesn't stay closed and doesn't seal as well. I want the cap to cling directly to the scope tube! To Meopta's credit, that is exactly what came with the fixed 6X42 Meopro I bought a year ago. They stay put and protect the scope lenses as well as anything else, and probably don't cost more than $10 at the most. That's all I want/need!

Who makes these?




Edited by RifleDude - February/11/2015 at 12:55

When my scopes are on the small side, I just wrap a little black tape around them til they are correct.  Definitely a bandaid, but at least they stay on. 

I haven't found any real good ones either and only use my scope covers if it's raining, where we hunt there isn't much of that during deer season. I do use a sun shade (2.5"), they protect the front lens very well from brush, etc. even light rain. During the season I only remove the shade to clean the lenses from dust which really isn't that often. Low light situations I guess I should remove the shade but I don't, it doesn't seem to cause any problems for me.

I've used the scope shield which is a neoprene scope cover and it works great for protecting the scope while in the safe and transporting it. I haven't used it in the field and in the rain yet, not sure how it would perform, it's kind of bulky.

Please let us know if you find something else.

AADmount covers are awesome and they don't break

Jon came out with covers? Interesting

ccoker wrote: AADmount covers are awesome and they don't break

Yes, sir, no doubt, on both counts.

However, I simply don't place that much of a premium on scope covers, no matter how good, and they don't offer the sizes I need. I'll cuss at bikini covers and/or I can replace a whole bunch of crappy flip up covers multiple times for what they cost.

I do appreciate quality, but assuming they offered all the sizes I needed, I'd have $1600 invested in scope covers if I addressed all my coverless scopes with Aadmount covers!

One of the reasons I like my Leupold VX-R so well is that I use the Alumina covers with it. 

This is all I really want:



Simple, inexpensive, long-lasting, stays in place, stays closed when I want it to, protects lenses well, and inexpensive. I have caps like this on binos that have lasted for several years, and if the tethers tear, they're inexpensive to replace. I don't need/want to spend $100 when the same function can easily be accomplished just as well by a $15 item. I can get these for specific models of binoculars, and I'm sure I could find some that would also fit my scopes, but why doesn't anyone make the same basic design in all common rifle scope objective and ocular bell diameters?

Or, does some exist I'm not aware of?

Ted, I have (had???) a decent pair on one of my Swaro scopes... 3-9 x 36 I think. Not sure who made them and if (or not) they are available for other scopes.

Vortex makes a few different sizes.  http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-flip-cap-optic-cover-size-3-fc-3

bugsNbows wrote: Ted, I have (had???) a decent pair on one of my Swaro scopes... 3-9 x 36 I think. Not sure who made them and if (or not) they are available for other scopes.

If they're like the ones that came on my 3-9X36 and 3-10X42 Swaros, they are the aforementioned Quake Bushwacker covers. They also came as a supplied accessory with Kahles scopes in the past. I like them o.k., though they're a bit flimsy in the hinge area. They do use an ideal grade of rubber for the sleeve that clings to the scope well, though. Anytime you have thin hard plastic parts on the hinge, it's subject to cracking and breaking in varying temperature. All-rubber construction provides "stretch but not break" durability that will last for many years before the rubber loses its elasticity and cracks. But, by then, you should be able to get several years of use and replacement cost is minimal.

Looks like vortex might be bushwackers also

BIG Smile   I sit here thinking of Ted, Sitting it the recliner up in the country club penthouse deer stand. With a cooler full of snacks, both liquid and solid. The propane heater keeping his middle aged bones from hurting. Watching the game on the battery operated TV. Or listening to tunes on the Ipod. This just goes to show it is always the little things that bug you the most.

C'mon man... you're exaggerating just a tad! 

I don't have a TV in my blinds.

Something like these ?

Meopta makes those exact covers for their scopes Rifle (the ones that look like binoc lens covers).  They may fit some of yours as well.  

Yep, those are exactly what I want, and the same covers came with my Meopta Meopro 6X42. Do they sell them separately? If not, who is the supplier?

RifleDude wrote: C'mon man... you're exaggerating just a tad!  I don't have a TV in my blinds.

Son of Ed wrote: RifleDude wrote: C'mon man... you're exaggerating just a tad!  I don't have a TV in my blinds. I remember sitting under a tree in the pouring rain waiting for a Big Deer to sneak through the Majestic Forest!  Or, freezing your butt off during a crystal clear, ice cold day.... Whatever happened to that?

Ever used a Scope Coat, Ted? 

Yep, I have a couple Scopecoats. They're fine for some guns, but I don't care for them on a hunting rifle. They protect the scope well but I prefer scope caps that remain attached to the scope when the caps are open. There's a high likelihood I will lose anything you have to completely remove from the scope prior to using said scope, as I already have a bad habit of losing bikini covers. I typically remove them from the scope and put in my pocket once I start hunting, and invariably, they manage to fall out of my pocket somewhere in the woods. I carry around enough items as-is; I don't want anything else I've gotta keep up with. It's much slower to clear the scope for use if I have to take advantage of a momentary shot opportunity.

coyote95 wrote: Something like these ?

Yep, who makes those caps?

Those are Meopta's standard issue on their riflescopes.  

Thank you.