Huh, Never Seen that Before (or, Don't buy cheap scopes!)

[Alpha-17]

So, uh, I don't think the reticle is supposed to look like that:

20230408_145049 by Jacob Allen, on Flickr

3copy by Jacob Allen, on Flickr

Backstory for this: About two weeks ago we got in a lightly used Blackrain Fallout-10 (AR-10) at work. I'm a big fan of .308/7.62x51, but have never played with an AR-10 before, so I picked it up. It came with a TruGlo Nexus 4-12x44 scope. I swapped a few accessories out, including the optic, and took it out to pew pew yesterday. It shot well (few minor issues), and I decided to test out the accuracy with various ammo types. I put the Scope back on, and after a few rounds had it zeroed, or so I thought. We noticed that there seemed to be an odd shift in POI between shot groups (group 1 would be about an inch from the POA at 10 o'clock, and the next would be at 5 o'clock with the same POA) While trying to figure out the issue, I noticed that the top post of the cross hair seemed to be off center, and not line up well with the bottom. Odd, but probably just a QC issue I didn't notice early. A few rounds later, and after letting the rifle sit for a few minutes, I looked down range and realized that the right post was curling up as well. Somehow, it looks like we managed to break the scope. I've had scopes go down on me before, but I can honestly say that I've never seen the cross hairs curl up on me while shooting.

[joedirt199]

Wire vs etched reticle. A buddy of mine's 308 AR wrecked his Nikon scope. He couldn't figure out why the gun wouldn't group anymore. I put a level on the turret cap and looked through the scope to find the reticle had canted several degrees. Nikon replaced it with an upgrade. This was after they stopped making scopes.

[RHINOWSO]

Damn....

[JiminAZ]

I had this happen on a fixed 4x Leupold on a 22LR rifle. Same deal had a wire reticle. Failed within the first 50 rounds of installation.

Leupold replaced it. Spoke to the product manager for the model - she was very interested in seeing it personally.

The replacement scope has held up fine.