FAQs

Who Invented ScopeShield?

Jon Stram

Why was ScopeShield invented?

Jon was not satisfied with any of the scope protection devices he had tried, and in the mid 1990's, he was involved in Outfitting on Prince of Wales Island in S.E. Alaska. Prince of Wales is a rain forest, averaging 150 - 200 inches of rain per year, and Hunting in extremely wet conditions was an every day occurrence. If You can't keep your scope clear and in working conditions at all times, you can't Hunt effectively. Every device Jon or his Hunters used failed in one way or another, so Jon started working on a design that would fulfill the Three (3) Basic Attributes that he believed any Scope Protection Device should have:

1) Protection - It must protect Both scope lenses from any weather or field condition encountered Without Failing. Rain, Humidity, Snow, Changing Temperatures, Dust, Dirt, Mud, etc. - None of these conditions should alter the Scope Protection Device or any of it's protective functions in any way.

2) Simplicity - It must be easy and foolproof to use in the field while Hunting.

3) Speed - It must not slow down the Hunter or his reactions in any way.

What is ScopeShield made of?

ScopeShield is primarily made of 2mm Neoprene, laminated with Nylon Fabric on both sides to facilitate both a good seal around the scopes lenses to keep out moisture and foreign matter. The Nylon also helps to keep the ScopeShield long lasting and sturdy, as it doesn't appear to break down over time and exposure to moderate heat, cold, or moisture, without absorbing moisture. Thus, ScopeShield can be successfully used in any temperature or weather extreme a Hunter could encounter, without failing, or allowing the protected scope to fail.

What are the straps on both ends for?

The smaller strap on the back end of the ScopeShield is called the Grabber Loop. This loop allows for quick and easy removal of the ScopeShield from the scope, by giving a quick tug backwards and up, which allows the ScopeShield to spring free of the scope. This 'Spring' action is due to the stretch of the Neoprene, and with good quality Neoprene, will not lose it's stretching ability over time or from being continuously stretched over a scope.

The larger strap on the front, or objective end of the ScopeShield is called the Keeper Loop. This loop goes around the barrel and fore-end or fore-arm of Your firearm, within the sling swivels and sling of Your firearm. By placing the Keeper Loop on Your firearm in this manner, You avoid any possibility of loss of the ScopeShield while removing the ScopeShield from the scope. This allows You to remove it quickly from the scope while You are maintaining Your focus on Your target, or game animal.

Why is Protection important?

Protection of Your scope, particularly it's lenses, is of vital importance to any Hunter. The sights on Your hunting firearm are vital to the success of Your Hunt. Proper alignment, commonly known as 'Sighting In', is obvious, but if Your scope lenses become unusable due to fogging, dust, mud, raindrops, snow, sleet, etc., Your firearm becomes useless, as You cannot accurately bring it to bear upon Your target or game animal. By the time You have removed the obstruction and cleaned off Your lenses, Your opportunity may be gone forever.

Why not just protect the lens of the scope? Why the whole scope?

I'm glad You asked that. There are several very good reasons. The ScopeShield, by protecting Your whole scope while in the field, protects Your investment in Your scope by preventing the avoidable damage and wear from abrasions, bumps, and the general wear and tear that an average day Hunting in the field can subject a rifle scope to. The ScopeShield is designed to protect Your whole scope from the wear that occurs when transporting Your firearm while Hunting. Whether traveling in a vehicle, such as a truck, SUV or Jeep; on an ATV, motorcycle, bicycle, boat, canoe, sled, floatplane, mule or horseback, or any other means of transportation, damage to Your scope is an avoidable possibility. The damage may not reduce the use of the scope, but it will reduce the value, looks, and saleability of Your scope should You ever desire to sell or trade the scope.

Perhaps most importantly, due to the design of the ScopeShield, if You will take the added precaution of giving the ScopeShield a slight tug downward once you have placed it upon the scope, You will also shroud most, and probably all, of Your rifles action underneath Your scope. How much protection You can expect will depend to some extent on how high Your scope is mounted upon Your firearm, the type of action Your firearm has, and where the scope is mounted on the firearm. The ScopeShield is most effective at protecting the action of Your firearm with Bolt Action rifles equipped with a low or medium scope mount. Lever Actions, Pumps, Semi-Autos, and Single Shots will also be protected to a greater or lesser degree depending upon the individual firearm. When a scope is mounted upon a rifle in a long eye relief, or Scout position forward of the rifle's action, obviously no protection of the rifle's action can be expected through the use of the ScopeShield. The ScopeShield will still protect the scope just as well in the Scout configuration. From what I've observed, up until this time in 2007, the Scout configuration is the vast minority of all firearm types confronted, and I expect that will remain to be the case.

By protecting the open, exposed part of Your action from twigs, pine needles, dirt, snow, rain, and other debris, You lower the possible reasons for failure. If Your rifle action is covered, and debris is not allowed to enter, there is less likelihood of a jam, which can slow or prevent Your first shot or a follow up shot. If snow and rain don't enter the action, on a day with temperatures below freezing, your action is much less liable to freeze up, again preventing a shot, or being able to work Your action for a follow up shot.

By protecting both Scope and Action with ONE device, and allowing for both Scope and Action to quickly be cleared to shoot by the simple tug of the shooters thumb and index finger, You have sped up the shooting process, removed the excuses of a Fouled Scope and a Fouled Action, and improved the odds for success by the Hunter.

What about using the ScopeShield in a Leather Scabbard?

Another excellent, but often unasked question. I've talked with several Outfitters and Guides over the years who insist that their customers remove any Scope Covers from their firearms before Hunting while traveling via horseback or mule and using a common leather rifle scabbard. The 3 Main Concerns cited usually are Convenience, Experience, and Speed. Every Scope Protection Device I've ever seen, used, or heard of WILL hang up going into, and being taken out of a leather Scabbard. Speed is not important, usually, when You are placing a Scoped Rifle INTO a Leather Scabbard, but when You are Hunting, and the Desired Game Animal is spotted, how Fast You can Withdraw Your Scoped Firearm from the Scabbard, Chamber a Round, and be Ready to Shoot can be crucial, and can mean the whole difference between failure and celebration. Anything that is a barrier to the Success of Your Hunt is a factor that needs to be removed as soon as possible. Every Missed Opportunity means more Hard Work for You AND Your Guide, if You're on a Guided Hunt. A Missed Opportunity, and it takes only one, and Your Hunting Experience can go from a Highly Successful one, to a Failure, in the blink of an eye. If using a Scope Protection Device could cause me to fail just as easily as it could help me be successful, I'd probably call it a failure and quit using it myself.

However, in this situation, the ScopeShield is different from every other Scope Protection Device. There are no hard edges or protrusions to catch on a Leather Scabbard, either going in or coming out, when You're equipped with a ScopeShield. On the contrary, due to the ScopeShield design, Your ScopeShield WILL NOT hang up either going into or coming out of any type of Scabbard, leather included. The snug fitting Neoprene ScopeShield will actually make the sliding into a Leather Scabbard easier, and gentler on the scope, than doing it without Your ScopeShield in place. Due to the form fit of Your ScopeShield, and the Keeper Loop, Your ScopeShield will not come off of Your Scope or Rifle and get jammed down into the Scabbard, causing a problem You may have heard of, and possibly seen or experienced. The ScopeShield has no 'trigger' to spring open accidentally while placing Your firearm into or pulling Your firearm out of a Leather Scabbard. Due to the Shrouding Effect of Your ScopeShield on Your rifle's action, the snow and debris that can fall into a Scabbard and get into Your rifle's action is largely prevented with the use of the ScopeShield. Another possible Hunting Tragedy prevented by YOUR pro-active solution!

There's an another Problem that You'll Avoid by Equipping Your Scope with a ScopeShield when You're using a Leather Scabbard. Holster Wear. If you've ever used a Blued Handgun in a Leather Holster, You know what I'm talking about. Over time, the continual holstering and un-holstering of a Blued Handgun will wear the finish off your Handgun in any places where the leather comes into contact with YOUR gun - often, for example, along the sides of the end of the barrel, on the sides and edges of the cylinder, and other places, depending upon the design of Your Handgun and Your Holster. A Rifle Scope, due to the fact that it protrudes from the rifle, is very susceptible to the same type of wear as a Handgun in a Leather Holster. Until ScopeShield came along, there was little or nothing You could do about this situation. It was just an unfortunately accepted Hazard of Hunting from Horseback. It's never made ANYONE happy, when they saw the rubbing and wear that brought down the value of your scope, but there was NOTHING, in the past, that You could do about it. Often, though, You may not have been aware of this 'Fringe Benefit' of using a leather scabbard with Your Valuable Scoped Firearm, until it was too late.

You'll never have to deal with that Unacceptable Situation again, Thanks to ScopeShield. Now, if You'll fit Your Valuable Scope with a ScopeShield BEFORE Your hunt, BEFORE Your Expensive Scope first slides into a Leather Scabbard, You won't have to suffer the long-term, permanent scarring that the rubbing of a Leather Scabbard would have perpetrated upon Your Valuable Scope. Put a ScopeShield on Every One of Your Scopes, and breath a sigh of relief. You've just given Your Scopes the BEST PROTECTION AVAILABLE AT ANY PRICE!

"Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to this learning." Proverbs 9:9