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The author has a shot at a big Hawaiian Axis buck, but his optic is rain-wet and compromised. Will he take the shot?
I sat in the rain-wet brush on the southern slope of an early dawn Hawaiian island, watching a small group of Axis deer climb mountainward, following the top of the next ridge to my east. The big buck we’d seen the previous morning was with them, thanks to occasional glimpses of antler tines tall above the brush. I was wet. The rain had been falling since before dawn, and my clothing, pack, rifle, everything was wet.
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The buck finally showed in an opening atop the far ridge, only 130-yards distant. I lowered my binoculars and leaned into my rifle. All I could see through my scope was a blurry brown blob.
RIFLE, SCOPE, AND AMMO
My rifle was our family’s superbly accurate Fierce Edge – a bolt-action chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. It’s topped with a 4-16X44 SHV Vortex scope mounted in Vortex rings, which dials very repeatably and with complete reliability. As I was about to learn, however, the scope isn’t always perfect.
My ammo was Hornady Precision Hunter, topped with their 143-grain ELD-X bullet sporting a G1 BC of 0.625 and exiting the barrel at 2775 feet per second. This bullet is superbly accurate and has proved very deadly on deer and even on elk, with judicious and proper bullet placement. The rifle is zeroed at 200 yards, which provides a dead-on hold from the muzzle out to 250 yards.
My trusty Zeiss RF 10X42 rangefinding binocular completed my setup, nestled securely in my favorite Badlands bino carrier.
THE HUNT
My family and I had traveled to Hawaii to play on the beach, hunt Axis deer, and housesit for some friends who were going away on vacation. Deer were plentiful and we were having a great time, with several deer already in the cooler. We spotted a great buck climbing a distant ridge early one morning, so the following dawn we braved stormy weather and climbed the mountain in darkness to get into position for a shot at the buck, should he repeat his routine.
As we watched the deer moving up the ridge and closer I looked through my scope and realized I had a problem. Despite the bikini-style covers I’d kept on the scope during my pre-dawn climb the lenses were wet. That’s not usually a huge problem because special factory-applied coatings on scope lenses should make any water bead into tight droplets. As a result, the image through your scope will still be clear, though likely not as bright or crisp.
BAD VIEW THROUGH A RAIN-WET SCOPE
The view through my scope was badly rain-wet and blurred, so I looked at the glass. Both lenses were smeared edge-to-edge with water. I grabbed out my lens cloth and attempted to wipe away the fluid, but the conditions were so humid that the lenses immediately covered over again. Clearly, the lens coatings had failed. Despite my best efforts I simply could not get the lenses dry enough to provide a clear image. I would have to try to make a good shot through the blur.
The big buck was moving steadily up the crest of the opposite ridge, pausing occasionally to nibble on an after-breakfast snack. I was in a solid sitting position, the rifle rested across my upright internal frame backpack. Everything was in place for a perfect shot, except for my crosshairs. As the buck gave me a brief opportunity I tried desperately to stare my way through the blur in my scope, to find the vitals on the brown blob that I knew was the big buck. He moved onward through the brush, finally giving me another try. Still, the brown blob shimmered and danced and blurred. My finger was on the 2.5-pound trigger and I knew I could get a bullet in the buck, but where it would impact I could not be sure.
TAKE THE SHOT?
Put yourself in my position, bedraggled, rain-wet and aiming at a buck the likes of which you crossed the Pacific to shoot. He’s there, your crosshairs are on him, and your finger is on the trigger. But you just can’t see him clearly.
Will you take the shot?
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED: TRUE STORY
I did not take the shot. I knew that I couldn’t place my bullet with precision, so I didn’t press the trigger. Fortunately, my son Josiah was just a few feet up the hill from me and I was able to communicate to him that I was out of business. His scope was wet too, but the water was beaded nicely on the lenses and he could see just fine. He made a great shot and killed the buck cleanly, so it all worked out.
CONCLUSION TO THE WET STORY
Living in the arid southwest we don’t have much occasion to hunt in wet weather. Dust, however, is a constant problem. We use special lens cleaning spray and cloths and exercise care when we clean our lenses. Still, wiping the dust away must wear on the lens coatings. The Vortex SHV is not a particularly high-dollar scope, and I suspect the coatings just wore away over several years of use.
READ MORE: Take The Shot: Badlands Mule Deer
Some lessons I learned from this experience include the need to adapt and prepare for unfamiliar or unknown challenges. And use the best gear you can afford – it’ll be less likely to fail.
Most importantly, I was happy with my decision to pass on the water-blurred shot. It was the right thing to do, and I learned some valuable lessons. Next time I sit on a rain-soaked ridge watching a big buck climb toward me, I’ll be better prepared to make a clean, ethical shot.