Nobody wants rust in their rifle scope or rifle itself. By chance, if your scope turrets or metal parts catch rust, don’t worry we have tips for you on how to remove rust without damaging the scope. Before you dip your whole scope inside vinegar read this.
To avoid rust all alone you should make a habit of cleaning your scope and rifle regularly. Rifle scopes are made of aluminum and they don’t catch rust.
But some parts of your rifle like for example the turret pins, the zoom ring, and the turret themselves may be made out of metal. Most of the time turrets tend to catch rust. And with simple maintenance, you can avoid rust and also clean them without damaging the scope.
Remove Rust From A Rifle Scope
Find Out Whether Your Scope Has Rust or Not
You should always clean your scope. When you do make sure to do it thoroughly. Like we said aluminum body won’t catch rust.
Look for Under the turret cap, if you have an illuminated reticle that requires a battery check the battery slot, and check the edge of the lens.
If you notice any kind of corrosion don’t panic. Don’t start rubbing them with an empty hand or a cloth immediately.
Don’t straight up-dip in liquid like vinegar which removes rust. That might affect your lens coating which can lead to the dead lens.
If Your Scope Has Rust Do The Following
Dip your Q-tip in isopropyl alcohol before cleaning. Make sure you have nothing on you that can transfer debris into your Q-tip or your turret.
Clean the turret thoroughly don’t be rough while cleaning because you might break a thread or two if you behave too harshly towards the turret.
While you do it if your turret threads aren’t clicking like they should you should take this opportunity to wax them. Use wax to lube the thread that should make your clicking smoother.
But remember if you put wax you are putting a dirt magnet inside your turret. That’s why you shouldn’t open your turret where lots of dirt are flying around.
Even if your scope is water-resistant and won’t react to hydrogen peroxide, we don’t recommend dipping scopes.
Check The Scope Regularly If That Catches Rust!
By coincidence or quality issue if your aluminum rifle scope catches rust and you are out of warranty only then you should try to dip it in hydrogen peroxide or vinegar to remove the surface rust.
If the rust isn’t deep and just on the surface you can also use sandpaper to remove the rust later use a q-tip with isopropyl alcohol clean it thoroughly then apply polishing on the body.
It should get rid of all the rust and make your scope shiny.
Remember to be in control while sanding the scope because they are not the thickest material in the world. Also, there is another concern that you might get rid of weight on a certain side which can play a factor while zeroing and targeting.
Issues Everything Right?
That’s why we always recommend to take good care of your scope. By any chance, if they catch rust that isn’t the end of the world. With proper care and execution of the steps, we provided you should be able to remove rust from your scope.
Last Thing, As always be careful while cleaning the scope. Thanks for reading.
Hi, I’m Brent Hansford. A writer turned hunter & now sharing my love for the sport through writing. As I practically breathe weapons, I firmly believe I’m capable of providing you with new knowledge about firearms and hunting. My mission is to help more people get better at hunting & master the weapons. Let me help with unleashing the beast within you!
