First time Ive had this happen

[fatphatboy88]

I was shooting my AR the other day and the scope started to get a little blurry. It kept getting worse and worse until all I could see through the scope looks like a cats eye. When I got it home it was even worse to the point where I couldnt see anything except some light around the edges. It was a free 3-9x40 tasco that I have had for years so it wasn't much of a loss at all. The scope has spent its entire life on a 10/22 and the last year on my AR with about 400 rounds of 5.56 through it. The lens between the eye piece and the turrets came loose and turned complete sideways. Anybody else have this happen before? I mean Ive broken reticles before and had the turrets come loose but never a lens turn sideways.

I figured since it was a free scope and a cheap one at that, that I would take it apart to see what went wrong.
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww54/fatphatboy88/20140601_192629_zps8v6xkawu.jpg (http://s705.photobucket.com/user/fatphatboy88/media/20140601_192629_zps8v6xkawu.jpg.html)

[barrel-nut]

I had a cheap scope on a spring piston-type RWS air rifle disintegrate within the first forty shots. A lens on the inside shattered, and accuracy had gone south well before that happened. I took the ocular lens off to look inside, and poured out about a spoonful of shattered glass shards. It happens.

[sharpshooter]

That's what semi auto's do to cheap scopes.

[DrThunder88]

I heard about that in a Tiborasaurus Rex video. It seemed a bit crazy at first, but it made sense that the bolt and carrier slamming forward would generate the same kind of reverse recoil that piston air rifles would have, which a great many scopes aren't built to withstand.