There’s nothing quite like recording your hunts or your time at the range and capturing the action from your own unique perspective. Many outdoor enthusiasts invest considerable amounts of money into acquiring the best possible camera equipment to capture this footage, but for others who might not be financially advantaged, there is still a way to film their own efforts behind the rifle.
Cell phone scope mounts are quickly becoming popular with hunters and shooters as a means to film and easily share their shots online. The technology behind these phone scope mounts is a new endeavor on the part of the few companies who produce them, but there has been significant improvement over a short period of time on the models that are available.
Choosing a Cell Phone Scope Mount
This is a complete guide on how to choose a cell phone scope mount for your spotting scope! Enjoy!
What is a Cell Phone Scope Mount?
Rather than using expensive gear to mount a compact digital camera on a rifle scope, a cell phone scope mount works to fit most smartphone models firmly in front of the scope’s eyepiece. There are many models that are specially designed to work only with rifle scopes, but few manufacturers have produced mounts that work interchangeably with spotting scopes, as well as rifle scopes.
Cell phone scope mounts are a great way to capture the heart-pounding moments of a hunt just before you take that crucial shot, or while you watch a trophy animal cruising through the woodline or ridge. These mounts create the perfect opportunity for solo hunters to film themselves during their adventures and share it with friends or followers on various social media networks.
Advantages of a Cell Phone Scope Mount
Have you ever taken a shot on a trophy game animal and you just weren’t exactly sure whether or not your shot found its mark? Having a cell phone scope mount might help eliminate a lot of the guesswork in these situations by letting a hunter replay the events with the unique perspective of being behind the rifle scope. This will sometimes reveal whether a hunter’s shot was one that accurately struck the animal’s vital organ, or whether the bullet may have missed it’s intended target altogether.
A cell phone scope mount will allow shooting enthusiasts to capture their target practice efforts in the same fashion. This can be an especially useful tool for shooters as they can save a considerable amount of time and legwork by reviewing the footage of each shot without having to walk downrange and inspect their targets each time.
Choosing a Cell Phone Scope Mount Buyer’s Guide
As with any piece of outdoor gear, especially those related to more expensive equipment items like optics, it’s always smart to choose a product that comes from a brand that has a good reputation within the outdoor industry. Certain brands have built and established a reputation over the course of many decades through listening to the needs of their customers, creating products that deliver a positive experience, and producing items that are of the best possible quality.
Instead of buying a cheap product from an unknown company online, you might have better results looking into some of the cell phone scope mounts from established companies like Leupold, Vortex, Bushnell, and others.
Decide on a Specific Design
There are a variety of different cell phone scope mount designs that utilize various means to accurately capture what’s in front of your rifle or spotting scope. Some models put the cell phone directly in front of the scope’s eyepiece, but the best models seem to use an extended arm in which the phone is mounted alongside your scope.
Having a cell phone scope mount that’s mounted beside your scope is likely to be much better for use with rifle scopes as this will ensure that the phone does not impede your ability to properly view your target through the lens. It’s also crucial to make sure that any cell phone scope mount used with a rifle does not interfere with your ability to aim your weapon.
Installation
It’s important to make sure that you understand exactly how a smartphone scope mount is to be installed for your rifle scope, spotting scope, or binoculars. You don’t want to make the mistake of purchasing a product that isn’t capable of being mounted to your particular scope. Some companies have videos available that demonstrate how the cell phone scope mount should be installed, and which scopes it works best with.
Pay close attention to how the cell phone scope adaptor mounts onto a rifle as this will ensure that your cell phone is locked in place and will remain so even with the potential recoil of your rifle. Some cell phone scope adaptors mount to picatinny rails, while others have universal mounts that are capable of being paired with a wide variety of different pieces of equipment.
Compatibility
When shopping for a cell phone scope mount, be sure that the specific model you’re looking at is compatible with the scope you intend to use it with. Many of the top smartphone scope mounts will list the various types of scopes that they are most compatible with. A great deal of useful information can be gleaned from reading through the reviews of each particular scope. It’s also a good idea to do a quick search for the specific cell phone scope mount and the exact scope you intend to mount your equipment on to find out any online guides or other useful information that might help in your search to find the best product for your needs.
Conclusion
Finding the best cell phone scope mount that’s right for your needs involves quite a bit of research as this type of product is still relatively new in the outdoor industry. If you intend to use a smartphone scope mount on your rifle, be sure that you’ll be able to accommodate the cell phone scope mount onto your rifle without impeding your ability to properly aim and fire your weapon. Lastly, keep an eye out to see which products have any type of warranty included as this is typically an indication of higher quality products that are going to be worth the money.
