Testing a scope without putting it on a rifle and firing some rounds is like testing a pickup by driving it off the lot.
Why not do both tests, and also see how the adjustments hold up during repeated recoil? It certainly wouldn't be that big a deal to see if the live-fire test results match the mechanical results. I've seen a bunch of scopes adjust very differently when jarred by recoil between shots.
I think it depends on what you are testing, the accuracy and repeatability of the adjustments or the resistance of those adjustments to recoil. Both questions are worth answering but they aren't the same question. I would imagine that all the scopes might have different thresholds for recoil.
