I've come to a couple of conclusions about these sorts of things over the years:
1) Eyes can be pretty different from person to person
2) A guy's eyes can learn to adjust to an awful lot of conditions/circumstances.
Conclusion #1 means that the people who love 6x42's are absolutely right. And so are the people who hate 6x42's.
Conclusion #2 means that a guy who's spent his entire optics budget on X scope, can learn to become awfully proficient with that scope. Scope Y may, or may not, have been better for his particular eyes at the time of purchase, but he got used to using scope X as he spent more time with it.
For my part, I started with a cheap 4X Tasco, & hated it. I couldn't wait to graduate to a 3-9X, and was oh so happy when I finally did so. I then learned (the hard way) about proper mounting systems (Yeah, I did the "see through" thing - and I'm not even from Wisconsin!). Then I upgraded to a "nice" variable, and thought I was on top of the world.
This is where I should have left this site, & left well enough alone.
After acquiring a few more rifles, I got the notion that some of them might look "period correct" with a fixed scope. After reading the Siren Songs of Conquest 4x32 owners, I took the plunge, and I was absolutely amazed by the scope. The FOV worked perfect for my eyes, the clarity was amazing, I found the duplex to be "A1" for my eyes, and it was a touch more compact that the variable I'd been using. I quickly bought several more of those scopes, even though I didn't have rifles for them.
Again, I should have stopped reading the 'Fire!
So much was made of the 6x42's by their proponents, that I bought a Monarch in that setup from the classifieds. From the moment I held it to my eye, I knew I'd be selling it. The FOV seemed far, far too small for my eyes. The clarity lagged far behind (IMO) the Conquest. I later found more things that I didn't like about it.
So what's it all mean? I've always thought that optics were like shoes: you've gotta try 'em on, & see what fits. The winners of marathons may swear by 1 brand of shoes, but if they don't fit me well, they're not worth a darn to me. There are plenty of folks on here who wax orgasmic about all of the offerings from their favorite scope maker, but those products do nothing at all for me. It's not the end of the world - it just means I have to go find the things that I happen to like best.
So look through some scopes, and see if anything "pops out" to your eye. If so, then buy it, & shoot a bunch with it. Pictures of dead game trump all scope discussions.
FC
Last edited by Folically_Challenged; 12/19/10.
