Welcome to the world of optics. There have been many improvements in the resign of optics over the years. CAD, CNC machinery, along with modern lens manufacturing techniques have made optical devices better than ever on average. I say on average because every now and then there will be an old lens that can give a modern run for it's money. Every mass produced item is assembled with parts made to a specific manufacturing tolerance. As a given item is assembled, the tolerances start "stacking up" until the assembly is complete. But no assembly is 100% identical, because the component parts are not 100% identical. More parts means more chance for variance in individual assemblies, optical devices included. In any production run, one/some will be the best and one/some will be the worst when compared to each other, but all may still be with in the the manufacturing tolerance for that item. If you happen to get a scope where everything "just came together right" during assembly, you'll have an outstanding example of that product and in side by side comparison it will out perform the others. A near "perfect" example may even outperform some more expensive designs that are not quite as "perfect" in assembly. This is why some expensive things fail before they should and some cheap things last far longer than their price would indicate they should. It's also why people that buy a lot of one model are often heard to say "this one is better than or not as good as" others I've owned. Nothing is truly perfect or identical. Back in the old days when lenses were ground and assembled by hand, there was a lot of variance from one example to another. Ones that proved to have exceptional performance were held back and saved for the most discriminating customers. I worked for a major Redfield dealer back in the early 1970s. The Redfield 3200 was a hot item among target shooters, and we sold quite a few. We had one really good customer the was into bench rest shooting and would do anything to shoot better. When ever we got a new batch of 3200's in, he would take them all home and spend several days "testing" them. He would then buy the best one or two (regardless of power) out of the lot and bring the rest back. Although we heavily discounted Redfield products he insisted on paying full retail for the testing privilege. He did this batch after batch for several years until his death. So if you get one of those "shining examples" hang on to it until you get a better one. Never assume the next one will be just as good.
Last edited by timbo762; 11/09/12.
