Yes, I know this thread is about tactical scopes.
I find it odd that the cheaper Leupold hunting scopes are measured against purpose built tactical scopes.
The ones you are discussing, the SWFA SS scopes, you admit don't have as bright an image as the hunting scopes you compare them to, for instance. With the cheaper scopes, you buy the tradeoffs offered. I'll bet money they don't have Leupold's super tough coatings either.
As far as judging scopes that show up at ranges, I suspect few pay attention as to which models of which brands do well, or how old each scope is. As has been said, use anything long enough and hard enough and it will fail. Before stating which ones hold up the best, do you have the complete history of each ?
As to Sniper's Hide opinions of some, I can easily recall one of their more vocal members saying that in any given match, one can expect over 30% of the Leupolds present to fail. That's pretty hard to buy when one considers that the military uses so many of them. And that the rest of us don't see that happening. E
