Not a writer. As a 76 year Texan, I resent being classed with the Californians, but unfortunately, I understand why.
Not all of us fit the description. My daughters are in the 40-early 50 range. They have good jobs and all married successful business men. Oldest daughter is a partner and CEO of a thriving business in her own right. Likewise for SIL. She and SIL live in the same city as her mom and I do.
Back on topic. Many of their ( and our) close friends either hunt, fish, or golf- or all three. They are basically a group of professional people or successful entrepreneurs. They tend to buy whatever they perceive to be the best. Among their toys, one tends to see lots of alpha rifles and glass, including 50-56 mm items.
SIL excepted. His deer rifle is an ancient 700 in .25-06 with an equally ancient 3-9 Leupold scope. His coyote rifle is a 700 in .17 R with a jap Simmons, straight out of a pawn shop. He melts coyotes with it. He and daughter are more into bird hunting and fly fishing. The rifles are just tools to control vermin on their bird patch, or "ranch" as they call it.
I owned a honking big Swarovski scope over night many years ago. I bought it as a demo at a good price, IIRC, it topped out at somewhere in the 18 range with a 56 mm objective. I took it home, mounted it, weighed the Mauser, removed it and sold it the next day. scope and mounts were under two pounds, but not by much.
20 to 40 mm objectives work just fine for my needs and purposes. Your mileage may vary and that is OK by me.
Last edited by jt402; 04/13/14.
