djs and gunswizard,
No, most 1" variable scopes are not as reliable as fixed powers, because they have more moving parts, which have to be relatively small since they're crammed into a relatively small tube. They work well enough for most shooting, most of the time, but over the years I've had 16 brands of scopes (not individual scopes) fail on my rifles, and at least 95% were variables, some costing over $1000.
The scopes on the rifles my wife and I own, right now, are just about 50/50 split between variables and fixed, because of our numerous experiences with variables that failed.
Sometimes these failures were deliberately induced, by mounting the scopes on rifles of .300 magnum or larger, which makes a definite difference. But many were never mounted on any rifle that kicked harder than a .257 Roberts, yet still went wonky.
The major exceptions are the very rugged 30mm-tubed variables (often called "tactical" scopes) offered by many companies these days. They're reinforced in the right places, and often screwed together with thread-locker so parts don't vibrate loose. But they're built very differently than the average 1" 3-9x.
Agreed.
Should add I think Petzel has hunted around a fair amount and shot a lot of animals. I know he was a 340 Weatherby fan,and also liked the 280,from his writings as I recall.
I like him and his acerbic,sometimes caustic wit....
