The other factor I may have mentioned before is there's FAR less difference in riflescope optics than 20-25 years ago, when so many hunters obsessed over bright optics. The top end hasn't changed, at least from what I can tell through night-testing on my optics chart, with the very brightest scopes, since none have ever rated more than an 8 on the chart.
But for many years only a very few scopes rated an 8, and they all came from Europe and cost over $1000. Now far more scopes rate 8, and some cost under $1000.
In the meantime the vast majority of scopes costing around $500 will rate a 7, which was noticeably above average 20 years ago, and some costing in the $200 to $300 range rate a 7 as well. This is far brighter than the average non-European scope of 20-25 years ago, and brighter than some high-priced Euro-scopes back then.
All the Nightforce scopes I've tested in recent years have rated a 7+, as close to an 8 as possible on the scale. In hunting, there's no practical difference, and the reticle itself will make FAR more difference in aiming ability than that slight amount of optical brightness.
