You have just given a bonofied reason for a scope of that design. If there is a real reason a scope needs to be a certain way to accomplish something specific. Plenty fine by me. I am sure you would agree a lot of other optics aren’t selected like that
You may be right, and I certainly do not pretend to know every other scope that exists. When you look at the specs of a scope from a fairly reputable maker, you can figure out why they chose 34 instead of 30 or even 1inch. The NF ATACR specifies an elevation range of 100MOA, in their 34mm tube, which leads me to believe that it has a 2mm thich tube wall an thus uses the additional 4mm of ID in the tube for the additional range.
I have seen 40mm tubes, I just have not looked at the specs for them. And yes, there are scopes that are really porky. Just looking at the specs of the NF ATACR 7-35X56, it's a half pound, 8 ounces, heavier than my March-X 5-50X56 and has a thinner tube wall. They both sport ED glass, so why the huge difference in weight?
