Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics FX-II 6x36 or Vortex Razor 1.5-8x32

Kimber Montana 338 Federal. <6lbs. It's pretty snappy, though not a big push. As for the scope, I really do love that scope from a size, weight, glass, and reticle stand point. But when something fails on you, and I fully realize any brand/model can fail, it's hard to trust them. I think this is especially true with scopes because we actually know so little about the actual internal designs. Most just say marketing fluff like "shockproof" or some other completely meaningless nonsense. How many manufacturers actually tell you how the erector system is designed to inform you on how robust it is or how well it will function? Few. It's no secret, as I'm sure every manufacturer purchases the competition's scopes and takes them apart. But they do not share any of that with the buying public. Nor do most of us have the resources to test to any meaningful degree. How many tests actually evaluate a scopes ability to handle bumps, drops, or recoil? Most "tests" are glorified bird watching exercises. "Oooh, look at the glass..." I can see the glass and reticle, and evaluate dialing easy enough, but toughness and reliability is just a guess. Sure, we can do a bit of crowd sourcing to get an idea, but solid confidence inspiring data is hard to come by. I will give credit to Nightforce as they do produce videos that give you some confidence in their design. But even they leave holes in buyer data. Is an SHV as robust as an NXS at roughly half the price? Is a Vortex LHT a tough as an SHV? I can only speculate.

edit: being bombproof is not always that critical to me. But when I drive 2000 miles and then hike my a$$ many miles in to timberline in search of elk or mulies, I really don't want to worry about about some bumps along the way. That's what this rifle is for, hence my desire for a different scope.