So you're still essentially saying that many, many examples of light scopes retaining zero for hundreds or even thousands of rounds is contrary to your understanding of physics?
No. I’m saying that there are several variables involved in the outcome of how well a scope holds zero, and while overall scope weight is not the dominant variable, the relationship between scope weight and the internal parts holding zero is directly proportional. A more significant variable is the mass of the internal parts and the strength of their connections.
If the scope internals were equal between two scopes, and they sat on identical rifles shooting identical loads, but thicker tube walls meant that one scope was a pound heavier than the other, the heavier one would experience less force on the internal parts and their connections.
It’s kind of like implying that gravity doesn’t actually cause things to fall toward the earth, because there are many, many examples of airplanes staying in the sky for minutes and even hours at a time. The other variables involved, like the forces applied by the engines and wings, don’t change the fact that the relationship between gravity and elevated objects is that gravity does indeed cause things to fall down toward Earth.
