The trophy photos are nice. But because a critter was killed...is that a validity test? Could you take that same rifle and optic and shoot a 20 click box with it? In my poverty, I don't have any high dollar optics...but in the low dollar category, I have many options...but the only ones I would bet money on being able to shoot a box with, are the SWFAs and God help me, some old steel El Paso Weavers. I'm not saying my Meoptas and Zeiss' won't do it, I'm saying I wouldn't be willing to bet much money on it.
Many of us have no need or desire to "shoot the box".
Example: 1978 I purchased a Win 670 in 30-06 and equipped it with a 2-7x32 Weaver V7. No, it did not move exactly to the clicks. It took ten or twelve rounds to sight it in.
Zeroed at 300 yds with 165 gr Speer hot core and later ballistic tips, it was good to go for over a decade. I killed hundreds and hundreds of ground squirrels with it from 20 yds to 300. It was lethal on big game to 500 yds. The trajectory matched the card on the stock exactly.
I certainly could never ask anything more of a scope.
Then I replaced the 30-06 with a 7mm STW and a 264. Scopes were upgraded to 4-12x40. Only then they were zeroed at 350 yds, and never moved again.
Sure, if one is shooting competitively or professionally beyond 500 yds, you are going to require dependable and repeatable turrets. But what percentage of us actually do that?
