A couple of things. First, no 50mm scope by anyone can be expected to hold up under recoil as well as the better 40mm class scopes. Burris does make some good, tough scopes. But no one matches Leupold in that respect.
Some people can't, or won't, fully focus their Leupolds to match the image quality that they get with the much easier to focus euros. Or other scopes with the euro focusing system. I've seen lots of this myself.
If it isn't fully focused, then both the reticle and the image will not last as long as a scope with similar optics as the light fades. Many think, for instance, that Zeiss's Conquest have some special attributes that make their Z-Plex last longer than Leupold's Medium Duplex. But an examination of the specs reveals that they use the same thicknesses in both. It isn't the difference in one being etched or made from wire either. It's how sharp the reticle is focused that makes the difference. A really sharp Leupold reticle will, for instance, look like it's standing out, away from the image, not flat against the image.
Frankly, even on the darkest nights, I haven't seen anything in the way of twilight that couldn't be handled with a basic 40mm variable, even down to the old VariXII Leupolds which weren't multicoated. The trick is to make sure you use the highest magnification where you can see anything, not the brightest image setting. That's always the lowest ranges, not the highest where you can see more. E
