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im so glad we don't have to have only one!
Haha yah. I'm often at angeles or burro.
Really surprised no one has said the Hensoldt ZF 3.5-26x FFP. That is what I would take.
Never been to burro, but I'm at Angeles a decent bit.
Now if you could only keep 1 of your scopes Dave which would you keep?
Better to have it and not need it, than to not have it and say oh shit.....
I think the 4-16 F1 might be most commonly mentioned scope so far. Interesting that with all the mid power choices, no one has mentioned a S&B Ultra short.
Better to have it and not need it, than to not have it and say oh shit.....
The only things I would improve on it would be to put the Mil-C reticle in it and make the F1 with the 50mm objective.... That would be bad ass, keep the elevation turret as is cause it's awesome....
When I think on such questions as "...only one (insert item name here)...", I try to reduce my goals down to the irreducible; as in, I can do without that, but not without this.
The first thing I can do without is higher magnification. For me, a scope is an aiming device first. Some magnification is why we use a scope in the first place, as opposed to 'metallic' sights. But the ability to put the Aim in Point of Aim is the bare acceptable minimum.
Hunting scopes tend to provide a pretty good minimum common magnification denominator; and they most commonly use a 3-9x power range. I have, and really like, a relatively cheap Tasco 2.5-10x42 MilDot Varmint Target. It's cheap enough to have spares, which is probably a good idea with cheaper scopes, but hasn't turned out to be an imperative with these Tasco Varmint/Target Scopes. They keep on tickin'..
The 6-24x42 version has proved to be quite adequate for 1000yd Competition, but has been upgraded to the 8-32x44 Mueller on my actual comp rifles. Those previously in inventory have ended up gracing the 'Varminty' rifles I have gifted to the next generation of our family. The Bushnell 4-12x40 scopes from the Savage 11VT package rifles have graced the hunters I pass on down. Everything has a purpose and a use.
Why not a costly scope? Because they tend to be coveted, and to generate hesitation (in my instance, anyway) before grab-n-go applications gets grabbed and gone. If it causes me even a moment's hesitation, it's too cool for school. This consideration (even though I am a cheapskate at heart), is the actual reason why I do not own, or covet, really pricey optics. I need to shoot now, and not when I can (gulp!) afford to. I need to use something that I would not miss greatly if it happened to intersect with cruel fate. If I can buy one, great; if I can buy several (as I tend to do), even greater.
I do not lack for a spare scope or two, and I have never had a scope fail on me. I have had a few fail to make muster in the first place. These have pretty much all turned out to be LER cheapo Chinese scopes that were enlisted in a semi-vain attempt to mount 'an optic' on several Mosin-Nagant 91-30, which not even under the wildest of circumstances were ever going to rate an optic with a price in the 3-digit dollar range. They are 'functional', most I can say in the matter. But 'functional' tends to mean that the rifle harvests an average of three deer a year. No despair required.
But this"'There can be only one, Highlander..." mantra is not realistic, at least not within my own narrow universe. I will always have a spare rifle, usually being packed about by a spare family member. Us Elder Farts tend to attract helpers.
'S only fair, I say...
Greg