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Rifle Scopes What makes a scope durable?

Hotshot10

Private
Minuteman
Dec 22, 2018
10
1
I read a lot about certain manufacturers making more durable scopes than others (Nightforce seems to be mentioned frequently in this context). What, from a technical perspective, makes a scope durable? Design? Construction? Tolerances? Materials?
 
cheap scopes may glue the lenses in place, while a more durable scope also uses a mechanical fastener or ring.
 
I read a lot about certain manufacturers making more durable scopes than others (Nightforce seems to be mentioned frequently in this context). What, from a technical perspective, makes a scope durable? Design? Construction? Tolerances? Materials?
All of the above. Durable, wear resistant material. Thicker/beefier parts. Better environmental seals. Better shock absorbing design (leaf spring, coil springs, quality of spring etc.). Tighter fit prevents sloppy parts from beating each other to death from vibration or rattling. Environmentally resistant adhesives (like epoxy that keeps lenses, illumination emitters, circuit boards) in place or coatings.

Easy enough to make an optic weigh as much as a tank, but can you make a featherweight optic as durable as one.
 
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Durability comes in a few different forms, too. Airgun scopes are not typically very high-end, but they are built to withstand the particular stresses induced by airguns. Airguns can ruin many otherwise durable optics because they recoil sort of backwards, and not all optics are designed to tolerate this. A similar thing happens with larger semiautos (SCAR, M14, etc.) because of the heavy bolt carrier group slamming forward.