Originally Posted by
Bert the Turtle
I use Swarovski on everything. I do have a Leupold/Barrett BORS combo because that is the way it came, but the optics aren't close to the Swarovski.
I even put a Z3 on my son's .22 for our first trip to Africa. Our PH said he'd never seen a Swarovski on a .22 before, but my son made a fantastic shot a some kind of rabbit in very low light at about 80 yards with it, and it all made sense.
Zeiss (not the cheap stuff made for the US price point), Leica, Swarovski all make excellent glass. For me, life is easy. If I need a rifle scope, the answer is Z6i, the only question is what power and what reticle. For plains game or leopard, I chose 1.7-10, for dangerous game, the 1-6.
Cheap or decent glass works fine at high noon. High noon is usually siesta time: I shoot way more game at dusk than at high noon. If it costs me an extra $2000 for a Z6i and it means I can shoot for 30 minutes after sunset rather than 20 minutes after sunset, how long does it take to pay for itself given the cost of a day in Africa and the fact that an extra ten minutes at dusk increases my productive shooting time by at least 25%? I figure it pays for itself on the first 2 week trip and then I'm money ahead for the rest of my life.