The Scope Review Process

There's a lot more to doing a rifle scope review than reading the specs on the back of the box. Before a reviewer looks through a scope, he/she will look at it.

A scope has to look good. The reviewer checks out the optics for clarity and fiddles with the fine tunable adjustment knobs, making sure that they turn easily and don't fall off. Obviously, a good scope has to be able to stay zeroed through thicket and thin ice.

A field reviewer will fire the weapon several times and then check the calibration of the scope. If it hasn't moved much or at all, this is obviously a good sign. However, it is not the only sign. There is another test known as the “How's-about-I-drop-this-sucker-three-times-and-see-what-happens?” test. After this test, the reviewer refires the weapon (at no one in particular) to see how much it is off.

The last (and most demanding) test is a trial by fire, you might say. The scope is heated to 140 degrees for one hour then immediately put in the deep freeze for 8 hours. If the scope doesn't fracture or fog up, it's a keeper. If the reviewer cracks up, that's another story.