Yet, that is the same sight picture that we have with a 7X scope at 350 yards. If I asked someone a typical shooter if they could hit anything with iron sights at 50 yards, they might think they were being insulted. With that larger, heavier, more costly piece of glass we also get glass with more mass that does not withstand recoil as well, being harder to retain in perfect alignment. It sure does not mean we are getting better glass, better coatings, or better polish, it just costs more for a larger lens. Large objective lenses of the same quality cost more larger pieces of glass without flaws are more costly. We pay a price for our perceived need for large objectives, both in performance for the dollar and in the seat of our pants. Yet, sometimes we "need" larger objectives and even more magnification than that for big game hunting with comparatively large targets at comparatively short ranges. The extreme performance required of that scope and the ranges at which it is employed greatly exceed those of any common hunting circumstances, as does the training and abilities of the shooters. Allured by big objectives and large magnifications, many of us put our scope dollars into the wrong places, and pay for what we don't need-and really don't want.Ĭonsider that for over twenty years the USMC sniper scope of choice has been a Unertl fixed ten power scope with a one inch main tube, 36mm objective and 32mm ocular lens.