What budget not so long range scope?

[WildRose]

Exactly how does a scope, or anything for that matter, gather light?

Light cannot be gathered or preserved.

It gathers it and focuses it on a point such as the focal lens of your scope.

How does a rifle scope work : The Anatomy | Best Riflescope Reviews

Perhaps you should purchase a magnifying glass and go out on a nice sunny day and focus the sun's rays on a point on the ground or a piece of paper to help you understand the principle.

The larger the area of the objective lens the more light is gathered and projected onto your focus lens.

The difference in the area of a 50mm and a 40mm objective lens 1963-1256=707 is substantial.

Here's a good article on the subject from Chuck Hawks website.

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[joed49]

Hard to beat Leopold. I have an old M8 24x from the 70's that still works great, a vx1 3x9 on a hunting rifle and 2 vx2 scopes on varmint rifles, a 4x12 and 4x18.

I also own 2 Weaver T scopes, a 24x and a 36x. These have held up very well too. But I like Leopold's guarantee.