Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/554642
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 5 4 guard against that? One of my theories has long been that any company that will guarantee its scope for a lifetime—the scope's, not the original owner's—must have considerable faith, if not knowledge, that they won't often have to honor that guarantee. Aside from that, how else can a shooter test any scope for durability? "How often do your scopes come back because something broke inside? Recoil-type damage?" I asked. "I don't know the exact return rate," Archerd admitted, "but the percentage of returns for breakage has to be way less than half of one percent. We just rarely see them. Most broken-scope issues end up being loose rings or base screws, then bedding screws coming loose." I could relate to that. The two times I had reticle-wandering issues with Leupold scopes, one was loose rings and the other, big surprise, loose bases. The VX-III 2.5-8X 36mm atop my 4¾-pound Rifles, Inc. Strata Stainless .280 Ackley Improved is another story. It was mounted in Talley ultra-light, aluminum one-piece rings, the style in which the base and ring are integral. While hiking off a glacier with that rig in my hand and a 50-pound pack on my back, I slipped on a boulder and broke my fall by applying the rifle, rear ring, and scope to another rock. I emerged with scraped knuckles, the Talley ring with a gouge, and the scope with a star-shaped dent. Back at camp the rifle was shooting about eight inches from where it was supposed to, but otherwise looked undamaged. I re-zeroed and shot a moose two days later. That was some 20 years ago. The rig has been functioning perfectly ever since. I shared this anecdote with Archerd, who, predictably, offered one of his own: "Several years ago I tested one of our 2.5-10x45 LPS scopes on our machine with energies greatly exceeding a .375 H&H rifle. The scope lasted for months. As in 658,000 hits." What could I add to that except "I'll bet you were glad you weren't firing an actual rifle that time."