I have to ask; what size targets are you guys shooting at 100 yards cause I can see the bulls eye fairly well with my 2-7x on 7x but not as well as I would like. I have to use a spotting scope to see where I am hitting at that range and it is 20x. Maybe my eyes are just worse than I thought? I have astigmatism and wear glasses for distance but I didn't think I had it that bad.
Hi woodstock;
Glass is an interesting topic.
It's more than a question of power and eyesight there's also the "clarity" of the lenses in the optic. No real numbers to associate with that, but a really "clear" optic will seem to do better at resolving details than a lower quality one. Seems like German optics are generally regarded as among the best. Next up come Japanese & non-German European optics as with some of the top end Nikons, then in the range where people like me can afford 'em you've got US & Philippine made units and at the bottom Chinese. I'm no expert on glass, and not trying to sound like one - these are just my observations from looking through scopes that I can't afford and researching over at places like
Sniper Central - Scope Reviews There are exceptions to the preceding - US Optics is one of the ueber brands, while US made Leupold has a range of units in cost and quality from "hey I can afford that, cool" to "hon, can we take out a second mortgage, pleeeeze".
For really good bullseye work at 100yds or greater I like a 20x or higher with mil-dot and parallax adjustment, and am currently using a Philippine made optic with quality about on par with the Philippine made Nikons. But as a "combat practical" optic for a bolt action sniping piece, a high quality fixed 10x will do for any range to 900 yds in the hands of an expert (which I am not), whereas for a general purpose carbine I think your 2-7x is a terrific choice.
If you get a chance to get some hands on with high end glass, try a little experiment - look at some object and compare it to how well you can see the same object using a cheap scope with nominally identical stats (i.e. 3-9x40) and see which one is brighter and clearer. Just try to keep it steady - my hands always shake more when I'm handling an optic that would take me 3 months to pay off if I dropped it!
One of the upsides to "firearmageddon" is that with guns and ammo unavailable or out of reach pricewise, I'm going to be putting some $$ into way better glass.
Best,
Grumpy