Grant,

I bought mine at Cabellas about 10 years ago in store. I looked at everything in my price range and it took me a while to narrow it down. The German and Austrian glass is superior to the rest of the field. My final came down to the Swarovski 8x30 and Leica 10x42. Loved the Leica, it was worth the $400 kicker. Decided on the slightly smaller Swarovski which fits perfectly in a side pocket on my pack. Never regretted spending premium. You buy them once.

(side topic)

Funny how most scope manufacturers have gotten away from building fixed-power scopes. Of those that you listed, only S&B are still making them (in fixed flavor).

Not picking on high-end Euro scopes, domestic market is much the same way.

I prefer fixed power; less crap inside which means less weight and less likely to break when I need it the most.

You're right Rob. Old time woods hunters here shot plenty of deer with fixed 4x and 6x scopes for years.

I did inherit another rifle from Grandpa over the 4th- this one is a Mossberg model 810 with the hinge plate, made in '73. It has a Weaver on there,fixed-power, and it's the first of these scopes I've come across myself.... I'm leaving it just as it is.

Pics, please?

My friend is a hunter, he had a lot of binoculars,
everything that is mentioned here.
For the last 5 years he has only used Sightron.
By quality and reliability is not inferior to more
expensive Zeiss and Leica
But it's best to watch with your own eyes,
even better to check the binoculars before buying at dusk.
I have a book, I think it can be downloaded on the Internet
in English "Precision shooting at 1000 yards" Dave Brennan.
I'm not a professional shooter, but there I learned a lot
of interesting things about optics, maybe it will be useful

Ive had most of the high end glass. I like my old Zeiss classics best! 10x40 and rubber coated. They are tough as nails, and at dusk I can make out the rack. No longer made, but occasionally you will find one on ebay. You wont be disappointed.
I owned Sightron. Not even close to the same class IMHO

Same here..
I have the Zeiss Classic 8X30s. Excellent glass for the money, and have held onto them over the years. I have also owned a set of Swarovski 10X40. I wasn't disappointed with them either.
I still prefer the Zeiss though..!!