WHy are scope tubes getting shorter?

[hunter5425]

That's what I gathered . I was surprised they even answered but it seems they're meeting the demands of the majority of shooters as indicated by the many posts in this thread that like the shorty scopes, ah well at least my old m8 still works well on my 280.

 

[ALBERTA BOY]

Actually, he answered your question very well. He's saying that those are three things that people want. i.e. they've done it to meet customer demand. You gave him the options:
is it:
a) a technical reason
b) a demand for more compact/lighter scopes

He answered that they are trying to meet demand for more compact and lighter scopes (and ones with more magnification).

 

[AP]

they produce shorter lighter scopes today because they can (see Sunray's note) and they are cheaper to produce, pack and ship. They also answer many shooters desire for lighter weight ......unfortunately they annoy many shooters with long actions that have difficulty achieving proper eye relief. They have their place. lighter scopes are easier on the mounts of heavy recoiling rifles fwiw

 

[sheephunter]

I wouldn't say all scopes are getting shorter. With the North American love affair with 1" tubes and the demand for higher magnification zoom range...up to 5x now in a 1" tube....and the demand for increased MOA adjustment....many scopes are actually getting longer. You need extra room inside the tube to achieve those advances. One way is to increase tube diameter and the other is to increase tube length.

Weight is a function of many things but the fact is, high quality glass lenses actually weigh more than the identical size of lower quality glass.

 

[TargetAcquired]

Hey, the world is getting smaller, so all the stuff on it has to comply as well.
Maybe dad drove this:

and now it's been "improved":

Family dog was once:

And now it's all:

You used to catch these any lake:

Now you've gotta find fillet on:

And maybe you married:

But try not to look too surprised when your son starts ring shopping for:

http://3.bp.########.com/-BFyuJRj6Cvo/TeTVOVDVEqI/AAAAAAAAAig/TyAJqakObR8/s1600/midget_woman1.jpg

 

[cam1936]

I don't know if it relates to rifle scopes, but refractive telescopes in the last 10-15 years have gotten far shorter, and as a result, focal ratios are faster and the is image brighter. This is due to advances in glass and coatings making it possible to have a shorter, faster (re: brighter) telescope without having the chromatic abberation that a fast optic would have with less advanced glass and coatings.

 

[BigUglyMan]

What exactly do you mean by that?

I'll take the shortest, lightest and compact glass I can get my hands on as long as it meets the requirement of the rig it's going on.

Until you try to mount a short tubed scope on a long action like the Savage 110. For example, I know that you can't get a Leupold Rifleman 3-9x on a Stevens 200 using Weaver bases without an extension ring. It's a PITA. With Leupold scopes you can get anywhere from 5.1"-5.9" of tube length. That's a big range and they weigh between 9.3-11.4 ounces. Two ounces isn't that much in the grand scheme of things.

 

[hunter5425]

The reply I got from Leupold indicated that their scopes are shorter because they can and this fits the demands of the market place. I suspect with the short mags and ARs becoming so popular in the states that this drives the demand for lighter and shorter scopes especially in the lower magnification ranges.

 

[kamlooky]

Shortness comes with age.............

 

[BigUglyMan]

Shortness comes with age.............

Dats wut she sed!

How's my 'looky?

 

[porpoise]

I hate short scopes for one thing it gives me an eye relief problem and for another you cant mount them and the long tapered bell is stupid my favorites are my burris euro diamond a clunky looking affair and my leica the only scopes i own i could mount and look through no problem