A customer posed an interesting question yesterday:

"My sons both have VX-III scopes on their rifles (7mm Mag Remington Sendero 3x10; 270 Remington XCR 2.5x8) and they seem to be fine scopes for our purposes. I am getting a new $3,000 custom rifle for Elk, and would like advice about whether the 2x price for the VX-7 is justified.
I have also read comments that for the price a Swarovski or other high end European scope might be better."

My answer was:

"Good question. The VX-7s have been chosen as best picks in several magazines. I have only seen them at SHOT show last February and in our warehouse. I haven't used them in the field. As you may know, when you get to this price range the increases in price offer minimal improvements in performance. There haven't been enough sold to give you real world reports from customers rather than gun writers. The old Leupold Premier line was excellent, and these should prove to be better. That being said, there's nothing wrong with the excellent VX-IIIs, and they are my choice for most of my deer type guns.
Scopes certainly do get brighter than VX-IIIs though, and most European scopes are, such as all Swarovski and Zeiss scopes. How much more you want to pay for slight increases are up to you.
I would recommend the VX-7 if you made me say yes or no, but here's a couple others to look at. Keep size and weight a factor. I just used a http://www.opticsplanet.net/swarovski-av-4-12x50mm-rifle-scope-tds-plex-52037.html on last month's antelope hunt and it was great, although I generally don't use scopes with that much magnification. It also has a one inch tube and it's a bit lighter than the following classy recommendations that would be appropriate fits on your custom gun:
http://www.opticsplanet.net/swarovski-z6-2-12x50-riflescope-4a-7a-tds-plex-reticle.html
http://www.opticsplanet.net/schmidt-bender-klassic-3-12-50-large-objective-lens-illum-reticle-var-power-riflescopes.html
http://www.opticsplanet.net/nightforce-nxs-35-15x-tactical-riflescope.html
http://www.opticsplanet.net/zeiss-victory-2-10x50-riflescopes-30mm.html
Take a look at one of my all time favorites if weight and size are a factor:
http://www.opticsplanet.net/swarovski-av-3-10x42-rifle-scope-tds-plex-reticle-52027.html
Good luck with your new gun and scope. Use great mounting hardware."

I wish we all could afford a custom gun. Good for him.

A customer asked a question on the Riflescope Forum the other day I thought would be useful for this blog. Here is the question:

Does anyone know the significant differences between getting a 1 piece or a 2 piece? Also what if any differences (pros/cons, purpose) are between a Dual dovetail design, "Standard" design or a $100+ Mark 4 Base and Rings? I am planning to get a Remington 700 LTR with a Leupold Mark4 4.5-14x40mm, what are my best options for leupold rings/bases? Thanks in advance!

Here's what I answered:

Significant differences are none. Minor differences are that two piece bases offer more eye relief options with sometimes reversible front and/or rear bases, use two screws on each base, are lighter, cleaner looking, and offer increased loading room for top loading guns. One piece bases generally use three screws, offer insignificantly more receiver rigidity, are a bit heavier, and decrease loading room for top loaders. Standard bases have a front ring which turns into the base 90 degrees. The rear base sits between two opposing screws and is held in place by tightening these screws into circular grooves on the ring. These screws can be loosened and tightened to move the base perpendicular to the receiver, effecting a way to adjust windage on your mounts instead of your scope. Dual dovetails have the rear ring turning in 90 degrees just like the front ring. This does not allow for any windage movement in the base. Rarely will this be a cause for concern, as it is extremely uncommon for the base holes to be off center enough to cause a problem that a bit of windage adjustment in the scope can't fix. A scope does not have to be mounted in perfect center of its adjustment range. I use two piece dual dovetails on most of my guns becase they look clean and have two less parts (the opposing screws on the rear base) to loosen or have a problem with, which I have seen many times. To be certain, though, you can easily mark your scope by installing it in rings that are not lined up perfectly. No rings will be, and I recommend lapping rings every time. Weaver style and Picatinny bases and rings can be quite a bit stronger overall depending on the manufacturer used because of the amount of bearing surface. The recoil lugs can be almost 7/8" wide on these systems. By the way, Weaver rings use a recoil slot in the base that is about .180", and Picatinnys use a slot about .206". This varies slightly by manufacturer. Some manufacturers call their Picatinny Weaver and some call their Weaver Picatinny. Picatinny is a U.S. arsenal in New Jersey where in 1913 they standardized the dimensions of the base. That's why a Picatinny base is also called a 1913. Not truly a Weaver, although a Weaver ring will fit on a Picatinny base but not vice versa. Not all the strength you can get is always needed or wanted. The lug nuts on my truck are not an inch in diameter. Dual dovetails suit me fine. I'm not a soldier and people aren't shooting at me and I'm not dragging and bouncing my gun around for weeks on end. Don't get me wrong, I've hunted hard my whole life and I know the abuse guns take in the field and getting there. But enough is enough. It can get to the point of diminishing returns. You have a hell of a gun and one of my favorites, and even though I have been advocating dual dovetails, your gun and scope combination was kind of made for Mark 4 rings and bases. I would use Mark 4 #61983 bases and Mark 4 rings #61049 (steel) rings or Mark 4 aluminum rings (save a bit of weight and plenty strong) #57398. If money is no object use Nightforce base (20 MOA built-in) #NF700SA120 and Ultralight Titanium alloy rings #NF885UL. Nothing is better unless you want to enlarge your mounting screws to 8-40.

And by the way, Happy Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for every day.

I've been using a new tactical type flashlight lately, and typical of me it's not cheap. You get what you pay for and I appreciate quality. The Pelican company is great to deal with as a customer and dealer. Their products have a lifetime warranty and nothing is second rate. The Pelican 7060 LED flashlight is a quality instrument and the price for this rechargeable light with charger and your choice of holster is $115.94 with free shipping from OpticsPlanet. It's a sturdy light with 130 lumens and burns for 1.5 hours. You can use either of two switches. One is on the body, and another is on the tailcap. Both can be used momentarily with your choice of style of pistol shooting with a light. I believe this can easily take the place of my other powerful rechargeable light at home. Nice product.