These seem like great little scopes at about 1/2 price of many Euro-optics. Supposedly better-engineered than original Conquest (ie- "made for Americans") scopes...I just ordered one in 2-8x42 w/illum. reticle...Hope I won't be sorry!

Did you get your scope? I'm interested in the Duralyte range too, mainly because it's one of the few European variable power scopes with the reticule in the 2nd focal plane.

The Duralyte scopes I looked at have such bulky ocular housings they make the field blending of toy scopes look good.

Reticles in the second focal plane add to this, of course, because of the field stop necessary to make conventional image movement systems work.

Surprisingly, I've found the Conquest models much better in this regard.

I have the 2-8x mounted on a .375 Ruger...super sharp optics, very happy for the price. Re: aesthetics, beauty is in the beholder's eye- - definitely not your grandad's riflescope!

I wasn't actually talking about aesthetics, Joester, but what Americans seem to call 'tunnel vision', that big black ring you see when you look through many image-movement scopes, esp. those with big rubber eyepieces. Reticle-movement (crosswires in the first image-plane) is the real answer, of course, but having the ocular lens housing and/or eyepiece taper back also helps, as Bushnell showed quite well. Some of the old Zeiss and Nickels were so good in this regard that the separation between the view through the scope and the world outside was as fine as you get with rimless spectacles.

For long-range shooting it doesn't matter too much but is very important where dangerous or wary game is met close in.