Little overdue on this one, been a tad busy of late it seems...

Some here may recall that several years ago I upgraded the scope on my Matrix 380 to the then new (and shortly thereafter discontinued) Hawke XB 30 Compact.
That old scope took a real beating over the years, and bears many scars to prove it.
But it never lost it's zero, always lit up when asked to, and performed well under all conditions.
So it was with some trepidation that I considered removing it from the bow, likening that to somehow losing and old and reliable friend.

This what she looked like with that scope on her:



However some of the features of the newer scope appealed to me. Larger objective lens (more light gathering) better long distance chevrons that light up all the way out to 100 yards, locking speed ring etc etc. So, I ordered one at the best price I could find, and paced until it arrived. When it did I was pretty pleased with what I saw:



And I rather liked the view peering downrange:



So, even though it felt strange, I took the old tried and true scope off, and dropping this one into it's new cradle:



It is noticeably longer than the old one, and that objective bell just barely cleared the rail with the low mounts. I greatly prefer the low mounts, as that allows me to achieve the right cheek weld required for me to shoot with accuracy.

The night before I went out to shoot, my Lady inquired just how I was going to deal with the heavy rag bag I have. It is just shy of 200 pounds, and very much takes two men to move around. No worries, said I, I'll simply leave it ion the back of the truck and shoot it there. Then drive the truck further away from the bench each time I need to tack on some more distance...
Always fun until someone shoots out their own windshield was her smartass reply.
Gotta admit, I did wonder about that some...

Continued...