Very focused, high quality, not versatile, limited utility - Schmidt & Bender Police Marksman II 5-25x56mm LP Rifle Scope

I bought this scope maybe 5-6 years ago thinking that I was going to shoot long range before I knew what I was getting into and that in my extended area you only have access to at most 200 yard ranges, in one case 300y. I started out with cheap scopes that weren't that good but quickly discovered that the most versatile are the mid to low priced scopes.

See the problem here is the magnification. A good rule of thumb is 1x for every 100 yards you will shoot so the 25x really is only useful at 2,500 otherwise you have tunnel vision and will never find your target. You can start at a lower power but then the reticle loses utility because it is etched very fine to avoid getting excessively enlarged at high power, thus obstructing your target. What this means is the reticle is not visible enough to be used at lower power. High magnifications like this also increase the possibility of parallax error and I could never get this scope to hold a zero for very long. I think this is more my fault but if you're not ready to deal with this aggravation (and even if you think you are) I think 99% of people will get a lot more use, enjoyment and practicality out of a 4-8x scope.

The glass is clear and crisp but nothing exceptional, as you spend more there is diminishing return and I find that especially since this is a scope and not a binocular the really good glass is wasted because you're only really seeing with one eye. Plus high end glass like this is thick and heavy, and this scope does add enormous weight making the gun less practical and less fun to shoot.

The fit and finish is quite nice, but the scope is a bit bulky which makes it harder to use vs more "normal" optics.

I think most people could do better with scopes in the $3-500 range and if you really want to treat yourself to nice glass stuff in the $1000 range is just fine keeping the magnification to more reasonable levels (10 or less). I certainly wouldn't consider it for hunting given its problems starting with weight (and cost!) and it seems unlikely you'd want to use it in any kind of tactical situation given the impracticalities of its high magnification, weight, cost and loss of situational awareness from using its excess magnification.

This scope is an expensive toy, nothing more. It is only useful for ultra long range *RECREATIONAL* target shooting. If you're not in precision rifle competitions at >1000 yard shoots, save your money and don't bother.