Ade from Optics Warehouse explains the importance of Recoil Testing in the development stage of Scopes.
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Recoil Testing is a fundamental part of the design and testing process of Scopes to ensure they can handle the calibres it's designed for, as well as general knocks sustained during it's lifetime.
Sightron, for example, put their Scopes through 1000 rounds on their Shock-Test machine, which delivers up to 1000G’s of force. The results are then reviewed and the Scope is then range tested on a Rifle where once again it's results are reviewed against its specification. During pre-production testing, the Scope may go through 2-4 cycles of this.
To give you an idea of how this works, see Bushnell's equivalent Recoil Testing video below.
[Video: Bushnell Facebook]
Some scopes may be built in a lighter method such as the Hawke Airmax, which are designed for Airgun outfits. These too are tested to accommodate Spring Airguns as well as precharged Air Rifles.
For Vortex, they use a Recoil Simulator.
''Basically, a machine you put a Scope into that can be set to the recoil force of whatever you choose and it then simulates the movement rapidly - or at whatever rate you choose. I.e. set it to the impact recoil force of a .308 cartridge and to 1500 rounds (shocks) a minute.
...it’s the size of a smallish washing machine “ (Chris, Vortex UK Distributor)
Although extreme, Nightforce's 'Torture Test' makes for great viewing. See below.
[Video: Nightforce YouTube]
Whatever the brand, rest assured, each Scope has been tested above and beyond what most users will ever subject their Optic too
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To see our range of Rifle Scopes [CLICK HERE].