Glad to hear John! I reckon ppl down under are a bit more careful with their hard earned cash than most europeans..

I wonder IF the market will turn and want slimmer more compact scopes again? Especially for slender fine hunting guns?

The 34-36mm scope bodies are soon to become larger than the rifles.. Trouble startet with ppl wanting larger zoom 6x a 8x), i e 2-12x rather than 2,5-10 etc. as in 4x. Together with longer eye relief, you loose exit pupil diameter and field of view, and they have to make large oculars to countaract some of that. However, the Z8i series has an even smaller exit pupil than the Z6i, and ppl keep the craze going.. Noone really needs 6-7-8x zoom... a 10x has been used by snipers for longer distances than any hunter need. 12x and upwards really warrant a parallax adjuster, making it even more technical..

The rifles has grown quite a bit too lately...? After handling magnum rifles from yesterday, the new ones seem like handling a 2"x4".....? They do fit the scopes though..

For the scope aficionado, we have the little advertised Nickel brand put of Germany. They put emphasize on making slim scopes suitable for fine guns! They are expensive, but I reckon they are on the right track. Small oculars, kept the 4x zoom, and have a large exit pupil together with s good field of view! If I were to buy new scopes, that is what I would get!