Findings from the graded field — the charts a ranking can't show. Everything here is computed from the same data as the grades; this page grows as the value engine comes online.
These charts are dense by design — they're easier to read on a wider screen, or with your phone turned sideways.
Four panels, one per detail level, cheapest first. Each scope is a dot: how good the picture is (up) against what it costs (right). The brass line connects the unbeaten scopes — at every price, the best picture your money buys at that detail level. When the line goes flat, more money has stopped buying more picture. The labeled dots below the line cost thousands more than scopes that match their picture, detail, and width — what that extra actually buys (build, warranty) is stated on their product pages. Brass dots off the line are unbeaten on width: nothing cheaper sees as wide.
Where the detail numbers bite: ~8 px on a coyote is where an animal reads as an animal — the physics and thousand-yard field reports agree — and ~12 px is where coyote-vs-dog gets called with confidence. The methodology ladder shows both as pictures.
Picks come only from unbeaten scopes — the math clears the field first, then the picks weigh what the math deliberately leaves out: handling and warranty. When a pick skips a cheaper unbeaten scope, the reason is stated right on the card.
Warranty grades surface something the spec sheets bury: the thermal electronics warranty — coverage on the part that actually fails. The brands with the loudest "bulletproof" reputations don't always back it.
5-year, transferable, US service
Short and/or original-owner-only on the thermal core