re: So I impulse bought an air rifle.

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If there's one thing I learned about them, it's that air rifles are absolutely brutal on scopes.

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This is true for piston air rifles. They will tear up any scope NOT DESIGNED FOR AIR RIFLES no matter what the brand or how much you spend. As the spring and piston are moving forward, the gun is recoiling back against your shoulder like any other rifle recoils. Next is the part that is different from your powder burning rifle. As the piston comes to the end of the compression chamber it hits the wall with a good amount of force. The gun will now be forced forward. This is the recoil that other scopes are not designed to withstand. A cheap $50 scope designed for this will actually last longer than a $1000 scope designed for a 300 Win Mag. It's all in the direction of the recoil.