Open sites were used for back up hence the quick release rings.
But to your point, that is why I rescoped with 1x8 for next year.
So I dont have to remove the optic.
This makes complete sense to me. I can see the use of 1-8x if you push your .416 into PG-rifle role, and especially the Tiny Ten, although many are shot at closer range in dense cover.
I went a different route with the Blaser R8. I do not use the .375 H&H or .458 Lott barrels to hunt PG (save, as previously mentioned, the occasional impala for the pot on the way back to camp on an elephant hunt); I bolt on a PG barrel (.257 Wby or .300 Wby depending on what PG we hunt), onto which I have higher magnification optics.
Even at 8x, my 67 year cataracted eyes pain on tiny animals past 300 yards. I would have been hard pressed on this Klipspringer at past 400 yards in the vast openness of the Karoo with my older beloved 1-6x, and likely even 8x. I do not remember what magnification I used, but I certainly cranked up the Zeiss 4-16x. But of course it was on the .257 Wby barrel, not on the .458 Lott barrel
PS 1: and since most folks asking for advice on scoping a .416 have DG in mind, my recommendation on 1-6x being amply sufficient on a .416 was aimed at this application. Nothing wrong using a .416 to hunt the Tiny Ten, but it remains rather uncommon
. But now that Zeiss, Swaro, Leica, etc. make outstanding 1-8x glass, there is certainly no downside to it, except price, which seemed to be a criteria for
poor English man, hence the thought of a good used Zeiss 1-4x (which are very, very good glass by the way)
PS 2:
one word of caution with the current trend of straight tube 1-6x, 1-8x low cost scopes
intended for the AR 15 / AR 10 market. They are not built to resist DG caliber recoil. A friend of mine experienced this recently with a Sig Sauer scope identical to the one that performs otherwise brilliantly on my short AR 10.
