With the change in the political shift in the last several years a lot of forestry and water ways are bought by the US government. I think that trend is the biggest reason I see this happening. Wither to prevent drilling for oil, or "preserving" the habitat. Interesting comments on Mtn bike...
I am one of those average shooters. For me I'm not going to shoot at anything over 300 yards. With my Diamond back Vortex the obvious choice is get closer to the target. I'm not tracking threw a lot of much her in Texas.
I have a Vortex Diamondback for my AR. I got it used and shot with a few hundred rounds and then it lost the alignment. My gunsmith could not get to zero in and so I sent it back to the manufacturer. They actually replaced it for free. Great warranty!! As far as mounting I used 1/2 inch vortex...