Cutting a scope down…

[4th_point]

This is true. It wasn't me but I had considered doing the same thing before I read his account.

I use the heck out of 6x SWFA's but I would prefer it's objective end was more in line with 3-9's. That said, I might end up being regretful as it might make coating issues "glaringly" obvious that previously were not seen.

Yeah, if you shoot under enough conditions you'll eventually experience glare with the fixed powers, at least pre-Gen2. Not sure if SWFA made design changes to the Gen2.

Either reflections off of the ocular (coating) or veiling glare looking through the scope (internal).

You can shade the ocular with your hat for simple reflection off of the exterior surface of the ocular. And sometimes do the same for the objective to keep oblique rays entering the objective from one direction, but a backlit scene can be tough to mitigate even with expensive optics. Under those conditions, I don't think that a sunshade helps much as the light comes from many angles in the FOV.

I had a buck at 100 yards and could barely see it with a 10x SWFA. There was a backlit mountain behind the buck and I don't think any amount of sunshade would have helped. There's something internal that seems to create the veiling glare.