A 30 mm scope tube may be stronger than the standard 1" scope tube. On the other hand, you may find 30 mm scope tubes only on specific scopes having other features you don't want or don't need, so think first before you railroad yourself into buying a 30 mm scope when you don't need one and then sign on for other features which may be detrimental. For example, suppose you can only get a 30 mm scope tube in a "tactical scope" with big elevation and windage adjustment turrets that will hang-up on your clothes and/or on brush . . . Suppose you can only get a 30 mm scope tube in a scope with an extra large objective (front) lens that raises your line-of-sight undesirably high above the barrel of your rifle and makes it more unnatural to align your eye based on your cheek meld with the stock of your rifle. Wouldn't a standard 1" scope tube -- which has been used for many years in challenging hunting conditions -- probably suffice?

With respect to brightness. If a scope provides enough brightness to support hunting over from first shooting light to last shooting light (for Oklahoma, where I hunt big game, this is 30 minutes before sun-up to 30 minutes after sun-down), that ought to be enough. Whatbenefit does a brighter scope that supports hunting 90 minutes before sun-up to 90 minutes after sun-up provide, since the first 60 minutes and the last 60 minutes of that range are illegal for shooting? I find that the Leupold VariX III 40 mm 3.5-10X scopes allow me to readily target game 30 minutes before sun-up and 30 minutes after sun-down. I'm sure there are "brighter" scopes, but they can't provide me any additional functionality then that provided by the Leupold VariX III.

A thought about Leupold versus other makers . . . which scope is going to be more readily serviced and promptly serviced, an American manufacturer or a foreign manufacturer?

When it comes right down to it, probably there isn't much practical difference of quality, reliability, serviceability, customer service among any two scopes in the $500 price range.