RichCoyle
Well-Known Member
Woods? You know the scope gets brighter when you turn the magnification down, right?
Anyone who did a low light test knows higher magnification helps see things longer in low light.
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Last light scopes
- Thread starter arawls88
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Anyone who did a low light test knows higher magnification helps see things longer in low light.
Hand Skills
Well-Known Member
No Rich, just you - when it gets dim exit pupil becomes a challenge for some of us. We all see things differently I guess 
Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
As long as you can maintain an exit pupil of 6mm-7mm the magnification shouldn't matter, all else being equal.
shooters
Well-Known Member
I think what Rich is referring to, which has been proven multiple times is higher magnification, along with high resolution optics, provide a more detailed and a clearer picture of the intended target. Lowering the mag gives a bigger brighter picture, but less detail.
This has been proven multiple times with 12 X binoculars verse 10 X
This has been proven multiple times with 12 X binoculars verse 10 X
RichCoyle
Well-Known Member
This has been proven every time anyone comes by with a scope. I have deer antlers in the woods 131 yards and a military optics chart at 127 yards to use.
RichCoyle
Well-Known Member
I just remembered a comparison with four scopes. I owned all so no prejudice going in.
A Swarovski z5 5-25X52, a Leupold VX 6 4-24X50, Bushnell Elite 6500 4 1/2-30X50, Leupold VX5 3-15X56.
The first three went down in the same minute. The 56 mm lasted six more minutes with all set on 10X.
A Swarovski z5 5-25X52, a Leupold VX 6 4-24X50, Bushnell Elite 6500 4 1/2-30X50, Leupold VX5 3-15X56.
The first three went down in the same minute. The 56 mm lasted six more minutes with all set on 10X.
I have that particular Nightforce also and will second your post. A lot of scopes have the entire reticle illuminated and kill your night vision. Sightron S3 IR only has the center dot illuminated in the MOA-2 reticle. I have two 8x32x56s.
On a budget the Trigicon Accupoint 2.5-10-56 with the tritium center dot works really well and requires no batteries. The tritium will lose brightness over the years much like night sites on pistols but Trigicon will replace that free. They come in mil dot or standard duplex. I've had one of the mildot versions for years and it's been very good and tough. I had an FFL and was a dealer for around 8 years. I sold more of this particular scope to hunters than all other scopes combined.
I bought a Kahles 8x56 with 7A reticle in 1989. That reticle had no illumination but had huge outer crosshairs with a fine crosshair in the center. You could box a deer in with the large outer crosshairs. Swarovski and Zeiss offer scopes with that type crosshair.
The Zeiss Diavari and Victory are good but would be out of your price range
I'm sure there are many others. But these are scopes that I have hands on hunting experience with.
Jon Bischof
Well-Known Member
If you want an illuminated dot reticle. And you don't want to be robbed. I use these.
3 PRIMAL 3-12×56
SIMPLY SPOT-ON The 3 Primal 3-12×56 is a simple but highly effective hunting optic. Designed with the hunter in mind, an oversized objective maximizes low-light image quality, while the RDH reticle…
ritonoptics.com
M1A1ABRAMS
Well-Known Member
I was almost tempted to try one of those on a 22lr. But I stuck with the Arken EPL. I do have a Riton red dot for a shotgun. Built tough it seems. But I don't have much time on it. I want to run some 3 inch slugs through it to see how it holds up.If you want an illuminated dot reticle. And you don't want to be robbed. I use these.
3 PRIMAL 3-12×56
SIMPLY SPOT-ON The 3 Primal 3-12×56 is a simple but highly effective hunting optic. Designed with the hunter in mind, an oversized objective maximizes low-light image quality, while the RDH reticle…
Jon Bischof
Well-Known Member
JimIsland
Member
South Carolina allows 1 hour before 1 hour after official sunrise/sunset to legally shoot. I can honestly say that I have spent a small fortune on scopes to find the perfect Low Country scope. One that would allow me to hunt as close to that 1 hour as possible. Out of close to 30 scopes that I have purchased and hunted with over the years, here are the ones that are on my go-to set ups: Accupoint 2.5-10X56mm, S&B Polar 3-12X54mm, Steiner Ranger 3-12X56mm, Zeiss Diavari 2.5-10X50mm, Zeiss V8 4.8-35X60mm. The low light sleeper of this group is the Accupoint and at around 700 bucks, I don't believe there is a better low light scope for the money. Is it the best.....no. But for the money it's not far off. I've owned several Meopta Meostar scopes and they are above average in low light. The downside is they have gotten real pricey the past few years. 7 or 8 years ago, they were a budget low light scope with Alpha glass. I'm on the hunt for a Leica Magnus but just my luck, they are not for sale in U.S.
With all this being said, everyone's eyes are a bit different. There are many things that factor in that makes one scope better than the other for lowlight. Quality of glass, coatings, FFP vs SFP, number of lenses, etc. There's folks that don't like the Japanese glass in a Trijicon...others love it. Schott glass is excellent but the end result will depend on the coatings. I can tell you first hand that I've sat with scopes >3000 dollars side by side with a <1000 dollar scope and I can tell you there wasn't 2K difference. If you can, try to find some hunting friends that would let you look through their scope at dusk. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Good luck
With all this being said, everyone's eyes are a bit different. There are many things that factor in that makes one scope better than the other for lowlight. Quality of glass, coatings, FFP vs SFP, number of lenses, etc. There's folks that don't like the Japanese glass in a Trijicon...others love it. Schott glass is excellent but the end result will depend on the coatings. I can tell you first hand that I've sat with scopes >3000 dollars side by side with a <1000 dollar scope and I can tell you there wasn't 2K difference. If you can, try to find some hunting friends that would let you look through their scope at dusk. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Good luck
Another Low Country boy here. You're absolutely right about the Accu-point. It's a lot of scope for the money and that tritium dot is perfect.
In 1989 I paid $381.00 plus tax for a Kahles 8 x 56. Our local John Deere dealership was selling them and they were reported to be excellent in low light. The story was that they were a favorite in Australia for shooting Kangaroos in low light. My friends all thought I was crazy paying all that money for a scope. I've killed a lot of deer with that scope that I simply could not have seen with other scopes. I still have it. It's lost some of its clarity now. There are better scopes out there now for sure but I got my moneys worth out of that one.
JimIsland
Member
Kahles makes a great scope. I've got a Schmidt and Bender fixed 8X56 somewhere in the back of my safe and it does very well in low light. The only issue I have with it is the red dot is pretty big. I shot a big doe several years ago with it at 238 yards and the dot covered up most of the kill zone. You're right...... That Accupoint is a very small dot and just the right size even at longer distances.
