What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

I'm thinking of buying a new scope that"must" work in "low light levels". I'm willing to pay for quality,and would like to knowwhat would be your choise? Either 1" or 30mm is fine with me and i do realize the best scopes won't be compact scopes. I'm looking for light gathering here, not scopes that light up the reticles.

Where can i see your choise on line?

Thanks in advance,

Drilling Man

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RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

Probably any of the high end scopes over a grand. They all have really good optics. Also keep in mind objective size and power will play a part in it as well.

Do you have a price range or size limitation?

Out of curiousity what do you need it for?

Cabela's carries many of the top end scopes if you want to look at them. However if you are looking for that you will really need to go look at one in person and compare them. Not just take someones word for it or go by what you read on the net.

Paul

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

I have not looked through all of them during low light times. However My Aetecs are the best that I own. I have Leupold, Bushnell and Aetecs. The 3200 Bushnell is a close second. These are the only ones that I have used enough to speak for.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

If money is no object then get a Swarovski. Brightest and clearest scopes I have ever looked through even though I can't afford one for myself.

BTW, scopes do not "gather" light they transmit light. Every single lens the light passes through reflects a certain percentage of that light back to where it came from and as the light passes through each lenase the light transmitted becomes less and less. This is where the highest quality glass that has been perfectly polished comes into play. Same thing with glass coatings. Make sure that you gat a scope with every single lens multi coated. These coatings reduce the percentage of reflection from each of the lenses.

After that you need to do some math. An adults eye pupil only gets so big and small. In bright day light conditions the pupil is only about 2mm in diameter. At night the pupil opens up to about 6 or 7mm. So you gotta figure out the diameter of the exit pupil of the scope. Take the objective diameter and divide it by the power. For example a 3-9X50 scope will have an exit pupil of 16.6mm at 3X magnification. With the exit pupil larger than your eyes pupil your eye is absorbing all of the light that it can. When you craik it up to 9 power the exit pupil size shrinks to only 9mm. Your eye is still able to absorbe all of the light.

Now if you had a 3-12X40 the exit pupil would only be 3.3mm at 12 power. Say it is right at dark and your eyes are fully dialated to 6mm absorbing all available light. If the exit pupil of the scope is only 3.3mm then the full diameter of your eyes pupil is not being used (almost half) and the scope will not be as bright as a scope with a larger exit pupil size.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

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RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

One make of scope that you shouldn’t rule out is Nikon. I have a Euro Leupold, Simmons Aetec, Nikon Gold, Weaver Grand Slam and Swarovski scopes and for the money the Nikon Gold gives a good run for it’s price. It’s one of the clearest scope I have and I’ve confirmed it with fellow workers. Yes the Swarovski have very nice optics but my Nikon is half the price although a little heavy. I have used my Nikon in low light conditions and has worked very well and being able to see things well before legal time. Have fun shopping and good luck.;)

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

Try a leupold vari-xIII or a Leupold premier scope in the 30mm tube. Either of these are great light transmiting scopes.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

Obviously the big $ scopes are the way to go but if you notice a few of these posts list the Simmons Aetec. If you play the "which one of these doesnt match" game with price, it would be the Simmons. I have on in 2.5 to 10 x 44 on my muzzleloader and think its a great scope. Ive seen these scopes very reasonable at Natchezz Shooting supplies. If your on a budget definetly check them out.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

Ditto on the Nikon. For the money they are the best value, gathering more light than even a Leupold.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

No offense to the Leupold posters, however, in our tests this summer, the Zeiss Conquest led the pack by quite a large margin....around 20 minutes. We have a 4 point on one side rule in NC Missouri and the Conquest is 100% effective at counting points 40 minutes after sundown. The Burris and Leupolds couldn't make it past 15 minutes after sundown. Actually, the Nikon Buckmaster scopes (cheaper) we tested outperformed both the LeupoldVXIII and Burris Signature scopes in low light conditions ( same price range). Now if you want to take it to the next level, the swarovski is the hands down winner......however for our application up here in Missouri, it is illegal to shoot past 30 minutes after sundown so the extra 1000 dollars is a waste of money. Of course, you need a good set of binos first....then the good scope to make this happen in low light conditions. If you are interested in our tests, PM me and I will elaborate. The Zeiss Conquest is my strong recommendation. Regards, Rick.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

I have a 1.5x6 20mm B&L on my drilling now, and it's been a very good scope for me. Lately i've been thinking of buying a "new" scope that will work better for late evening shots while i'm watching bigger fields. I can sightthe "new" scopein for the "kinds of shots" i get along these fields, and stilluse the B&Lfor my "other hunting" when needed! The B&L is in claw mounts as will be the "new" scope, so it's no big deal to do this.

I was thinking of spending $5 or $600.00 bucks for the scope, and it looks like the Zeiss Conquest is the best scope for this kind of $$$

I carry Swarovski binoc's so i know of there quality, i just don't think "in a scope" you get enough more performance for the extra $$ they cost over a Conquest.

Anyway, i'm going to do some more research, and make a decision...

Thanks for your input this far,

Drilling Man

My B&L scope,

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

If You want light gathering and that is your main goal, then a fixed power scope of high quality is the thing. A 4x40 or 6x56 with a 30mm tube made by one of the European m,anufacturers like Zeiss, Schmidtand Bender, Swarovski, and IOR. Expect to spend 400-1000 bucks.
You want to pay attention to the size of ther exit pupil which is the objective size devided by the occular size IE a 10x50 binocular has an exit pupil of 5mm (50 devided by 10 = 5. The bigger the better.
And the higher quality thescope, the better the glass and coatings. Hard to beat Zeiss' and Swarovski's premier coatings although I hear that Nikons premier scopes are azbout as good.
My hunting partner who is a bit old fogeyish says that you should spend 3X as much on your scope as you do on the rifle.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

I've been researching this quite a bit, and it doesn't take long to find out that a 1" tube will pass all the light your eye can use. Several "hands on" test have shown that a 1" is just as bright as a 30mm.

I have a 4x Zeiss on another rifle, and i use to sell Zeiss long ago, so i'm aware of there quality too.

What i "thought" i wanted when i started looking is an 8x scope about 50 or 60mm, but maybe that isn't what i'll end up with after all, as the variables are much better these days than they "use to be".

Drilling Man

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

I can honestly say I have 2 Leupold VX-II series scopes and 1 Nikon Buckmaster scope, and you can see and shoot a lot longer with the Leupolds come dark time.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

I have a Leupold VX-III, and it is a very nice, clear scope. But I can't tell that it has much of an advantage, if any,over my Nikon Buckmaster. Usually, if I can't see out of one, I can't see out of the other. May just be that my binoculars are Swaro's which makes them both seem dim.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

Zeiss Diavari VM/V go to www.eurooptic.com Good luck.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

I to live in nc Missouri and I hunt only with nikon for that very reason . They seem to gather more light then any scope I have used.Where are you from 48guns.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

Any scope with "ZEISS" on it...

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

As an optics guys, bottom line, the wider you can make the road more light. 30mm will definatly win. Second, anyway you can limit back reflection in the lens is second. Bender scopes probably win this.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

DM:

It all depends on the dollar. I too carry swarovski binos. I have a Swarovski scope on a 7mag. It does a great job, but was more than $1,000. But, for the money, look at the Pentax lightseeker and the 30mm lightseeker. I did a test teh other day and was amazed. My 8x32 Swarofxkis were not actching the same amount of light as my 3*9*40 Pentax Lightseeker. They ar around 400-500 and can not be beat. THe 30MM are a little more, but great quality at a managable price.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

Just a note, my Leupold Euro 3-9 x 50 mm scope with the 30 mm tube has the internal part for the 1” tube. I verified this with Leupold.... I’m sure this isn’t the case on high end scopes with a 30 mm tube...:eek:

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

The Schmidt&Bender scope are by far the premimum in low lights and non-powered night scopes. The prices range from 1500-1800.

http://www.schmidtbender.com/index.shtml

The 2.5-10x56 will run you around 1695.00 here in Texas.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

But you know with a 56mm objective, thats not bad. The price goes up exponentially as the size of the lenses.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

I am seriously considering it. When hog hunting at night or right at the edge..... Now I just have to get my CFO to approve it. She is very tough on expenditures accept when it comes to her weapons... hey wait a minute... I could get it for her rifle and then use her rifle... maybe it would work

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

10-4, good buddy!

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

A few years ago, I bought a scope for nightpredator hunting. We use a spotlight with a red filter, so I didn't need to shoot in total darkness - but sometimes in very poor light. Put a fair amount of research into it.I wound up getting aKahles 8 X 56 and am pretty happy with it.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

It seems to me that in Europe, where in a number of countries you can hunt at night (such as shooting boar from the Hocksitz with snow on the ground and moonlight), scopes are rated for night use by what they call the "twilight factor". Not only does this factor depend on excellence of optical quality, but also on power and objective lens size.

One of the best in this regard is the 8X56mm size fixed-power scope which gives the maximum useable 7mm exit pupil, besides being of relatively high magnification.8X56mm scopes made by Schmidt & Bender, Zeiss, Leitz, Khales, Swarovski, Meopta, and perhaps several others as well, are pretty much all acceptable for this use. However, I do not know how available this size scope is in the U.S. today, as most US hunters are looking for a variable of some sort. IMO, a variable cannot be made to be as good in this respect as a high-magfixed power with a big objective.

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

A personal friend of mine worked at Redfield in Denver for years, before they closed down back in the 90's. Several times she commented on American shooter's obsession with variable power scopes. From an optical standpoint, the fixed power scope has less glass in it and therefore transmits more light -and has a lot less to go wrong with it as well. But the variables sell, so the scope companies provide us with what we think we want . . .

RE: What's The BEST Model Light Gathering Scope?
 

There's plenty of pro's around the net that don't agree with you.... Or, at least it doesn't matter in the real world. http://www.opticstalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1696&PN=8

Drilling Man