Best low light scope
11-18-2009, 07:53 AM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 187
Best low light scope
I am looking to buy a new scope and want a brand that is good in low light conditions. It will be mounted on a 30/30 marlin 336C. I hunt hogs and they tend to come out first thing in the morning or at very last light. I currently have a Nikon on my 7600 30/06 at it performs well but I wanted to see what else is out there.
Your recommendations.
Your recommendations.
11-18-2009, 04:52 PM
#3
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ponce de Leon Florida USA
Posts: 10,079
If you have one of the better Nikon Monarch scopes, maybe a 2.5x10x50, you have a dang good scope. Spending a lot more isn't going to be a lot better. I have a Zeiss Diavari that is suppose to be about as good as you can get, but the difference in it and a Monarch isn't a lot.
11-18-2009, 08:59 PM
#4
Fork Horn
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Muskegon,Michigan
Posts: 407
zeiss 50mm excellent low light scope
i have a 3.5x10x50mm Zeiss Conquest,and it is an exellent low light scope and crisp and clear and no glare from the sun,i have had some nikon products and they are good but there C/S is not good,if something goes wrong with your scope or bino's,good luck.if you want a good low light scope no matter what brand get a 50mm,leave the 40mm's alone.
you will be able to see 15min. earlier and 15 min.later with a 50mm VS. 40mm.
Ted
you will be able to see 15min. earlier and 15 min.later with a 50mm VS. 40mm.
Ted
11-19-2009, 03:01 AM
#5
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Comance county, OK
Posts: 11,408
i often hunt hogs at night. Most of my guns have fixed power 4X and 6x Zeiss and Leupold scopes. The Leupold FX III 6X42 is a very good low light scope; ditto for the Zeiss 4X32 Conquest and the Leupold FXII 4X33 . My best low light scope is the Zeiss 6X42 Diatal: i'm told that this scope is no longer available in the US.
The reticle has a lot to do with how the scope performs in low light. The German #4 reticle is the best that i have found for low light/night use.
Keep the power turned down on your variable power scope if you want to hunt in low light. The reason that the optics industry went to those huge 50mm and bigger objectives is to compensate for having the power turned way up. If you divide the size of the objective by the power you get the exit pupil diameter in millimeters. 50mm divide by ten = 5mm. An exit pupil of 5mm is very marginal in low light. 32mm divide by four = 8mm. 8mm is much better in low light.
http://huntingscopes.lifetips.com/ne...pil/index.html
The reticle has a lot to do with how the scope performs in low light. The German #4 reticle is the best that i have found for low light/night use.
Keep the power turned down on your variable power scope if you want to hunt in low light. The reason that the optics industry went to those huge 50mm and bigger objectives is to compensate for having the power turned way up. If you divide the size of the objective by the power you get the exit pupil diameter in millimeters. 50mm divide by ten = 5mm. An exit pupil of 5mm is very marginal in low light. 32mm divide by four = 8mm. 8mm is much better in low light.
http://huntingscopes.lifetips.com/ne...pil/index.html
In typical low-light conditions in the field, a shooter's eye dilates to a pupil width of about 5 mm. If the exit pupil of the scope is smaller than the shooter's pupil, too little light will reach the shooter's eye and the scope will impose limitations on the shooter's ability to see.
The diameter of the shaft of light exiting the scope toward the eye is used to rate the brightness of a scope's sight picture. For example, a 4X scope with a 40mm objective lens has a exit pupil of 10mm. The larger the exit pupil, the easier it is to keep the eye aligned with the sight picture and the better the scope will perform in low light.
The diameter of the shaft of light exiting the scope toward the eye is used to rate the brightness of a scope's sight picture. For example, a 4X scope with a 40mm objective lens has a exit pupil of 10mm. The larger the exit pupil, the easier it is to keep the eye aligned with the sight picture and the better the scope will perform in low light.
Last edited by falcon; 11-19-2009 at 03:14 AM.
11-19-2009, 07:27 AM
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Western Kentucky
Posts: 149
I have a Zeiss 3X9 40 - I will still be in the stand while other hunters are packing things up - 2 years ago I sucked it up and put the money on the table - I was through with cheap scopes - wanted a tack driver - got one - reliable - this scope has yet to let me down - at dawn with the naked eye you can't make out deer in the field (maybe Silhouettes) - this scope can extend your hunting time - it makes things brighter in the afternoon - brighter in the mornings - great optics - can't speak for the nikon - however - looking at the ATB binos -
11-23-2009, 11:42 AM
#7
Spike
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location:
Posts: 73
i often hunt hogs at night. Most of my guns have fixed power 4X and 6x Zeiss and Leupold scopes. The Leupold FX III 6X42 is a very good low light scope; ditto for the Zeiss 4X32 Conquest and the Leupold FXII 4X33 . My best low light scope is the Zeiss 6X42 Diatal: i'm told that this scope is no longer available in the US.
The reticle has a lot to do with how the scope performs in low light. The German #4 reticle is the best that i have found for low light/night use.
Keep the power turned down on your variable power scope if you want to hunt in low light. The reason that the optics industry went to those huge 50mm and bigger objectives is to compensate for having the power turned way up. If you divide the size of the objective by the power you get the exit pupil diameter in millimeters. 50mm divide by ten = 5mm. An exit pupil of 5mm is very marginal in low light. 32mm divide by four = 8mm. 8mm is much better in low light.
Exit Pupil - Hunting Scopes, Hunting Optics, Rifle Scopes, Rifle Scope
The reticle has a lot to do with how the scope performs in low light. The German #4 reticle is the best that i have found for low light/night use.
Keep the power turned down on your variable power scope if you want to hunt in low light. The reason that the optics industry went to those huge 50mm and bigger objectives is to compensate for having the power turned way up. If you divide the size of the objective by the power you get the exit pupil diameter in millimeters. 50mm divide by ten = 5mm. An exit pupil of 5mm is very marginal in low light. 32mm divide by four = 8mm. 8mm is much better in low light.
Exit Pupil - Hunting Scopes, Hunting Optics, Rifle Scopes, Rifle Scope
+1
Exit pupil is where your light is...
11-23-2009, 06:57 PM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Waipahu HI USA
Posts: 2,915
Ever think about going with a red dot scope? The lighted dot will help immensely in low light situations. I have a bud on the Big Island with a red dot on his lever gun. It works great, especially when we're under a thick tree canopy.
