Low light comparison of 17 scopes

[nm.otter]

The massive immediately obvious difference was reticles.

That was clear in your notes, and the BFD for many of us on the forthcoming S2H scope.

I was observing that the configuration of the glass (magnification and exit pupil) seems far more important than all the gee-whiz special glass chemistry and coatings. The 6x42mm SWFA has impressed me far more than I would ever have guessed, and I believe a fair bit of that can be attributed to its generous exit pupil.

 

[stooxie]

That was clear in your notes, and the BFD for many of us on the forthcoming S2H scope.

I was observing that the configuration of the glass (magnification and exit pupil) seems far more important than all the gee-whiz special glass chemistry and coatings. The 6x42mm SWFA has impressed me far more than I would ever have guessed, and I believe a fair bit of that can be attributed to its generous exit pupil.

This is a truth of physics, and something that always cracks me up about Vortex scopes (for example, plenty of other guilty parties), with their obsession with not-so-big objective lenses and sky high magnifications. Take, for example, the Razor HD Gen III 4-24x44, with it's vast 1.83mm exit pupil.... I don't care how clear the glass claims to be, a pinhole is a pinhole.

It USED to be that all the high end scopes, well, at least the European alpha glass, didn't go much beyond 4X zoom factor so that you had a decent exit pupil at the highest magnification. For example, a 4-12x56 gives an exit pupil of 14 to 4.66. 7mm at 8X, which will cover 99.9% of all hunting situations.

When the long range craze hit the US about 10 years ago, foisted upon us forcibly by the entire industry that needed new product to sell, all the old rules were thrown out. So... now we have 1.8mm exit pupils with Christmas tree reticles...

BUT... we digress

I think we're all in agreement that there's no magic to a lot of this stuff. The real truth is that beyond a certain point of optical expectations, you just have to get out of the visible light spectrum and go thermal. Problem solved.

-Stooxie

 

[Southern Lights]

I was out last weekend hunting in bad rain and heavy mist. One thing that would have been way more important than "good glass" is hydrophobic coatings on the lenses.

Christmas trees in reticles are only really useful for target shooters. If you miss with the first shot the animal is often moving off making any splash correction with the tree not useful.

 

[Formidilosus]

That was clear in your notes, and the BFD for many of us on the forthcoming S2H scope.

I was observing that the configuration of the glass (magnification and exit pupil) seems far more important than all the gee-whiz special glass chemistry and coatings. The 6x42mm SWFA has impressed me far more than I would ever have guessed, and I believe a fair bit of that can be attributed to its generous exit pupil.

Ahh- yes. I misunderstood.

 

[nm.otter]

Am I crazy for wanting a 5x35mm?

 

[Southernfried]

Am I crazy for wanting a 5x35mm?

lol Well if you is, I are .......lol

 

[Ajsomp]

What I learned from this thread - and through my own experience- is that I have everything I need with a SWFA to kill things. Not the latest, turrets are huge, but they work and will within my capabilities.

But I’d rather a solid 8x50 than a 5x. That’s me though

 

[nm.otter]

I want a 5x35mm for .17 HMR and an uber-light short-range .223 setup.

I also want a 7x50mm or 8x56mm on a 6mm for longer range stuff.

 

[Pistolpete28]

What I learned from this thread - and through my own experience- is that I have everything I need with a SWFA to kill things. Not the latest, turrets are huge, but they work and will within my capabilities.

But I’d rather a solid 8x50 than a 5x. That’s me though

A reliable 8x fixed scope would be awesome. I’d probably be fine with 44mm objective.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

Atacr 4-16x42 f1 mil r? Keep seeing this as a holy grail but it can’t be until it compared in this thread?

Then after shot show you may have a few more to add?

Also be interesting to see the nx8 1-8 dmx added only because of reticle primary functional over all else stated as I spent a bunch of time figuring out it’s sweet spot past legal for mag and the illum. I agree learn the settings beforehand and apply at sunset or when you start in am. For it was 6-6.2x and lowest illum and I could see everything I could see with sig kilo 6k 8x32 beyond legal light at either end (1/2 hr no prob). The tree a different story as no illum on tree but Mpbr no prob as the floating dot was gtg, so was image. I had deer around me, doe two fawns and a dink buck but could make out which was the buck to past legal at least to 100, prolly a little easier through the sig bino but the little scope surprised me with the right setting a bigger buck would have been easier for sure and allowed more distance to see that as the dink was barely different from body size than the doe. Was good to about ~40-45 min past sunset/sunrise from recollection on those deer to 100. I camped on them and had them till all light gone and when up in morning they still there. Got a cool little diesel heated(white noise) cargo trailer I can put in leases or on pipelines and they tolerate it like any oilfield equip on a lease after no time and will come to 10 yards of it at times. After a week of waiting for mr elk that didn’t show I had names for all my deer, 5 in total every day multiple times a day but primarily first/last light and all night.