Low Light Rifle Scope Testing

[Dwest]

Me and my Son recently tested several different scopes from different manufacturers. We live and hunt here in Alabama where you can legally shoot 30 minutes before and after sunrise/sunset. So it is a benefit to have a scope that aids in closing the deal in those situations. Let me begin by stating that our informal and subjective testing could vary from another perspective. But I felt two sets of eyes were definitely better than just mine. But I do encourage one to draw up conclusions not solely based on our findings. Also there are some myths that need debunking. Such as purchasing an expensive and or large scope transforms night into day. Just don’t happen. I hear and read people stating their scope adds 20 or 30 minutes to their hunt. I’m not buying that at all. In our testing the better ones got you somewhere around 1-4 minutes advantage. This isn’t night vision / thermal. We did find that a larger objective holds an advantage over a smaller. Especially on higher powers. But even on lower powers we still felt the large objective is a benefit. A good example is if you have an 8x32 mm binoculars and put them up against a set of 8x56, to me it’s quite dramatic in how much brighter the 8x56 are. Of course you are dealing with a lot more exit pupil. And when we tested the scopes we put all on a 7mm exit pupil since that is the most our eyes can process. But even when a smaller objective was put on a power that equals 7mm we felt it wasn’t quite as bright as a larger one set to its 7mm exit pupil. My neighbor has a 20 acre field with no lights nearby. We put a 3D deer target at 125 yards and set up to watch about those last 30 minutes after sunset. We pushed into the dark to the point the human eye could in no way detect the 3D deer. These scopes were on rifles because you just don’t get as accurate results when hand holding a scope. I won’t go into every moment of the test but there were some scopes that did have a slight advantage over others. The scopes that were tested were Leupold VX5HD 3-15x44 Firedot Schmidt Bender Klassik 2.5-10x56 L3 illuminated, Kite K4 HD 3-12x50 illuminated 4A, Swarovski Z6i HD 2.5-15x56 4 illuminated,Trijicon Accupoint 2.5-10x 56 mildot illuminated, and Hawke Endurance 2.5-10x50 illuminated 4 reticle. The top performers were the Schmidt Bender,Trijicon Accupoint and Swarovski Z6i. They rung out every ounce of available light and did it very well. There was to our eyes no distinction between the 3. We could not say there was any advantage at all between those 3 other than the Trijicon had the smallest illuminated dot. And that was an advantage. The S&B dot actually gets larger as crank the power due to being a First Focal Plane Reticle. That was a strike against it. What was a surprise to me is that the Trijicon was actually to me the best choice. The lenses are made by Meopta. And if you know Meopta then you know they produce some high quality glass. The turrets are Japanese and all is assembled in America. The Accupoint weighs 4 ounces less than the Swarovski and S&B. Another plus. No Batteries for the Accupoint which is another plus. One other point. If you plan to shoot late an illuminated reticle is really a must. You just wash out at a certain point without illumination. The real selling point for the Trijicon is price. You can buy 4 and have money left over vs. Swarovski. Is the Swarovski a fine optic? Without a doubt. It in our minds just doesn’t justify the cost. My second choice would be the S&B. Superb optics at a bargain. These can be had for around $1200.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

No offense, but I could have told you the three with the 56mm objective would have outperformed the others without looking through them.

 

[Waterboy]

Nice work. My 10x42 bx4 outshine both my meopta scopes with 50 mm objectives. How did the non 56 mm scopes stack up against each other? Are you sure meopta provides the glass for the Accupoint?

 

[Dwest]

In response the larger objective. I have always known the larger objective wins out. But we wanted to for sake of not just having one size class include various sizes. We also wanted various price ranges and brands. As to the question on how the smaller objectives ranked. It was the Leupold 44mm that was the standout. It has very high quality Japanese glass and excellent illumination. It beat both the Kite and the Hawke. The Hawke however is at a good price point. The only reservation would be they are from the far east. And mechanics track well in this one but is this just my sample? To the question on Accupoint having glass sourcing from Meopta. That is coming from my conversation with Trijicon. They have told me on more than one occasion Meopta was their glass source. Earlier in Accupoint history the glass was sourced from Japan. I think it’s been Meopta for about the past 5 years. And the representative I talked with several years ago said that Meopta had bumped their glass up a tier and did not charge them extra for that tier level increase. And that Meopta glass is one of the reasons the Accupoint is such a serious contender. Along with a solid turret history. I’ve read a few posts saying the Trijicon Accupoint wasn’t in the same league as top brands when it came to low light performance. In our experience we find those statements unfounded. It is a serious low light hunting scope. And so is the Swarovski. But the Swarovski has a tiny thin reticle and illumination needs to be turned on when it starts to get barely dusky. It simply washes out. Also the dot in mine is larger than the Trijicon and is splattered a bit. Another note is that the daytime view of the Accupoint is very good. Not Swarovski level but plenty acceptable. The Swarovski has a larger FOV which is very nice. And it sure better have some standout features. It cost $3200. And I still stick by my statement that in low light performance alone it in my opinion gives not one ounce of advantage over the Accupoint when it comes time to pull the trigger. In my mind and I’m sure in others it shouldn’t be this way, We think that with an expensive price tag and a household name it should rise way above. It does rise above in the dramatic thinness of my wallet.

 

[sdupontjr]

Im in south Louisiana and same hunting times as you. I hunt my personal hardwoods about 90% of the time and the oaks can block out the light very quickly. If your looking for a low light optic, consider this. Buy once / cry once. I have a Trijicon accupont 2.5-10x56, also had a SB Klassik 2,5-10x56. Sold the Klassik and picked up a SB Polar 4-16x56. The illumination on the polar is like a pin prick. And it is dimmer than the Klassik which is great for low light last minute hunting because it doen't oper power your pupil. Sure it cost, but once bought, you'll never buy another optic.

 

[fwafwow]

Thanks for doing the tests. I also usually hunt in GA, and we also have 30 minutes before and after sunrise/sunset. I agree that the ability to "see" earlier or later is limited. I also hunt in SC and there you can get an hour before and after, and I still wonder how realistic that is (other than when the deer are in an open field).

Pictures of the setups/scopes would be nice, especially if you can show the pictures of what you see at first and last light. And since I'm already looking a gift horse in the mouth, maybe break up the posts a bit with a paragraph or bullet point - maybe to list out the results? But really, I like the effort and my feedback isn't intended as a slight in any way.

 

[Dwest]

Thanks for all the input. I did this test a couple weeks ago and basically have summarized giving the high points. As I stated it’s informal and subjective but did answer some of my questions. I didn’t know how to show an image that was being seen by us through a phone. Just not that tech savvy. I do think that if you are wanting to push the limits a little further you are gonna have to go to the S&B Polar series as one of our friends here on the forum has mentioned. And he is not alone in his discovery. Optics Trade EU has a very informative video testing low light scopes. Just google it. They had multiple people involved and the S&B Polar was among the pinnacle of performance. Along with the Blaser. The Zeiss Victory HT was not far behind. I actually owned a 3-12x56 HT at one point but done some gun trading and it went bye. And to my memory it was incredibly bright. I did feel it didn’t offer the best daytime view with some noticeable chromatic aberrations and sharp edge fall off. I will have to look into the S&B Polar as it’s not a terribly heavy optic. That’s my issue with the Blaser. No doubt an amazing optical performance but at near 28 ounces I’m out.

 

[KenLee]

Thanks for doing the tests. I also usually hunt in GA, and we also have 30 minutes before and after sunrise/sunset. I agree that the ability to "see" earlier or later is limited. I also hunt in SC and there you can get an hour before and after, and I still wonder how realistic that is (other than when the deer are in an open field).

Pictures of the setups/scopes would be nice, especially if you can show the pictures of what you see at first and last light. And since I'm already looking a gift horse in the mouth, maybe break up the posts a bit with a paragraph or bullet point - maybe to list out the results? But really, I like the effort and my feedback isn't intended as a slight in any way.

Hour?
Field, powerline or food plot/ag field and its definitely doable except on the darkest no moon or raining evenings. I often climb down an hour after sunset while still watching deer. Need decent binocs to identify deer size and racks alot of times though.

 

[fwafwow]

Hour?
Field, powerline or food plot/ag field and its definitely doable except on the darkest no moon or raining evenings. I often climb down an hour after sunset while still watching deer. Need decent binocs to identify deer size and racks alot of times though.

When I was last there I believe there was not a moon, and I had trouble seeing at 30 minutes past sundown. But I was in the woods and my eyes suck.

 

[KenLee]

When I was last there I believe there was not a moon, and I had trouble seeing at 30 minutes past sundown. But I was in the woods and my eyes suck.

I'm due a 3rd eye surgery myself. Can't find the time with other dang health issues.
Having gallbladder sucked out in the morning and doc said no lifting for 2 weeks. I thought "no problem I'll just lasso the deer behind old Honda 4trax and drag it onto 6x12 trailer"
Woke up at 3am thinking "I can't lift the dern gate to shut it"

 

[fwafwow]

I'm due a 3rd eye surgery myself. Can't find the time with other dang health issues.
Having gallbladder sucked out in the morning and doc said no lifting for 2 weeks. I thought "no problem I'll just lasso the deer behind old Honda 4trax and drag it onto 6x12 trailer"
Woke up at 3am thinking "I can't lift the dern gate to shut it"

It does suck getting old!

 

[KenLee]

It does suck getting old!

Dang sure does

 

[ZAR EC]

No offense, but I could have told you the three with the 56mm objective would have outperformed the others without looking through them.

My S&B PMII 3-20x50 and 4-16x50 both have better low light capability than my Minox ZP5 5-25x56. A surprising result but I've tested them side by side several times.

 

[sdupontjr]

^^^ correct. Alpha glass trumps objective size all day every day.

When it's all said and done, unless your moonlight hunting, you're paying for that last 10 critical minutes of hunting time. If you have legal hunting times in your area. Where I hunt on my personal property, the oaks are so think that at sunset, the oks block out the little light left, let alone 30 min after sunset. So needing the best legal optic out there was in my best interest, because these 50 year old eye are not the same. I could easily walk out to a field or open area and see another 30 min or so with little to no moon with the Polar. But not in my think oaks. So, it really depends on your hunting conditions and what you "need" rather than what you "want". I bought it because I was tired of not seeing good buck during the last minutes of legal time. Now i can sit on the stand after legal time and get a direction on which way they are traveling.

 

[Waterboy]

What reticle does the Accupoint have? Also I’m just north of Montgomery.

 

[Dwest]

Accupoint reticles vary. But to me the Mildot is the way to go. Bold dark reticle that is very daytime visible. And a tiny dot. I personally like green.

 

[Waterboy]

Accupoint reticles vary. But to me the Mildot is the way to go. Bold dark reticle that is very daytime visible. And a tiny dot. I personally like green.

I was referring to the one you tested. The triangle reticle seems dumb but useful as a red dot. I like the mildot and the illuminated crosshair reticle in the Accupoint line.

 

[Dwest]

Yes Waterboy, I did use the green Mildot in my testing. The triangle post can be used in various situations. But I find it too large. I like a tiny illuminated dot. And that’s what you get in the Mildot or the standard duplex. And really for me it boils down to this. A good quality 50 -56 mm objective with good glass and coatings with a reticle that has bold high visibility lines that draw my eye to the center and also has a very good illumination system that can be brought down to a barely visible tiny dot. And there are several scopes that check those boxes. I do feel that the Trijicon Accupoint does that and does it at very appealing price point. You can take it a little further by stepping up into a S&B Polar, Blaser B2 or Zeiss Victory HT if that’s the route you want to go.

 

[tx_shooter]

Regarding low light hunting I setup my wife with a digital day/night scope this year. I have been impressed enough at the capabilities of a decent digital scope to take full advantage of the legal shooting times in Texas. Just another option for people with poor eye sight.

 

[Waterboy]

Regarding low light hunting I setup my wife with a digital day/night scope this year. I have been impressed enough at the capabilities of a decent digital scope to take full advantage of the legal shooting times in Texas. Just another option for people with poor eye sight.

I mmm not sure that’s legal in Alabama. I’m almost positive that thermal can’t be used for hunting. Id guess a night vision scope would be out as well.