Interesting thread.
I haven't owned as many low light scopes as people like Bobby,but have owned and used a fair number of scopes over the years,and make a steady habit of peeping through them under various light and terrain conditions,including night time.This includes hunting with them and lots of time counting coup on local deer at our 600 yard range.
Some qualifiers: First, what is "low light"? I call it any conditions encountered in normal hunting, meaning up to,and slightly after legal shooting light. In Saskatchewan this ran you to sundown last I knew.In most other jurisdictions I've hunted from Alberta to New Brunswick and New England, many states in the American west,this is a half hour after sunset and a half hour before sunrise.
Anything later, or earlier, than that, I'd call "night time";not low light.
The gloomiest places I have hunted have been SE Alaska(which can have lousy light almost all day sometimes), New England in fall/winter,and Alberta/Central Canada in November.
IME the west does not offer the low light challenges the other areas do.Just seems the light and terrain conditions in places like Colorado,New Mexico, and Wyoming are just not as gloomy as those in the other places. But I have not hunted everywhere out there either.
And I have never hunted hogs in Texas where it seems shooting late is pretty common.
Next qualifier is reticles. My standard has always been.."Can I see the reticle against the animal,well enough to aim at the distance I am willing to shoot under deteriorating conditions,at the edge of darkness?"
Again, if i can see the reticle against the animal, I can shoot. That's all I need to know.
To me this is a judgement call and I am pretty conservative. The animal would have to be closer the darker it gets,and far as possible from heavy cover,so that if it runs at the shot, hopefully it will expire away from cover. The reason (obviously) is that in places like Alberta, an animal left over night will get eaten by wolves or coyotes and that sucks, far as I am concerned. I will hold off rather than risk anything uncertain.
To me, this is a lot different criteria than the question of ..."What is the BEST lowlight reticle"?
I explain tis because I sometimes think in these discussions we aren't always talking about the same situations of "low light". Anyway those are my criteria and YMMV depending on how late you shoot under what conditions.
With all the BS out of the way here's my comments based on what my eyes tell me:
2.5X Kahles- First Euro scope I ever owned before many knew of Kahles over here,and it was a revelation for the short distance black bear hunting we were doing those days in the Northeast.
3-9 Zeiss Conquest and Diavari with Zeiss Duplex: Both very good up to and slightly past legal shooting light. If it gets too dark, the optics let you see but the reticle fades in bad light.
3.5-10X50 Kahles- This one performed better than the two Zeiss scopes up to and past shooting light. Better than any VX3 Leupold in every way.
2.5-10 Swaro PH with their duplex reticle. Maybe the best combination of optics and non illuminated reticle I've personally used. The optics drag you way past legal light,and the reticle will not wash out,even aiming from open into background cover. I have been WAY past legal light with this one and could still kill with it.
Leupold FX3 6x42- Very good and edges out the 36mm model in the last minutes of daylight.
3.5-10X Leupold- Not in the class with the Kahles IMHO but better than I really have expected,and a lot better than the 2.5-8X Leupold,which really sucks IMHO.Optics are flat as light fades, little contrast and not terribly bright to my eyes.I used a 2.5-8X on my longest low light shot at 300 yards. Only goes to show you can make some things work sometimes.I have owned my last one.
Swaro Z6 1.5-10- Very good. Under my criteria and counting coup on many deer,have never lost the reticle.
Schmidt Bender Summit- Optics as good or better than anything listed above as late as I care to go. Aiming at hundreds of deer never lost the reticle up to and slightly past legal shooting light. Never. It takes a black background way past legal light before it fades out completely,despite being thin. I could say the same things about the Z6 and its reticle..
Schmidt Bender Zenith 1.5-6X- Top of the heap for optics and reticle. It's past legal light before you lose the center of the reticle; but hit the switch on the lighted reticle and if you can see it, you can aim and hit.But by then....it's night time. The light varies in intensity which allows use in full daylight if wanted, but dims so there is little to no glare in bad light. I really like this scope.
Never owned a 56mm scope so can't say anything about them.I've used lots of other scopes that do not stand out in the low light department,so don't mention them. For example the 4X Conquest beats the snot out of any Leupold 4x optically.Any scope is better than iron sites though.
Anyway this is what I have owned,shot,and hunted with and feel comfortable commenting on. YMMV
