Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics best low light scope???????

Leupold VX-R 4x12-50 with #4 type cross hair is very nice.
It's my night time hog hunting scope.

I think Doctor had an 8x50 or something I eye balled once but never tried. Something like this or the Swarovski is great but really fills a niche role in my mind.

I don't know what the best low light scope is but I'm on the same quest, and leaning towards the S&B 8x56. Can't like the size but it will be a dedicated food plot, low light rig. From what I'm reading it reigns king of low light.

Surely it is a niche scope but looking back at the AL bucks I've killed, all have been after sunset and most all have been in situations where I was pushing the abilities of the scope. I have missed several potential kills due to scope limitations. I get all worked up about size, weight, elevation turret, zero stops, windage hold offs, etc. and ignore my main usage of the scope; a short walk to a fixed stand in low light. About to fix that.

I'm thinking a 270 with 110 TTSX's or a 280 with 120 BT's and a 2.5" point blank range of 300 - 320 yards with a Hubble will serve nicely. A 257 Wby would stretch the PBR even further but don't know if its worth it.

Yes, I'm going red neck. But hey, I am one.

Take it from a OLD Redneck from Alabama that is why I re done
all my Deer rifles and optics to account for hunting here in
bama and my night blindness.
My main deer rifles now are a Weatherby Mark V S.S. Outfitter
in 270 WBY Mag. with a factory 130 gr. @3450 fps.
It has a Leupold FX-3 6x42 Heavy Duplex on it now to stay.
Now deciding what to put on my back up WBY ultra light weight
5 3/4 lbs 30-06.
AMRA

I had no issues this year taking deer 40 minutes after sunset using a zeiss conquest 4.5-14x44 z800 reticle. I think the reticle is a bit busy for that use though and am upgrading to a 50mm objective and different reticle possibly an illuminated reticle. I am tempted to buy a Meopta 3-12x56 with the illuminated dot.

Switched to a 257 bee this year and took a few deer with it already. Only issue is being blinded by the muzzle flash flame at oh dark thirty.

I am pretty impressed(low light) with my weaver superslam scope.Natchezz is closeing some of them out for $299.Heck of a deal IMHO.

I usually don't reply to these...as per most of what I have to say is not real valuable or important and just my opinion. But I have recently been evaluating different scopes at dusk. These are the scopes I looked thru at 6:00 pm in eastern standard time.

Nitrex tr2 2.5-10X50 ebx (super slam, I believe)
leupold VX III 3.5-10X50 B&C reticle
Vortex viper HS 2.5-10X44 Plex
Zeiss duralyt 2-8X42 #6

Now granted there were some obvious price differences in these. I looked at all of the above at that time frame in open fields not woods and no snow on the ground. I did this just messing around three different nights.

It was more than obvious the zeiss was much lighter than all the rest. Real obvious. The other three there was not really much of a difference regarding low light. I was extremely impressed with the zeiss, but of course it was double in price of the most except the VX III which was close in price but still less.

Just what I found in my eyes and I am certainly no expert.

I have the new Zeiss Duralyt 2-8x42 and as megaVinn says it is exceptionally bright. It was like night and day (pun intended) against my Leupold. That being said, I will probably. Sell it before I ever mount it; I purchased it to go on a mountain rifle and I think the 30mm tube is just too large for such a trim rifle. I am thinking of getting a trijicon one inch scope instead, just have not decided yet.

It was cold, overcast, dark and gloomy yesterday at the range, and it got worse as we continued to shoot toward sunset. Even had 3 deer cross the butts that we counted coup on.

We didn't have any scopes known for real low light performance ; mostly just standard hunting scopes. Letting barrels cool I just started panning the brush and wood line with about all of them out to 200-250 yards.

Under those lighting conditions, my pal and I both commented what we were both thinking...."These things really suck! A deer against that wood line would be pretty hard to pick out!"

I won't mention the type scopes because people will just get pissed and who wants to listen...?

The clear winner, though, was a Zeiss 4X Conquest for brightness, resolution, and contrast.

I just googled "meopta 1.5-6x42". All I came up with where $1100. Am I missing something?

Zeiss is one of the best.

And, you're afraid that you'll only be able to murder an animal at extreme depredation of visible light for a human, therefore you need the extreme technological advantage of low-light capability to make you what, a "man" or a so-called "hunter"?????

Exactly. A deer in the shadows of a thick wood line is hard to detect at noon on clear day. After sunset on an overcast day REALLY tests a scope, and this is the situation I find myself in often.

Never thought I'd find love in a Hubble, and I may not, but for my afternoon hunting in AL it seems to make sense. We'll see.

Never have figured out the malice towards one another at the campfire.

WOW !! Take a deep breath.LOL.

Bob, not sure what it is about Alabama and late evening greenfield hunts but the suckers come out when you think all hope is lost for the day, most of the situations this year the bucks (non shootable) came out minimum 40 minutes after sunset. Where I hunted it was 4:50 pm (End of December) and they(bucks) were coming out around 5:25 to 5:30. Zeiss Conquest worked pretty darn well with a 44MM objective , want to get one with a 50mm objective for the 257.

Funny thing I heard shooting up until 5:45 or so. Sure hope they were not using bubble pack Walmart Bushnells for this.

Took a woods walk yesterday in the middle of the afternoon. 6in of snow on the ground, hanging thick on the brush and trees. Two Deer that didn't know I was there crossed a path in front of me at around 20yards feeding. In seconds they disappeared. Broad daylight, clear as fine glass, brown against white. Gone, unless you made a good sneak and they stopped: In exactly the right place.

Sometimes they just win.

Think I'm going to go with the meopta meapro. Thanks for all of the input.

battue,yes they do ....for me more often than not.

For what its worth.
I think your on the right track.
No one equals the blue light coatings of S&B.
Always wanted to try a 8x56.
There available with two different tube diameters...1 inch and 30mm.No advantage one over the other from a Usability standpoint.
I think the 30mm looks better as the transition from 56mm to inch looks kinda dumb to me.Plus the 30mm will allow you to use a lower ring height.
If you want push things.
Get a lighted reticle version.
I'd be curious to hear your opinion after you use it.


dave