I understand completely what Mathman is saying. I spent several sunsets the past week or so hunting an open strip of thinned pines. It’s 30ish feet wide or so, and I was facing north. Legal shooting light ends 30 minutes after sunset. It starts to get sketchy at 10-15 minutes after sunset. At 15ish minutes after sunset, assuming clear skies, the Tract 10x42 binos can go in the pack as the image is no longer bright enough to make any assessment of deer beyond general body size. From there I was using my rifle scope, an SHV 3-10x42 this week, until end of light. I adjust magnification until image appears brightest, which I assume is at highest magnification that my pupil can utilize what the scope can give. With the SHV, that would give anther 8-10 minutes that I could usually make an assessment of a deer at 120 yards or so. I could hold on one and shoot (essentially a silhouette) until legal time expired, but it would have had to be there 5-10 minutes prior to evaluate it. I have used a Tract Toric 50mm scope on the same stand. It gave me maybe 3 or 4 minutes more time that I could assess buck/doe/good buck/etc… At 15 minutes beyond legal shooting time, I don’t think a lens exists, at least I’d be willing to carry, would make a meaningful difference.
Now, when I walk out, I walk across an open area that is at less 50 yards x 50 yards. There, and in fields, it is a completely different scenario than the open lane in the pines.
