Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Your List of Best Extreme Low Light Scopes

Mtn Boomer: Sure I get that.

Maybe what I was trying to say is the quality of the light seems better there as the sun starts dipping,bright skies and lighter vegetation at least where I have been in mostly October.

Up in Alberta in November, the dawn/dusk periods last longer with that low sun and it seems to stay gloomy during that period a bit longer.

But no doubt dark is dark.

That buck I killed with the 2.5-8 was a mule deer on a mountainside at last light,that was dead at the shot but kicked himself off the bench into heavy brush below,and rolled 30-40 yards. By the time we got up there you needed a flashlight and we could not find him. My pal was convinced I missed but I knew I had not.

We did not find him until the next morning,and he was OK,but the incident made me a bit conservative about shooting at the edge of night.



Powdr: I would like to have a scope like yours.

I have had excellent results night hunting coyotes in Maine using the Weaver "Classic Extreme" 2.5-18x56 with a German #4 reticle and illuminated dot. The illuminated dot can be adjusted down to a dull glow so it does not blow out your night vision or cause any internal reflections in the scope ( which seems to be a problem in a lot of optics that offer illumination ) also very reasonably priced if you search the net.

Bob, I think I have the same 3.5-10 x 50 Kahles, I had the idea a couple of years ago to send it back into them to put a #4 in it, while I like the #4, for some reason it does not seem as bright as it did before, maybe just my imagination.

but as you say "dark is dark"

a VRL-1 with a green diode is a great light, I also have the more expensive Wicked Light with a red diode but don't like it as much.

in my finally learned my lesson at a late stage in life; unless your going to buy a NV scope a good reticle in a 25 mm objective with reasonable coatings will get you as far or further than a target reticle in a 50 mm objective.

To your point regards your Z6, my Victory HT 1.5-6 x 42 with #60 IR is not too shabby the illumination is done well I think at this level.

MtnBoomer-You are definitely right about the VX-R scopes. I had a 3-9x50 FD duplex for a while until $$ got tight (always does ha ha) and sold it here on the board recently. I plan on having another some day, maybe this time in the 40mm version. There was nothing to not like about it.

BobinNH-Your story with the 2.5-8x definitely shows that we can make things work. For a number of years, I had a 3200 3-9x on my little 7mm Bullberry. It was a good, solid and reliable scope but not something that excelled in moonlight with its duplex reticle. But as long as the range was reasonable and you worked at it, that scope could get it done. It wasn't perfect for the situation -- and none are -- but got the job done on a number of hogs. And in the end, that's all that really matters.

20 years ago I bought this unusual scope at a Sportsman Show. It has a rotating ring with multi-colored windows that allow natural light into the reticle, which then illuminate to whatever color window the scope is turned to.

Added to that, there's one removable plastic bubble that adds considerably to the light transfer to the reticle. I generally keep it on red when coyote hunting, and can see to shoot into the dark a bit. It works perfectly on moonlit nights for night calling.

I won't say it's alpha glass, but it is the only scope and rifle combination I have never swapped scopes on in 20 years. It always works, has never moved, has never fogged, has never failed, always allows me to shoot till dark. If I had known then what I know now, I might have bought a few of them. I enjoy the scope and the red reticle with it's natural glow.

Hakko on a Sako Vixen .221 Fireball

Rest assured, Leupold scopes are rugged and dependable. The VX3 line of scopes are affordable, and offer a great compromise to higher end scopes. The problem with S&Bs and top end glass is the weight, most aren't made for mountain hunting unless you have a gun bearer.

Bobby: If "brown" is "down", you won't hear me squawk too loud!

Like most of us I excruciate over this stuff at the range,during off season,or for something to do on stand.

Out hunting.....not so much.

One more comment: Even the cheapest night-vision scope will outperform the most expensive conventional scope in really dim light, the sort most hunters would call night. But of course NV scopes are illegal for most hunting, and even where they are legal (such as Texas) they’re not for all game.

John I bet that's true. ya know...I have never even looked through a night vision scope!

I had one of the lower-end (ATN MK410 Spartan) night vision set-ups for a short time. While it no doubt worked, it was large, heavy and clunky -- not to mention crude in both mounting and adjustments.

If there is not enough moonlight for a conventional scope, then I'd rather do this:




...instead of this:

Bob, I know I sound like a fickled high school girl that's dating the high school stud football player but there it is. I can't help it! powdr

Bobby,

Yeah, it's easy to recognize right away how much more attractive and less clumsy the Zeiss/light setups are.

John-They're not exactly streamlined, but the hogs just don't get the message that I'd prefer they step out with some decent daylight remaining...

If memory serves, that Spartan unit weighed just shy of 4 pounds. I am disabled and don't spot and stalk anymore, so weight -- within reason -- is not an issue. But it almost seemed like that unit was heavy enough to rip the base off my little Contender barrel should I accidentally tilt it sideways... So off it went to a new home where it could be appreciated.

Honestly, I do hate the look of the little mounted light on the scope, but it does not change the POI, adds only a few ounces and -- best of all -- can be removed in a matter of seconds.

Two new to me scopes I'm using this year have impressed me in low light performance.

Meopta 6x with their #4- amazing clairity, brightness and reticle combination.

Trijicon 1-4 with the green post reticle.

powdr you're doing fine!

Bob, congratulations on a hell of a buck. I love those big necked bruisers yall have up north. I killed a big 9 point in Kansas in '93 that weighed 247 lbs. You can't put 3 of those in the back of a truck like you can here in Texas. powdr

powdr I always had a soft spot for those Maine bruisers. I'm really happy when I get one like that. Maybe I will get lucky in Kansas next week and kill one like yours!

The head on this deer was huge. He wasn't but 17in wide but had very heavy horns, mass wise. Brother, I don't know where you're going but there are some true monsters living in Kansas. I would put it in the top 3 along w/Illinois and Ohio as far as real antler producing states in the lower 48. Good luck and don't be scared to pass on one early. powdr

fwiw...

Been thru a few scopes for a few years, always looking for one a little better in low light...

Magnification is an asset, it shows you more. The top end 56mm objectives with an appropriate reticle are going to be brighter. Just spent a week with an 8x56 S&B #4, and that is about as good as I have used--though about 1x shy for that 56mm objective... Compared to a Zeiss HT 10x54 bino, the scope was a bit brighter--but of course, the bino showed more detail easily.

Not petite...

Best case low light, to save a little weight, would opt for an 8x50 with Zeiss/S&B #4 subtensions in a wire reticle...if such existed.

Bobby's list will save you some time & moolah...:)

By far the scope I have used for extreme low light has been the Zeiss Victory 1.5-6x42 with an illuminated #60 reticle.

I have hunted boar in Europe at night without the aid of artificial light very successfully with the above glass.

This boar was taken legally in the middle of the night as was the monster in my avatar.