Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics A Tract Toric scope is comparable to a ...?

Wasn't directed at you at all Bobby T.

Bobby,

I must say, I am a hunter whom is very appreciative of the single shot setups, and you sir do it very well. We'll get a Toric in one of those pictures soon enough...

Trevor,I only say this to be helpful. I believe most of Bobby's scopes have illumination.I have spoken to him a little on the subject and it is very important in his style hunting that the illumination regulate low enough. A good low light illumination would not even be visible in decent light. High contrast optics and very low adjustable illumination is what sets apart an excellent low light scope from just one that can be used in low light.

Bobby can correct me if I have misrepresented in any way what he has told me. He is much more an expert on low light shooting then myself. I just want you guys at Tract to have the proper input to produce scopes that will excel for our needs.

I can second that part about the availability of low setting levels. My only scope with a light is a Mark AR Mod 1. Whatever its other shortcomings may be, the illumination works perfectly. In dim light, I set it to where the green dot just shows up. There's no flaring or star pattern, just a clean point of light that draws my eye right to the sticking spot, despite the slightly complicated reticle. Right now it's mounted on, of all things, an actual AR, but even if I happen to sell the rifle, the scope will stick. A company looking to venture into lighted scopes would be well-advised to emulate that one's function, if not the form.

Well then, I think you men will like what will be coming in the next few months.

As some one who only has FIXED 6x42 scopes on all my rifles
will you offer a fixed 6x42?

RH Clark- Yes, you are right about that. One thing about illumination at night: at close range, most of them work just fine. It's when the range increases that will separate the wheat from the chafe, so to speak. As the range is increased, the target will have less detail and appear softer and much dimmer to the human eye. Unfortunately, most of my night shots have to be at longer range since I have little mobility, and 150-175 yards is where most of them take place. That's why the smallest of dots and of the dimmest of illumination work best.

Some scopes with terrific glass are hindered by illumination that doesn't adjust low enough. Meopta really dropped the ball on this. Their R1 3-12x56 is a great value for the moonlight hunter, but -- especially considering the surface area that the dot covers -- the illumination is a bit too bright overall in soft moonlight and adversely affects one's vision. I was tickled when I heard they'd be offering an extra step with the R2, but to my dismay, it was to add a brighter setting and not a dimmer one. I can understand that thinking on a scope intended solely for daylight usage, but who uses one with a 56mm strictly for daylight when something much smaller/lighter would suffice?

The Minox ZX5i also has exceptional glass but suffers much the same situation as Meopta. It can be "fixed" somewhat by adjusting to a darker curve, something folks who don't thoroughly read the instruction manual will not be aware of. But even with that adjustment, it still needs to be a bit dimmer. But again, for ranges inside of 75 yards or so, they work OK. It's beyond that distance when too much brightness is problematic.

The absolute best for me in this regard has been the Leica ERi 3-12x50. While the dot is slightly bigger than I'd prefer, it adjusts so low that the dot size isn't an issue. Second would the the Kahles CSX followed by the Victory HT/#60. The Zeiss dot subtends the least and offers a very precise aiming point, but the illumination is quite intense. Ten to 15 percent dimmer would be absolutely perfect, but I must admit that it does work fine as-is. That's just me being picky ha ha.

Schmidt & Bender has addressed this with their Polar line. They went to a much smaller dot than previously used in the Klassik, Zenith and Stratos series and seem to have dropped the intensity of the lowest setting slightly, though there is no feasible way for me to measure that (I simply have to go by what is perceived by my vision).. Coupled with the best transmission out there, it is currently the cream of the crop for night-time hunting. No, it's not perfect, but it is close. My primary issue with the Polar is that the center wires of the D7 reticle are truly fine and do blend in very late in the day when looking at a dark target, making the illumination feature necessary. A bolder design would make it even more appealing. In the Stratos, the issue is much the same, but the Stratos offers somewhat higher contrast and richer saturation, negating that a bit. But in scope design, it's all about compromise, and to reach the 96 percent transmission, sacrifices had to be made.

Do you have a compilation of those test results anywhere?

I know I'll be anxiously awaiting your announcement!

I agree with JGRaider re VX6 having slightly better optics than Z3. I hav a 2-12x42 and a Z3 3-10x42. My friend has a Z3 4-12x50. We agree that in poor light the VX6 is slightly better.

PaulBarnard,

I believe the complete tests (or as complete as they were at the time) appeared in RIFLE LOONY NEWS. Would have to check on that to make sure. I came up with the rating system so I wouldn't have to compare scopes side-by-side to get an idea of the optical quality. Instead I'd have a record of how individual scopes did in the same test.

Arac,

In my chart-test, both a 1-6x and 2-12x VX-6 rated 8, while a pair of 3-9x Swarovski Z3's rated 7.

A 7 is still noticeably above average for today's multi-coated scopes, but 8 is tops.

Thank you, looking forward to some great stuff.

We've taken quite a few requests for one, so its certainly on the table. There are a few more holes in our line up that will be filled sooner though.

Thanks!

Add me to the 6x request list!

Me three for a 6x42'ish scope

Paul,

The list of scope brightness test results is in a chapter of my book MODERN HUNTING OPTICS, published in 2014. There have been a few more tests since then, including the Tract Toric, but otherwise the list's pretty complete, and the chapter explains both the test methodology and the stuff that can affect image brightness.

The Toric in a 6x42 with no AO would be great. A little lighter, a little brighter, and a little more reliable. If the 2-10x42 holds up and the 6x42 is cut from the same cloth I'm in for several.

Why bother with an adjustable objective. Very few shooters want them anymore, instead preferring a side-adjustment knob--but the present Euro-style quick-focus ring on the back of the Tract ocular bells would provide sufficient parallax precision for a 6x scope.

As for the market for a 6x scope, a recent survey of western big game hunters found that 6x scopes rank only slightly behind 3-9x/3-10x scopes as an overall choice--even for "long range" hunters. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, in modern scopes with larger eyepieces, field-of-view isn't a problem for 6x scopes even at very close ranges. Second, using a fixed-power scope bypasses all the problems of reticle size, whether first or second focal-plane.

Personally, if Tract offered 6x's that work as well as the 3-15x I've been testing, I'd put 'em on several rifles.