Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics brightest hunting scope for old eyes

recommendations please:

listed in order of priority:
30mm
reliable
no more than a 42mm objective
BRIGHT (62 year old eyes) glass with a reticle optimized for hunting in low light
set and forget
under $500

thanks

Why is a 30mm tube the number one priority? The brightest scopes under $500 are going to be one inch tubes, almost without exception.

Meopta Meopros and Vortex Razor LH are the first two that come to mind, but they are 1" tubes.

Second on the Meopros. That is the best lowlight scope I have.

These two criterion don't really correlate with each other. 30mm only makes sense if you need additional travel or a bigger tube to fit electronics.



42 mm is not the "best" to get the "brightest" image unless you stay with lower magnifications.

However, within your wants;

We just went through this with some older folks on our lease. One saw a world of difference with the old Zeiss conquests..

The other just had issues this year and looking through a 40 year old 36 mm L, and a conquest and a Divari and a whatever my newest Zeiss something 5, he could tell NO difference to his eyes.

All I can say is the best you might do is hope to find others with similar better scopes and see if you could borrow them to look in the woods at dark etc.....might be the only way to know and there may be no difference to your eyes at this point.

Leupold vx5hd 2-10 power, if you're willing to spend 6-700 bucks.
If not, then go 1 inch tube and get a meopta meopro.

I`ve two Vortexs Diammon backs 3x9x40, 1 inch tubes. Excellent light gathering power, and an excellent FOV IMHO. I hunt in the woods, don`t like to "hunt" for what I`m going to shoot at, FOV is important for me.
But think Rost hit the nail...look through a variety of glass if you can, pick the best for you.

Meopro with good heavy reticle or Zeiss conquest.

We've got the Meopta Meopro 4.5-14x44's on sale for $449.99. There's no better scope that that price point (It is a 1" tube though)

Myself if price was not a factor i want a Nightforce scope on all my rifles ,on my main hunting rifles they all have Nightforce scopes including my truck rifle Ruger #1 220 swift for coyotes has a Nightforce scope.

First time I've ever heard that. I like Nightofrce as much as th next guy but if price wasn't a factor, I could do better....especially on a hunting rig.

good for you ! when i go to 1000 yard benchrest matches and 600 yard FTR matches 90 % or better of the scopes are always Nightforce scopes so i would think that would give most good game rifle hunters a reason to use this scope ,if they can afford this great scope ?

They shoot bench rest near dark?

This, at least the VX-5 HD part. I thought the wide-ish duplex wouldn't show up well in dim light. I was wrong. You'll have to pony up $100 over your budget cap though. Never tried the Meoptas, but I'm open to suggestion.

Meopta 3-9x50, 3.5-10x44 or 3-9x42 all with #4 reticle.

1000 and 600 yards in lowlight?

[quote=Dogger]recommendations please:

listed in order of priority:
30mm
reliable
no more than a 42mm objective
BRIGHT (62 year old eyes) glass with a reticle optimized for hunting in low light.
set and forget
under $500

Leupold VX-3i 3.5-10X40. It's not a 30mm tube but it is one fine scope. The main thing a 30mm tube will give you is a little more adjustment. However, if you want to stay under $500 you're going to be hard pressed finding a Good scope with a 30mm tube for that price. I'm 71 and the VX-3i works for my old eyes. Bright and Clear and rock solid and if you're brave enough to buy off Ebay, you can have one for $300-$330. I don't recommend buying one off an auction because sometimes they seem just too good to be true and sometimes they are too good to be true. I'd get one that's advertised NIB and labled Buy Right Now. I've had one spell of bad luck with Ebay and that was with an auction. But they made it good and gave me my money back. The scope on the auction was advertised as a VX-3i 3.5-10X40. But when I received it, it was a VARI X III that was made in 1981. Back in '81 coated lenses were in their infancy. They have improved 10 fold since. Those old scopes were great in their day, but newer technology makes them nearly obsolete. Heck, for $292 I could have had at least a VX-2 or a 50mm objective VX-1. And the optics on the new VX-1s are better than a 37 year old Vari X III. Anyway, I had my money back within a week and bought a new VX-3i from a store on Ebay out right.

However, I did do great on one auction. I bought another NIB VX-3i 3.5-10X40 for $265. If you buy a Leupold off Ebay, whether from an auction or outright from a store, call Leupold Customer Service and have them run your serial number to make sure Leupold made it (not a Chinese imposter) and the warranty is still valid. If not, report it to Ebay and return it to the seller per Ebay's return policy and get your money back.

If you qualify for the Leupold VIP Program you get a pretty nice discount off their scopes. That would put the VX-5HD mentioned just a hair over your price range.

What do you have to do to qualify for the Leupold VIP Program? I own 7 of their scopes.

Absolutely beautiful glass in that Leupold. I cannot speak for the Meopta....yet. I keep hearing about them, though.

>>yes its another reason to buy a Nightforce scope ,think about it ?
" i own at least 20 leupold scopes all are good scopes but are not as good a scope as a Nightforce scope and i own 8 Nightforce scopes."

I don't know why I didn't mention the Leupold VX-R line of scopes, not up to the higher end stuff,
buy can come in under your price cap with a 30mm tube and has pretty good glass. And you don't
have to use the illumination if you don't want.

This because seeing the target is not the challenge. Seeing the reticle is. The illumination is a difference maker. If not going with illumination, go with the meopta metoprolol or conquest as others have said.

Consider discontinuing your viagra if you go with the meopta metoprolol. Seeing the reticle is always trickier when hypotensive.

600-1000 yards in lowlight??????

Provincial, pontificating pete - yet another thread where your ruminations have zero relevance. The OP in this case clearly defined a $500 budget - you and hanco related, per chance?


Dogger, like others above, I'm also curious about the want for the 30mm tube.
For my eyes, the Meopta, Conquest and VX3i in same/similar configurations are all pretty much the same in clarity and "brightness".
What will likely stand out more to you more in waning light is the etched reticle in the Meopta and Conquest.

In the durability/reliability department, depending on who you're talking to you'll get conflicting reports - it's all a crapshoot, really.

Dogger,
Give you older eyes a chance to look through a Leupold Vx3i scope in a 1” tubes. You may be surprised how much light they gather.
A Vx3i 4.5-14x40 scope should be in the $465 dollar range. 😎

I think this hits all your points

Burris Four X 3-12x56mm - 4 Illuminated on sale for only $299.99

42/7=6x.The classic answer then is an alpha 1.5-6x. Your budget doesn't really fit that, though. There's the Burris MTAC, but I haven't tested it to know if it'll do.

You may find as you get older that a more upright head position gives clearer vision; particularly with glasses. A medium mount can often handle a larger objective. That opens some possibilities for closeout priced scopes which have larger than 42mm objectives.

OP here, thanks for the many replies. all my current scopes are 1" tubes. most high end scope i have is a 3-9x40 Conquest. on my last several hunts the deer have only appeared at dusk in the treeline... the last time i was hunting with a Leupold Vari-X II where i lost the thin crosshair. I am going to need the illumination. 30mm because those are the rings i bought for the new 300 H&H Browning X-Bolt (I know, tail wagging the dog). I want to step into 30mm tubes and this will be the first one. Will take a look at those recommendations. I really want to stay under $500, but would stretch it to $600 if need be.

If a Conquest isn't bright enough for you, you're going to have problems at your price point, especially asking for a 30mm tube.

I honestly can't think of a scope that ticks all of your boxes. Of the scopes I've owned, the 3-10x50 Artemis with No 1 reticle comes closest, but is a 50mm obj. It was crazy bright but big and heavy. The SWFA 3-9x42 is actually a little brighter than my Conquests but doesn't quite match the Z3. It has turrets which may not fit into your "set and forget" qualifier. It can be had for under $500 a couple of times a year.

I think you'll have to settle for a lesser optic with illumination if you're rigid on the 30mm tube.

Dog’r a lot of us know what you’re seeing at last shooting light where a deer or elk is hung up on the inside edge of timber waiting to take that couple of steps you need to grab some light in your glass to determine if it’s legal fur and seeing your crosshairs enough to place a good hit on it.

Since you’re willing to stretch a few more dollars into getting what you think will work for you...The simple answer is, just call Doug. Let him put you onto a scope. $100 dollars over your budget may translate to you punching out a triangle on your tag. 😎

Hey Dude, I'm giving you what I feel is very sound advice. A 30mm Tube is a very specialized entity. You will probably never realize any practical use for it. For hunting and even amateur target shooting, as most of us do, it is purely market hype and a place to sink money into. For people like us it's a useless way to waste money. It gives you a few extra clicks of adjustment and if you set things up right you probably won't need that. A good, clear, bright scope outweighs all that BS. The more money you can save without penalizing yourself the more you will have to put toward good use. i've got a VX-3L (the older version of the VX-3 with the space cut out to fit over the barrel of the gun to keep your line of sight low) 4.5-14X56 that has a 30mm tube and that's the only feature of that scope that doesn't contribute anything to my shooting success. In fact it hinders me from the standpoint of not being easy to find stuff for. 1"Diameter scopes give people like us all we need and everything about a 1" Scope is just a little cheaper. Market hype is the scourge of the Universe. Marketers make some things sound so useful and necessary when they don't do crap for you but cost you more money.

I have a bunch of Leupold VX3i 4.5 x 14’s. I have 30mm tubes, 1” tubes. I have 40mm and 50 mm lenses. I can see way before and after legal shooting hours with them. I have several 3.5 x10’s also. I like them too. All of mine are CDS models.

i started mounting the rings... i have a football field of distance between the front ring and the rear iron sight... a bell larger than 40 or 42 is not going to be an issue, unless the scope was as long as my arm

did some dark at dusk evaluations with three scopes last night: Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40, first generation Vortex Viper 3-9x40, and VX1 2-7x33... picking out various clumps of grass in a woodsy draw. the VX1 was only slightly behind the other two in light gathering (evaluated at 6X and 5X) which is to be expected. Could not tell a difference between the Conquest and the Vortex. no issues with finding the crosshairs beyond legal light, but i can only believe that an illuminated reticle will make an ethical shot much faster than otherwise. i am thinking i can push close to a 50mm objective and still not have an issue mounting the scope in the low Talley rings...

My suggestion would be a call to Doug about the Burris 4x 1.5-6x42...

2.5x16x42 bushnell 6500. I have bought 2 of these on ebay used but like new for less than 400.00 each. just picked up a 6500 4.5x30x50 for 550.00

This is probably your deal on a 42mm.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Leupold-VX-R-Patrol-3-9x40mm-30mm-FireDot-Tactical-Milling-Riflescope-113771/142730886550?epid=19028318246&hash=item213b6c7d96%3Ag%3AEucAAMXQQtNR1CzA&LH_ItemCondition=1000

Call Doug and get a price on a Meopta Meopro 3.5x10x44RD. It has an illuminated dot in the Reticle (#4 is my favorite). weighs 17 ounces, solid adjustments, 44 mm Obj and very good glass. You won't be sorry. RJ

Don't forget the used market. If you can find a Tasco Titan it is a great scope

I am the same age as you with aging eyes, and I found the VXR 30mm 3-9x40 with either the duplex firedot (heavier reticle and a bit wider than the standard Leupold) or the same scope with a ballistic firedot (has a circle x) works real well for me. I have not yet used the firedot in a hunting situation, but it is nice to have just in case. The 4-12x50 in the VXR line might be better for you, where I hunt I do not need the extra magnification.

i plan to put eyes and hands on VX-R 3-9x40 balllstic firedot and 4-12x50 duplex firedot as soon as i find someone local who has them

the ballistic firedots seem to be much lower inventory

I have used Leupold entry level scopes for years such as the Rifleman, and VX-1. I don't consider the VX-2 to be lower level. They have good usable Light Transmission and click adjustments. I have a VX-2 with an adjustable Objective lens for parallax. It's on my favorite hunting rifle. I bought several VX-3is and could have put one on that rifle but didn't. The VX-2 is all I need. However, if your eyes are getting weak through age, you might look at a VX-3i in 3.5-10x40. They are extra clear and don't cost a kings ransom.

Opps! I already gave a speech like this on this thread. Getting old sucks sometimes. Your memory ain't what it used to be. I thought I was on another thread. Oh well, repetition makes for perfect, LOL!

Trijicon Accuupower or VX-R would be something to look at.

Rats, I see that the VX-3L 4.5-14x50mm with illuminated B&C is no longer made...

Leupold sure discontinues a lot of scopes... looking at their website for illuminated B&C and most are things of the past

I'm 66 with baby cataracts and glaucoma may be knocking at the door. I purchased a Meopta meostar 3-10X50 with a #4 reticle. The scope would be nice for bracketing deer in low light but I like a thicker center reticle. I did take a nice 8pt with the scope in good light. I've found that for me, I like scopes with thicker reticles. Most deer I take are within 100 yards and need to be shot fast. Thicker reticles are also better if you wear bifocals when you hunt or need to make a off hand shot quickly. I compared the Meostar 3-10X50 to its replacement, the Nightforce 3-10X42 forceplex, in low light. My eyes could not tell the difference in brightness. The thicker center reticle of the Nightforce could be seen sooner than the Meostar center, even without turning on illumination. I bought the Nightforce for my Fieldcraft, however you certainly don't need to spend that much for a scope for low light. My meat getting muzzle loader wears a 10 year old, $175.00 Bushnell. I would call Doug at cameraland.

Also wanting a scope with an illuminated reticle, I bought a Vortex Viper. I liked the scope, but the illumination, even at the lowest setting, was far too bright in dim light circumstances. I replaced it with a Leupold VX5 HD 3-15 with the firedot, and I believe I now have the scope I needed. The firedot can be adjusted to be bright or to be so dim you can barely see it. Now I’ll be able to put the dot on a black hog in dim light.

Winter is getting long here with a layer of ice under the snow....the dog won't even go in the woods and the deer are using the driveway more than their normal runways. So, been comparing reticles and dots for a couple weeks at an hour past sunset.

fwiw...

Getting a 30mm tube with a 42mm objective kinda limits choices and prices, doesn't it?

As been said before the reticle showing up is more important than a scope's light transmission figures--with today's scopes certainly where mid-range stuff is very good. Optics' ability to show contrast betwixt a critter and the background can do more for a guy than a higher transmission figure. Had a couple alpha type binos with large objectives and equal power to compare last year for some time. Interestingly post sunset, the one with better contrast outperformed the other in terms of resolving detail, in spite of its 5% light transmission disadvantage.

Like said above, also prefer a heavier cross-hair to having to bracket due to a fine cross-hair fading out in the right conditions. But that did account for my best whitetail to date using a 4 type reticle with a fairly narrow center. As far as I know Leupold has the heaviest cross-hair in the HD--which I believe subtends more the the older Euro FFP scopes dialed up to max. Number one type reticles always show up.

Considering a 500 dollar cost...illumination will do one thing for a guy--show the crosshair or aiming point. That is just peachy provided the light source can be dialed down enough for low light use and the subtension is small enough. Small dots improve precision when things get a little fuzzy, no doubt...but they ain't cheap.

Otherwise what exactly does illumination do for you, particularly on a budget? No manufacturer has put illumination in their binoculars...yet....:) And at least for me the great unknown mystery ahead is how much the illumination unit is going to cost for a repair? Half the cost of the scope? The warranties on the illumination portion of the scopes that I have paid attention to are pitifully short. Last night the one that caught my eye was 2 years on the illumination and 25 years on the scope. Longevity appears to be grim.

yeah, i took some measurements and i can mount a 30mm scope with an objective of 50mm without issue, i am very certain.
the Leupie VXR 4-12x50 with ballistic firedot is discontinued. ditto the 3-9x50

i shot myself in the @$$ buying 30mm rings. lol

the only thing i have found that hits my original spec is a Leupold VXR 3-9x40 with ballistic firedot for $499 at Bear Basin

There is 2 VXR 3-9x50 in the classifieds right now...

i am just going to have to bump the budget to $999

Good, you can buy my Swaro Z5 3-18 for $999

lol, i am back to square one on the search.
very bright
set and forget
reticle useful for precise shot at limits of shooting light (range won't exceed 200m)
30mm
no more than a 52mm objective

Yeah dude, 30mm rings is one of those things people like us see and think we gotta have it. But realistically 30 MM is a specialty thing. I have one and the amount of additional light it transfers is minimal in my opinion. It's certainly not worth the extra money and pain. Then I guess you can run into other problems with it fitting right or like was mentioned, disrupt cartridge ejection. Don't get me wrong, 30mm and even larger tubes have their place. They give you more clicks of adjustment, which you might need for shooting 1000 yards or more. But for what you described you can get all you need out of a 1 inch tube without the additional pain. I mean I love my scope with the 30mm tube, but if it's more clear than my 1" scopes it's because it has a 56MM Objective lens.

Hey Dogger I see all those you're looking for on Ebay and the various places on the net, Optics Planet, even Midway. I've had good luck buying online with only one occasion being the exception. I bought what was advertised as a VX-3i 3.5-10X40 off an Ebay auction, but when I received it, it was a VARY X III which was 37 years old. I mean it looked to be in excellent shape for that old but in 1981 coated lenses were in their infancy. I could have bought a brand new VX-1 4-12X40 cheaper and it would have superior optics. But they gave me my money back with no problem and I turned around and bought a VX-3i 3.5-10X40, the scope I had originally wanted, in the same breath that was as advertised and NIB for $27 more. With Ebay, in my opinion, it's not a big risk. I no longer do the auctions but I buy directly from a store who sells off Ebay. You will probably pay $20-$30 more but it will be NIB with full lifetime warranty and at least $50-$100 cheaper than Optic's Planet or Midway.

Dogger I have 55 year old eyes. I have an IOR 6+42 30mm scope on my moose and elk gun. Not sure if you require a variable scope or not. It is very bright, clear and the duplex reticle is very heavy which I like. Excellent in low light. SWFA has them for $600. Cheers.