Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Anybody built a Twilight in a Swamp Rifle?

I’ve got several set up just for such use....but I’d recommend staying away from red dots and scout setups for low light use. Neither does well for hunting your stated scenario....they’ll go dark before your naked eye does, most likely. I’ve used 2-7 and 3-9 VX-Rs, 1-4 Trijicon, illuminated full field E1, Leupold 1-4 w/German #1, 6x42s, 56mm stuff, etc.

A few thoughts: I have not found the 6 plus power, large objective to be any advantage in low light <150yd, woods/swamp hunting. Fields, cut overs? Sure. Good glass and 5+ exit pupil and 3-6x is more than enough. Much more than 4x fades out limbs and vines in between (for me), and your holes turn out to not be holes. Some illum and tritium isn’t dim enough, and hurts rather than helps, sometimes. Heavier bullets that penetrate in a worse case scenario (limb, bad angle, etc) don’t hurt. Before anyone misconstrues: not talking about ‘brush busting’, but I’ve nipped a limb or vine I didn’t see on occasion, and still hit the deer. Penetration and two holes help there, and a lighter bullet doesn’t likely have the ass of the heavier bullet once deformed any. Can’t ‘know’ any of that. Just what I’ve seen. I often use a 357 max with 180-200gr SP or WFNGC cast lead, in a 16” encore with a 2-7 Terra or 1-4 VX2 w/G1....heavy reticles seem to do just as good or better than illum. Maneuverability for awkward positions to shoot through a hole is often a thing. I do the same thing with other, smaller bores just fine most times, but there’s some variables once it starts gloaming in the timber. No ‘expertise’. Just experiences.

In Tennessee we can shoot until 30 minutes after sundown but lights and NV not legal.

And I'm not talking about shooting deer in a field at last legal right in your state; rather a rig for deep woods on overcast afternoons until at least sundown.

Seems a lot darker in the Swamp than it used to be even 10 years ago, so my age is probably a factor. I've let several bucks walk in the past few years when it got way to dark and blurry to take an ethical shot.

Oh yeah, shots less than 100 yards.

Wondering if any of y'all had put together a rig for those conditions and how it worked.

My thinking is get a European 8x56 and put it on a bigger-than-.30-caliber with Barnes-type bullets to ensure two large holes to bleed from if high shoulder shot isn't possible. Thinking .358 or .45-70 at this point.

Thoughts, photos or anecdotes appreciated.

.... I really want Nightforce to start making their fixed 4.5 with an illuminated Forceplex reticle.

Whiskey, I have a different opinion. 90% of what I hunt is deep hardwoods where it can almost block out the sun. So low light for me needs to be #1. I picked up the new Meopta Optika 6 in 3-18x56 with #4 illumination and I can say that the illuminated dot is fantastic. The lowest setting is so low that is is visible in low light but doesn't overpower your pupil to create blindness. The highest setting is daylight bright but that's not what I wanted it for. I need the low light of the 56mm and illumination. There was a non-shooter 6 pt eating acorns approx 50 yards away. It go so late that I could see the deer clear as day through the optic, however I couldn't see it with the naked eye. I decided to turn on the illumination on lowest setting to see how it would do. I continued to watch that deer following it with the red dot for a while until my son was wondering if I was ok because I didn't return to my Ranger just yet. The only thing I didn't do is look at my watch to see how long past legal shooting (here in Louisiana) it was. But I can tell, I continues to wath that deer until I got off stand. Some illumination dots are too big and too bright thus over power the reticle and your eyes and basically make the useless. I think the meopta optic I have hit it out the park. Plus the 18x gives me the option to hunt my newphews place where shots can be 300-400 plus.