Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics How important is alpha scope glass for your hunts ?

That's an interesting question. Glass that some folks find horrible often seems pretty good to me at first blush. I sometimes compare my $500 scopes to my $200 scopes and can't tell a difference. I have also compared much more expensive glass in stores to less expensive glass and can't discern a difference. At 58 my eyesight is about the only thing that hasn't failed me. I still don't need any kind of glasses. The only time I can tell a difference is in very low light or in protracted shooting sessions. My better scopes don't seem to induce eye strain or fatigue after sitting at the bench for a few hours.

I've killed the most while looking through a Leupold Vari-x II 1-4X20 and a Weaver K-2.5 but have taken them with several others from Leupold, Weaver, Bausch&Lomb, Bushnell, Nikon, Tasco and probably some I don't recall.

Is that why we pay a little extra for better glass Paul? All the rest is blister pack Bushnell capable.

What kind of glass you think you need probably depends a lot on where you hunt, how you hunt and what the hunting regulations are. For instance you aren't going to shoot any in the dark here legally as hunting hours are sunrise to sunset.

Not 30 minutes before and after?

Not in NY. Weird huh. I’ve always thought that’s odd myself.

If I was limited that way then several of my hunting scopes would be smaller. Where I am there's a big difference in that 30 minutes.

Is the private a buddies, or high dollar ground?

Buck pics?

I see it somewhat similar to what you paid for the rifle.When that 150gr bullet blows through his lungs,it doesn’t matter if it came from a Sako,or a Mossberg.Or whether you were looking through a Tasco,or a S&B.But I will admit,as I grow older and my eyesight wanes,I appreciate better glass…

Alpha glass....What is it, and who decides what constitutes it ?

Aside from the marketing, hype, and dollar amount. The one constant variable is the individuals eyes.

For every hunter saying this is awesome glass, there is another hunter saying he was looking through a dirty beer mug. Optics have a small margin of middle ground with some people.

To put alpha glass into a proper perspective, it would need to provide enough light gathering and clarity to allow seeing what others, using different glass, wouldn’t be able to distinguish at the same time and distance....Thus, an advantage over another hunter in a competitive hunting environment.

🦫

I haven't shot a buck since 2012, and any pics from those days or before lurk in someone else's files. I have been shooting does and pigs since then and I'm not a camera bug for those.

My comment about the 30 minutes isn't about selling 56mm Euro scopes either. It's about me probably having more trim 1.5-5x20 format scopes than the 6x42 and 3.5-10x40 ones I mostly use.

Love ya man....1920 tonight...

SLM, it could be either...A guy could be hunting with a pard, on private land, and have a friendly “Who kills the best animal, wins rights to make fun of the other forever.

Or, a big money, private land hunt, where seeing the eyelashes may help a hunter decide whether to take the shot or pass, even over the encouragement of the guide saying.....That’s a shooter !

🦫

I hate carrying binos due to the weight and it being just one more thing to break, or forget.

As such, I scan and spot critters with my scope. The bigger the X and clearer it is, the better. I get bummed when my "deer" accidentally turns into a person when I finally get a good sight picture. Better glass gets me there, faster.

I have the right to make fun of friends forever regardless, so I can’t see alpha optics helping any there.

When I’m field judging, eyelashes always play a big role in whether I pull the trigger or not.

You ever seen a mount with short eyelashes? They’re hideous.

Ya, I wish our wardens didn’t wear black and grey.

One sitting down looks a lot like a bear. The last one got a little snippy with me.

I hunt deep hardwoods that are thick and block out the sun. Here in louisiana we have legal shooting times. In my property, you can hardly see approximately 30 before sunset and legal is 30 min after sunset. I've tried all kinds of optics and after talking to those in the know on this site, I picked up a SB polar. Definately alpha glass and wow, what a difference. I can know sit pass legal time without a problem. So in certain cases, like mine, the alpha glass was definately a plus.

Do you see game wardens with any regularity out there ? In 45 years of hunting I've seen a warden exactly twice here. Both times they were in their car waiting next to my truck for me to come out of the woods at dark. Been checked by a warden once while fishing within view of the road too but have never once seen one out in the field/woods.

Beav’, I think it also depends on where you’re hunting.

In state, local, a guy can get by with marginal optics. If he/she is on an out of state hunt, alpha optics are a must.

If you’re local and blow an opportunity at an animal of a life time, all is good, but if it’s an out of state hunt, purgatory.