Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Undisputed Lowlight Champion?

I know this topic and discussion has been thoroughly covered and at times worn out. But I need some help. The short of it is I need opinions based on experience on the absolute best glass for low light field hunting in the south. Whitetail, hogs and coyotes.

On an extremely overcast evening a couple weeks ago I was unable to identify what buck I was looking at through my scope about three minutes before legal shooting light ended. I have three good bucks on Camera and only one that I wanted to shoot this year. The others need one more year. Hunting a food plot field I could not distinguish what buck I was looking at and the edge of the woods 200 yards away.

I have $1300 set aside for glass on a new rifle I am having built. But I would be willing to save a little more over the course of the spring if it would make a huge difference. I currently have a VX5 3-15x44 with a firedot and have been pleased with it and still am, but that was the scope I was looking through on the evening I couldn’t make out the buck. I’m trying to figure out what route to go to give me the absolute best low light performance. That is probably the biggest priority for me as a southern Whitetail hunter looking at fields and powerlines. I elk hunt once a year but that is typically an archery hunt. I have a solid set up for elk hunting with a rifle so the scope I am shopping for right now is a dedicated low light field hunting scope. I’m fine with large objectives and like the idea of twisting turrets out to 600 yards for practice.

I’ve been reading about Z6, V6, and and some of the offerings from S&B, Tract and Leica. willing to put up extra money to go in this type of direction if it’s worth it and I get an extra 10 minutes.

Sorry for the long epistle but hoping someone can steer me in the right direction. Thanks

S&B Polar or PMll are as good as it gets.

It may just be your eyes, so what works for someone else may not work for you. It may also be that no scope would have done the job in those circumstances.

It’s true I had to go to Reeder‘s this year. The big 5O caught up with me! Just hoping I might get a few more minutes on these aging eyes when I’m sitting on those big fields.

A friend of mine swears by a Swarovski he bought a few years ago. Claims it can see in the dark better than he ever imagined. Not sure of the model. It cost close to $2K.

The Polar is the king in low light and price.

BobbyTomek knows about as much as anyone here I believe. You could PM him and ask his opinion.

I have a Trijicon Credo HX 2.5-10x56 on a .223, but haven’t had it out except to dial it in. Works in the yard! But it’s a SFP and capped, so not ideal for dialing. They have other models that would be better for that I suspect. You need enough power for good definition, but not so much that you end up with too small an exit pupil, even with a 56mm objective.

Schmidt and Bender

My experience... S&B Polar

Unless someone else has come out with something better it is the best in lowlight. The OP might want to get a quality pair of 10x56 or 8x56 binos as well, they are more important then the scope actually.

Nailed it!!!

I don't think there is any one "champ" because of differences in individual perception. But you can do the pupil diameter math to narrow the field down.

The best in low light that I've experienced was a S&B 1.5-6x42 Zenith, I suspect the Polar at 50mm+ would be even more of a good thing.

Exit pupil is the same with a comparable scope (comparing same power setting and objective diameter) whether crap glass or really good glass. Resolution is the key to high quality glass.

Good point on the binos, Oldelkhunter. I definitely may be limited on my bino setup. I currently have 8x42’s.

My VX5 3-15X56 lasted six minutes longer than my Swarovski z5 5-25X52 on deer antlers 131 yards away.

Of course.

But comparing something like a Swaro to Nightforce is going to boil down to perception, just like comparing illuminated to non-illuminated.

I have 4 PMll's that are extremely good in low light. I can't say they or better or not but they are not lacking.
They work well way past legal shooting light

Thanks. Will check with Bobby

Bobby likes the S&B Polar I'm not sure if he's tried a PMll or not