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There are a lot of 40-44mm objective scopes out there as well as 50mm objective scopes. For low light hunting and shooting do the 50mm and above scopes really help that much with light transmission? There are some nice 56mm scopes out there also. Do they help that much more then the 40-44mm?

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Heres the simple run down. If you are over 40 your pupil can only dilate to 5mm. Take the diameter of your objective in mm and divide by the power you are using. ( i.e. 40mm divided by 10 power= a 4mm exit pupil) The exit pupil is the amount of light transmitted to your eye.. Do the math on the scopes you are considering for your answer.
The ideal is thought to be 7mm exit pupil+ simply because it gives you a margin of error for poor placement of your eye...


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Quality of glass and coatings matters as well.

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So let’s look at the Trijicon 2-10x56mm. If I’m using only the 2 power divide 56 by 2? 28mm exit pupil?

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If you're willing to out up with the physical requirements of the big objective scope it will allow you to stuff more magnification into a given exit pupil.

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Yep, most of which is wasted not getting past the aperture in the front of your eye

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Ok then. So just stick with 40-44mm objectives and low magnification

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OTOH, too small an objective will make some of those Xs unusable in bad light. I don’t have big ones on all my rifles, but having one can be handy at times. The 2.5-10 Trijicon Huron HX I just mounted on my new Carbon Mini was an anvil on a Hawkeye, but it sits very low on the Mini with the rail and only brings the total weight up to 7lbs on the nose.


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If you don't mind the size of the scope you can get 10x in a 5.6mm exit pupil. Magnification can make things appear brighter too.

I simply don't favor big old scopes on top of the rifles for my particular hunting purposes.

I like a 6x42 scope or a modest size variable which adjusts to that combination.

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Well... a larger objective will also have greater resolving power. Showing finer detail of what is magnified.

I like using a low power and small objective on some rifles because of the incredibly wide field of view, that actually is primarily attributed to the short focal length, which generally affords fast target acquisition at short range.

Last edited by DollarShort; 11/20/22.
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At 49 my eyes aren’t what they used to be. So alpha 50mm glass has become my go to. Most of my hunting is from a big ladder or box blind.

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Objective size and magnification go hand in hand. If you divide the objective size in millimeters by the magnification, the number you get is he diameter of the light beam coming out the back of the scope. Known as the "Exit Pupil". You want a minimum of 5 for low light. But for most people anything much over 5 is wasted. Certainly, no more than 6 or 7.

A scope with a 50mm objective set on 10X, a 40mm scope on 8X and a 20mm scope set on 4X all allow the same amount of light through them.


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Unless there is a gross superiority of one scope over the other I'm not too worried about resolution. When there's hair under my reticle I'm aiming, not examining or birdwatching.

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I have espoused upon this several times... 56mm objectives and 30+mm tubes will absolutely gather more light. I have taken them out side by side and used them both. The smaller objectives will get most of the job done... we can LEGALLY deer hunt here for an HOUR after sunset. I have been using 56mm scopes here for 40+ years because the flat out work in the dark. I certainly wish the cheaper and smaller ones worked but they really don't.

There is a reason that so many people here and in Europe use the larger objectives - they flat work. In Europe, you can actually hunt at "night" in some places...


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Tubes don't gather light.

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If you're sitting where I am the biggest Schmidt and Bender won't do you any good an hour past sunset.

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Originally Posted by Sasha_and_Abby
I have espoused upon this several times... 56mm objectives and 30+mm tubes will absolutely gather more light. I have taken them out side by side and used them both. The smaller objectives will get most of the job done... we can LEGALLY deer hunt here for an HOUR after sunset. I have been using 56mm scopes here for 40+ years because the flat out work in the dark. I certainly wish the cheaper and smaller ones worked but they really don't.

There is a reason that so many people here and in Europe use the larger objectives - they flat work. In Europe, you can actually hunt at "night" in some places...
Originally Posted by Sasha_and_Abby
I have espoused upon this several times... 56mm objectives and 30+mm tubes will absolutely gather more light. I have taken them out side by side and used them both. The smaller objectives will get most of the job done... we can LEGALLY deer hunt here for an HOUR after sunset. I have been using 56mm scopes here for 40+ years because the flat out work in the dark. I certainly wish the cheaper and smaller ones worked but they really don't.

There is a reason that so many people here and in Europe use the larger objectives - they flat work. In Europe, you can actually hunt at "night" in some places...


Thanks

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I used to turn my nose up at any objective over 40-44 mm . At 40+ years old now, 50mm and up look great. Although the difference in a 36 and 50mm is small to my eyes looking through the scopes ,it’s still a noticeable difference . I had a 36mm and 50mm scope in the blind last week.


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The 30mm tube does offer the potential for a larger field stop, which given equal focal length would offer a wider field of view. Normally at the cost of added size and weight, and potentially making top loaders more difficult to load.

Last edited by DollarShort; 11/20/22.
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Originally Posted by mathman
If you're sitting where I am the biggest Schmidt and Bender won't do you any good an hour past sunset.

What kind of hunting environment?

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