Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics 2.5x Leupold bright enough?

Baited bear hunt coming up. Am anticipating a shot at around 60 - 120 yards, likely towards dusk.

Is the 2.5x Leupold I've got in QD rings on my 45-70 Marlin going to be bright enough?

Or should I swap on something else? I like the little 2.5x Leupold on that rifle, but... Wondering if it's enough for this hunt. I've got a good ol' 6x Leupold with the 36mm objective and also another with the 42mm objective that I could just use instead. Thoughts?



Thanks, Guy

I have a similar scope and have had others that were similar. The 42mm will get you several more minutes of shooting time.

Place a dark target outside and when dusk comes you can compare and see what you think for yourself....

Second thought is how far into dusk are you willing to go to be shooting a Bear......

What Paul said.
I have that particular Leupold and have shot more game using it than any other scope. Mine has the heavy crosshairs and is mounted on my 20ga TC Turkey Taker. It diminishes what I can see to shoot during those sunrise minutes. I don't shoot the young Jakes and by the time that I can distinguish the difference between a Jake and a senior Tom the scope gives a good enough sight picture to shoot. The 42mm will give you a few more minutes, but it gives me very few.

Compare the 6x to your 2.5x. IME I lose the reticle before the image.

Basic mechanical Light gathering ability is determined by the exit pupil of the scope, the shaft of light that goes from the eyepiece to your eye. the magnification divided into the objective lens dimeter

The human eye when the pupil is fully dilatated can only use a 7mm shaft of light to see a target. Anything over that is over kill but getting to that 7mm level is important. That's why for many years the Germans used 8x56 scopes on their night hunting rigs for hunting under moonlight. 8 divided into 58mm equals 7mm..

So your Leupold 2.5x has a objective lens of 20 mm, so it's exit pupil is 8mm - PLENTY.


Test your two scopes side by side at dusk looking into shadows and you will see that little 2.5 will do fine.

I carried a Leupold 2-7 Compact with German #4 on a Maine bear hunt. Was all but worthless when a bear showed up at dark. If I go again, I will be carrying something with better light capability and illumination.

How old is that scope? If I recall earlier fixed power Leupold models not all were fully multicoated. You had to get to FX-3 level before you got that. It makes a difference.
If you have multiple scopes why bother asking? Just go test for yourself. Personally I think a 42mm on a lever action is awkward looking but it ain't my rifle.

Exit pupil x quality of glass, measured in % of light transmission and distortion = what you see in low light.
Exit pupil on a coke bottle is over 7 for example but you would not one for a scope.

The advice about testing yourself is a good one.

Just returned from tipping over a Cape Buffalo at 20 yards (festivities began at 30 yards), 15 minutes before sunset. A relatively new FX 2.5x20mm was used on top of a 9.3x62mm.

I knew going in that distances would be close and wanted to try the FX 2.5x in that kind of environment because of it's simplicity. Light gathering was excellent, the wide FOV crosshair worked great against that big black body in the rapidly closing dark.

I'm thinking you'll be fine using yours.

Optically, I don't think a Leupold FX 2.5 rifle scope has anything in common with a Coke bottle.

I think his point was that there is more to light transmission than exit pupil.

Like having fully multicoated lenses.

They are the norm now. They weren't not that long ago.

I realize that Paul.

He just a dumb nonsensical apples to oranges comparison to make that point.


Once again NO Leupold scope ever made has had the poor optics of a glass coke bottle.


And 2-3% more light transmission due to glass quality WILL NOT overcome 10- 30% less of exit pupil.

That is an old scope in the photo. I've had it for 20-25 years and bought it used. It's actually been replaced by a much newer 2.5x with the multicoated glass. I just didn't have a photo of the new scope on the rifle yet. The old scope went to an older Marlin 22.

Why ask? Just to get the opinions of others. I "think" the 2.5x is going to be fine, but perhaps one of my other scopes would be better suited for the task. I dunno. Choices. I like the 45-70, but have to admit that I haven't hunted much with it. One muley about 20 years ago, with that scope on a different Marlin.

Guy

Most reticles are difficult to see especially on a black bear near dark. This is where red dots or Trijicons work well.

I’ve tried to love the Leupold 2.2 x on many occasion only to sell them. They just don’t do it for me.

Even though its 20mm, it doesn’t compare in sight picture to the 20mm variables of Freedom 1-4x or VX3, nor in low light visibility.

I noticed a few years back it won some “best pick” from “Gray’s Sporting Journal” which leaves me wondering if they ever actually use the products.

60-120 yards is a darn long way to see after the color green fades away.

Thanks Guy-and glad you took my question as intended. Dad had a Marlin and wanted it scoped so I picked him up a Weaver K4 (4x38). Those were fully multicoated and bright with a nice wide field of view and didn't look too out of place. I was a nothing-but-fixed-6x guy for many years. They were just brighter than variables I had been around and since all my rifles had fixed 6x I had a simple constant view. About ten years ago, I guess, I decided to try a variable again and bought a Sightron SII but didn't like it. I replaced it with a Vx-3 and found it was super bright and I am loving the wider field of view at 3x. I am about to replace my last fixed 6, a nice Burris #4 with a variable.
My first thought on your case was the 6x36 but I do wonder it you find FOV smallish for the up close that rifle is best at after a 2.5x.

I believe a scope with more power, but at least that magic exit pupil of 7 would let you see (resolve) more detail, and maybe avoid obstructions etc.

You have the 6x42, try it yourself under the lighting you expect to encounter and in cover similar to what you anticipate dealing with. My neighbor has a bunch of Leyland cypress trees on the property line. I use the shadows they throw to eyeball test scopes and reticles in dim light.

In my opinion, anything other than a 20-28mm objective looks like dooky on a lever action rifle.