Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics low power variable for low light conditions?

I've got a Leupold 2.5x compact on my Ruger 77/357. Would going to something like a 1-6x by 25mm let me get a few more minutes of usable shooting light?
Thanks!

I think that change would depend more on glass quality and the reticle. For me I would want something like a 6 or 7 mm exit pupil, decent glass and a good reticle. A quality 1.5-6x42 with a heavy duplex, or a #4 or an illuminated reticle makes for a pretty decent close range low light scope.

I haven’t been let down in low light by 1-4 straight tubes with good glass, but the 1.5-5/6x stuff I have with 32-40mm objectives are brighter.

I went the other way, setting up a couple of rifles with QD mounts so that I could swap to a Leupold 6x42 with a heavy duplex reticle for first/last light deer hunting. While not the brightest scope in the World, the 6x42 Leupolds are brighter than most variables with smaller objectives that I've used.

Not sure, but a couple more Xs, as long as you keep and exit pupil of 5 or more might help you see more detail. You likely don’t want anything too big on that little Ruger. Maybe a fixed 4x with an objective of 30-something?

No, 1-Nx24mm scopes just flat suck for low light. The glass cannot make up for the lack of magnification paired with the tiny exit pupil.

I bought a razor gen II 1-6 expecting to use it on a rifle for close (meaning heavily timbered) whitetail hunting. I actually did a lot of comparison over a few days in a row at last light while at the in-laws. They have deer that come out nightly into the fields so I spent a couple hours over that time looking through multiple pieces of glass at them.

At 15 mins before legal light ended, the cheap pair of diamondback 8x32's that I bought for my daughters absolutely crushed their top-tier scope. If deer were in the treeline and not completely silhouetted against the grass in the field, you absolutely could not make them out well enough for a shot. And every other scope I have bested those binos.

I have since sold that scope because it was of no use to me, and also I just hated the fisheye effect that I never could completely eliminate, and much prefer a red dot for a 1x.

Hope that helps!

There are a number of 1.5-6x40-44 out there that do a great job. I have a one with a German#1, a couple with duplex, a couple with illuminated #4s and two with circle dots. I think I put my first 1.5-6x40 on in 2005, still shooting that one Sightron II with duplex. I have these all on coyote calling rifles ànd they all work great some of the 30mm tubes can get heavy.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...61/bushnell-elite-4500-1-4x#Post18862461

Maybe worth a try?

For woods whitetails and our 30min after limit, 3-4x with a 5-7mm exit pupil has been just fine. Are they as bright as larger objectives and more Xs at longer ranges? Nope…..but I’ve never had to let anything walk in legal light with a Trijicon 1-4, either.

Bingo! Two years ago at first light. Using a Leupold VX6HD 1-6 to look at a deer at approx 350 yards. Deer had "fuzzy ears". Picked up a Swarovski Z6 1-6. Same deer. Ahh, two small spikes coming up behind his ears. Back to the Leupold, still "fuzzy ears". Could not discern the spikes with the Leupold, even after I knew they were there... Not throwing any of my Leupolds in the garbage. But, "seeing is believing..."

Being an owner of two 1-6 Z6s, which I love, I think the little 2.5 Leupold is just about the most perfect scope he could have on that sweet Ruger 77/357. A larger scope has the potential to ruin the superb point and shoot handiness in snap shots.

Yes and no.

Certainly the size is right, as is the long ER for the somewhat problematic (when it comes to mounting scopes) Ruger mini 77. But years ago I found that a 2.5x Weaver was lacking for me on a .44 mag specimen in the hardwoods. I simply couldn’t see enough detail to pick a hole though the cover and it cost me a buck, the only one I ever lost after a confirmed hit. I shot at him, and he moved a bit and I lost him. He took off after a bit, and all I found was a bit of bone that looked like a little piece of rib. I took to his trail and went looking for him, and found him, but was too slow on the draw, and hesitated to take a rear-end shot on him without being certain it was him. By the time I was sure, he was gone. Saw him the next day, running with some does, with a bit of a hitch in his get-along. Apparently a .44 cal hole hadn’t dulled his lust very much.

I think a bit more power might have let me see well enough to make a better shot, or maybe decide to pass on it, and also maybe allowed me to take a second poke before he ran. The crappy trigger, combined with the poor balance, wasn’t any help either for offhand shooting. I’ve since learned how to fiddle those triggers pretty well, but there are a lot more choices in light rifles these days that are easier for me to shoot well. I still like ‘em, but don’t have any. The LPVO I own now is a Trijicon Credo HX 1-6, but I’m not certain it’s a good fit for the Ruger.

I've had several Leulold 2.5x through the years. The list of scopes that are far brighter is pretty long.

I have a couple SWFA 1-6 HD that I've been very pleased with. For a quick shooting, shorter distance "woods" rifle, it seems the Trijicons are going to be tough to beat as far as dependability in a more traditional looking scope.

Not a fan of larger objective on carbines. 2-7x32 seems about perfect. Burris makes a Scout scope that size that is tailor made for your needs. Cost is about $450- not sure what your budget is.

If that is prohibitive and you can stomach Chinese I have a Hawke Vantage in same size on a 10/22 I really like- but wasn't aware of country of origin. Been dang good and was only about $125 or so if I recall.

I like the 2-7x33 Leupold in this role. Good on the little bolt action carbines and lever guns.

Agree. I set up my 77/357 with a big red fiber optic front sight and a NECG rear peep. Then my daughter shot it. And it got "re-homed"...

I've got a Leupold 2.5x compact, a Burris Mini 4x, a Leupold FX-3 6 x 42mm, a Burris Fullfield II 3 - 9 x 40mm, and a Leupold VX-1 2 - 7 x 33mm Shotgun/Muzzleloader to pick from already. Scout scope isn't an option because I'm not going to sleeve the barrel with the XS adaptor. Oh, and a Burris red dot or two.

I just finished the mannlicher-style black walnut stock on the Ruger yesterday which puts the weight @ 7 lbs with the Burris 4x on it. Might shave an ounce with the Leupold 2.5x (I think one is 8 oz and the other is 9 oz but can't recall which just now).

I know the bigger objectives will help, but I fell in love with the look of Francis Sell's 6.5 x 55mm 20" barrelled carbine (Husqvarna action, I think) shown in his "Deer Hunter's Guide" many years ago and I'm finally there, sort of. I didn't know about pupils shrinking with age until Mr. Barsness mentioned it in his optics book. Getting close to "get home by sundown" age for driving anyway.

Off to re-check exit pupils on all of them. Thanks for all the suggestions!

It's not exit pupil you're looking for, it's twilight factor.

"Twilight factor is the measurement of the efficiency of a rifle scope in low light conditions. The higher the twilight factor, the more usable the scope is in twilight conditions. The formula for determining twilight factor is: The square root of magnification times the diameter of the objective lens."


Quick anecdote: A couple of decades ago we were hunting wildebeest right at/after dark. With a Leupold 3-9x40 scope set at 4 power all I could see was a dark background of brush with darker blobs sort of somewhere against the background. Turned the scope up to 9x and suddenly those dark blobs became identifiable animals.

Twilight factor at 4x = 80, exit pupil = 10mm
Twilight factor at 9x = 120, exit pupil = 4.4mm
The exit pupil was smaller but the twilight factor was larger.


You're looking at opposing criteria - small and lower powered vs. good twilight factor. The latter is a straight forward calculation for anything you're considering, you'll just have to choose where along the continuum you are most comfortable.

Trijicon Accupoint 1-6 is very bright. About as bright as a 3-12x56mm Meopta, though the Meopta has an advantage at 5 or 6 power. You could almost hunt by moonlight with either scope, at least at closer ranges.

Both are way brighter than a Leupold fixed 2.5.

Just me or do others feel twilight factor has less meaning these days now that most every scope is fully multicoated etc...?? They are just brighter across the entry level than they were mid tier not that long ago. I know it is a bit of misinterpreting but don't see the term used like it used to be.

Jim in Idaho- 9x in darkness is a hard pill without a good exit pupil- or lets say eye box. I don't see Twilight factor much differing from plain old magnification which of course brings details with it. Light or dark.

For a pistol round like a 357 I just would feel 9x and 40mm too much on a carbine.

Like I said- just me.