Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Brightest Low light scope

Sitting in the woods. Last 30 minutes til black dark. 20 feet off the ground in a climber. Ruger 77 RSI .308. Last light brightness is the objective. Deer and big black hogs are the game. 70 yards is the furthest that can be seen in good light. What scope? Keep in mind the asthetics of the compact rifle.

FX3 6x42 with heavy duplex reticle is a killer combo and very, very bright.

Do you want peformance or the scope to "look right" on the rifle ?
A Leupold 6X42 is more than enough. An FXII, 4X would probably work but I'd play it safe and make sure I had a Heavy Duplex or, better yet, their German #1 reticle.
Any of the larger variables would work. But they'd need a heavier reticle as well. Scope should be focused for that range. E

The Leupold FXIII with a Heavy Dup is a good option. My choice was a Leica with a #1 reticle. But I'm somewhat fashion-challenged.

1.5X-5X VX3? 1.75X-6X VX3?

A little bit hard to hit moving deer in tight dark quarters with a 6X.

Negative. We've killed black hogs at near dark at 10 yards no problemo, and not near a feeder of any kind. Hogs never stand still.

Well the 6x42 is great.

Any nice Leupold or euro with a 56mm obj would b a little brighter

not doubting it but I'd rather have my scope on 1.5x-2x for a 10 yard shot..... If. I had the right variable, which "I" do

Just because person A has done it, doesn't mean it's the best/easiest way to be done for person B.... I've hunted hogs at night in Florida and Georgia swamps.... Personally when I'm on foot in a thick cypress hammock or swamp bottom, I want my scope on a low power because I know I'm not shooting more than 30 yards

A host of factors come into play like skill level, moonlight, etc

Zeiss Diavari or Swarovski for the best and brightest.
Zeiss Victory Diavari 1.5-6x42 T*
Zeiss Victory HT 1.5-6X42 Illuminated
Swarovski 1-6x24 Z6i
Swarovski 1.7-10x42 Z6i

After reading about the new Zeiss Victory HT line, I'm inclined to believe this may be the scope for low light viewing. If you can afford it.
I'd love to see a comparison between this and a Diavari to see if the marketing has substance.

Several years back, I did low light test of my own. Very informal. None were mounted on rifles. Some were mine and some were borrowed. VXII 3-9-40, Swarovski 4-12-50 A series, Kahles 3.5-10-50 American, Conquest 3.5 10-44. One afternoon in a 3 year old clear cut and a second afternoon in heavy canopy SMZ. In the clear cut, all were able to get you passed legal time. As light faded to pure darkness. The Kahles was the best and the Leupold was the least, but the difference was not as much as you think. In the woods, I saw no significant advantage with any. When it gets dark in the woods, the shadows inhibited me from seeing a big difference. Someone else might be able to. I had 56 S&B about 15 years ago. it was nice and heavy. Since this test, all I have had was 40mm leupolds and alpha binos. If it is light enouugh that i can discern a diffence whether or not he is a shooter with the binos, I can see well enough through my VX series to put the bullet in the boiler room. This is inside 100 yds. Past that the alpha scope might some help me but dark is dark. If I am going to pull the trigger at 5:45 pm or after, the fine is no less whether I shot him with zeiss or a tasco and a Q-beam.

Given a quality scope with multi coated optics, as long as you have an exit pupil of seven for the power you are using, you'll do fine. Even an exit pupil of five or six is often adequate.

Those would be my suggestions for 'brightest' for brightest that wouldn't break the bank Leupold VX3 1.75-6, 1.5-5.5,or fx3 6x42

My 3.5 x 10 x 50 is pretty bright at end of shooting time, but I can use a 2.5 x 8 x 32 Conquest then as well because the reticule is blacker and easier to see.

Yep, same here the reticle is the weak link with a Leupold but with that said my VX3, 3.5x10x40 is a nice scope. And I can't dig the heavy duplex that you can get with a Leupold, etched in the Zeiss is a better mousetrap.

The Conquest 2.5-8x32 is by far the best low light scope in my collection. I just got a Victory Varipoint 2.5-10x42 with an illuminated #60 reticle from cameraland this evening. I can't wait to see how it compares to the Conquest.

For the money I am really impressed with my Trijicon Accupoint amber post 56mm. I can shoot WAY past legal light.

No offense cfran, but I have Conquests and VX3's with duplex reticles too. The Leupold duplex is thicker than any of my conquests. I'm specifically referring to the thin wires of the reticle.

I picked mine up on sale for $699 two years ago. Pretty sure it would take a 56mm illuminated Euroscope to much better. I can also tell you that any Leupold VX3 40mm is not even remotely close.

the 3-9x40 conquest with z-plex has a decidedly different plex than the 3.5-10x44 or 4.5-14x44.... It is thicker than either and thicker than any Leupold duplex I've seen. And it doesn't change colors in the sun