I'm looking at purchasing either a Swarovski 2.5-15 x 44 Z6i or the 2-12 x 50 Z6i. The scope will be mounted on a rifle that I will use primarily for whitetail hunting from stands/blinds on my hunting grounds in south Georgia as well as trips that I make annually to Texas, Kansas, and Canada.
My question is this (and if it's stupid I apologize); Is the light gathering ability
a 50mm objective significantly better over the 44mm objective or is it only negligible?
If it's of any relevance I'm 45 years old and have 20/20 vision with a slight onset of near sightedness. Thanks

I'm certain both will be more than you need well beyond legal shooting light. I'd pick the one you prefer more, but that 44mm scope sounds good.

The only difference would be that the 50mm objective would give you more light at slightly higher magnification. Both scopes should give you more than enough light gathering capabilty to take any game as long as it is legal light to do so.

The only difference is that with the larger lens - you can turn the power up one more notch - and have the same amount of light reach your eye. One notch.

Swarovski's have such great optics that I'd bet you could see more, in dim light, through a smaller lens'd Swaro - than you would see through a much bigger lens'd - but cheaper scope. No scope actually "gathers" light - but Swarovski's transmit more than most.

I'm almost 54, wear contact lenses, reading glasses for fine print - and I am so impressed with the dim-light capabilities of this scope! I do a lot of hunting near dark.

Here's a picture of mine - it is a 1.7 X 10 X 42 Z6. It is - by far - the best scope that I own.

I chose the power range that I did, as I wanted the huge field of view. Being that it is mounted on a 375 H&H (and probably not a lot of long-range varmint shooting will be done) - I didn't think I'd ever want more than 10 power - at the top - at least for the game I'll be hunting most often. The field of view, on this particular scope, has to be seen to be believed. For a (true) 10 power scope to have a field of view over 75 feet and a hundred yards - at the low end - is an amazing accomplishment. My hat is off to the optical engineers at Swarovski !

Either one is a fantastic scope. Were it me which one I chose would depend on which rifle I stuck it on. On a Sako I'd go with the 50mm objective since the Optilock or Talley mounts I'd use are pretty high so the 50mm scope would fit just fine. On a lighter rifle I'd go with the smaller objective.

You didn't say which rifle but you did say it was for mostly stand/blind hunting, so why not go ahead and go with the larger objective if you aren't going to be carrying it too far..................................DJ

dj, the rifle I'm planning on putting it on is a McMillan Tactical Hunter in 300 Win. mag. The rifle weighs 7.4lbs and I'm planning on using Talley rings as the rifle comes standard with Talley bases. And thanks to everybody for their responses.

MasterBlaster,

Your poster name is cool. I like it. Welcome to the 'fire. Perhaps you will meet some .com friends here. To make a short story long, I suggest the 2.5-15X over the 2-12X. Here's why.

When I was considering a new scope I compared several 3-9X; all on 9X. The last one the fellow handed me was set on 9X. I was looking at a line on a roof a couple blocks away. When I realized the last went up to 10X, I turned it up and realized the "line" was an extension cord. One power made that much difference. If 1X improvement made that much difference I jumped us as much as I could and still have a reasonable field of view.

We are talking good glass here. The last two, prior to the 10X, were a Zies and a Swaro and yet one power made the difference in identifying a particular detail.

You probably would not be surprise I finally purchased not a 4 1/2-14X but a 4 1/2-30X50 Bushnell 6500. Now I can see the brand of extension cord.

Thanks Ringman. Based on the set up I'm leaning towards the 44mm right now. Do you guy's think this set up would offer a little more flexibility? My Texas trips do require a fair amount of spot and stalk.

For a reasonably light rifle that you might be doing spot and stalks with I'd go with the 44mm. But either is a GREAT scope.....................DJ

MasterBlaster,

Iread an article awhile back concerning large objective lenses. The moral of the story.... yes the 50mm objective will gather more light. However, your pupil can only open just so wide therefore the scope will actually give you more light than you can possibly see. As I recall, the article said anything over a 40mm objective is really a moot point. Just my .02. Hope this helps.

Brian what kind of rifle is your 375H-H?

It's Sako Model 85 - It's only 7lbs - has great accuracy - and wonderful recoil attenuation. It's clip system is a superb too.

verry nice looking.

well I am a wus... my 30/30 Model 94 Legacy has a 2 x 7 Weaver Rimfire scope on it... which fits its profile perfectly...

has more than enough for what I need of it..

Brain's entire posting is excellent, however, I only copied one of his sentences for emphasis, w/r the 44mm vs 50mm issue.
Brain nailed it!!!
From a practical, and an esthetics view, 40m and 44 mm objective scopes win..BIG TIME.

I realize fully that beauty is in the mind of the observer, and that others view things different from me. But, I can't own a 50mm objective scope on a sporting rifle. They look bad, and don't offer enough to get me to buy one.