30mm or 1'???

[Warthog_Fixer]

O.K., it's scope shopping time! I need a scope that will work for a variety of purposes: Competition,300M European) and Hunting,various European critters) on more than one bullet launcher. I figure I'm going to use Weaver Rail type mounts as to be able to mount it up on more than one rifle and keep reasonable zeros. I know that's NOT the way to go as far as one scope working for several guns, but it's the best solution I can come up with for a temp fix.

I've been looking on the usual auction sites and such of course, and in doing so I've found a couple of scopes that fit the profile but have differing tube diameters. My question is; How much of a difference does the tube diameter make? I know about the greater range of adjustment, but what about light transmission and over all rigidity/strength?

 

[dreever]

If you have the money go with the 30MM tube. It does transmit more light plus the other things you mentioned. I'd go with a Picitinny scope rail such as Badger/Nightforce?Leopold/ Warne, etc. to ease the switching back and forth. That along with some good steel rings made by the above mentioned company's. You just slide them off with the scope and re-torque to 65 inch pounds. For scopes I'm Nightforce prejudiced they are simply the best.

Danny

 

[Warthog_Fixer]

Well in all honesty Nightforce is on top of my list. I'm looking for a 6,Min)-25ish,Max)X 56mm,50mm would be OK) with Target Turrets, Side Focus, and an Illuminated Reticule. Both Nightforce and Leupold are high on the list due to the 30mm tubes, however I came accross a Zeiss with a 1" tube that seems to fit what I'm looking for too.

I see a lot about nightforce on the board here. Are all the nightforce scope reticules illuminated?

 

[dreever]

Yes, all Nightforce reticles are illuminated.
Nightforce or Leupold? Well, you don't hear of too many people sending their Nightforces back for repairs.....can't say the same about Leupold.
Zeiss, I can't say anything about without any first hand experience.
If your spending the bucks I'd still pick Nightforce.

 

[Warthog_Fixer]

Yeah, after all the looking I've been doing Nightforce keeps comming up on top for quaility, reliability, and the features I'm looking for. There's even a reticule option I'm looking for, the CH-3 where only the center dot illuminates!

Now I just have to find a Picatinny Reciever Scope Mount that'll fit a Springfield Mk I...

 

[rstreich]

So how do the prices compare, for someone starting with Euros, between Schmidt & Bender and NightForce? 'Cause if I lived in Germany, I'd be hard pressed to look farther than the Schmidt & Bender scopes. About the only thing they give up to NightForce in the high-magnification scope range is reticle selection. However, they have such great glass to make up for it.

I'd also consider the Zeiss 30mm line as well. They aren't as robust as the NF or the S&B, but they also have great glass and they'll be a whole lot lighter--if that means anything for your application.

It'd just be a whole lot easier for you to get service locally than it would be to ship it across the pond. And, in the case of the S&B, I think you'd get a superior product.

 

[JimW]

There is a recurring misunderstanding that a larger diameter tube i.e., a 30mm tube compared to a 1 inch tube allows more "light" to come through to the viewer. This is in not true. The amount of light transmission is related, all other things being equal, to the objective lens size. A 40mm objective will transmit less light than a 50mm objective. A 50mm objective lens will transmit no more light in a 30mm tube than in a 1 inch tube. What reaches the eye is further limited by the exit pupil, which is determined by the objective lens size divided by the power of magnification. Notice tube diameter doesn't even figure in the equation. What the larger tube size allows is for more windage and vertical adjustment. They may be made with a heavier tube. If you need lots of adjustment, go with the 30mm tube. If not, save money and weight and get the same light qualities with a similar scope in a 1 inch version. What determines light transmission more than any other factor is the quality of the lenses and coatings. To further muddy the waters very few manufacturers, and no American manufacturers that I am aware of, use any different lenses in their 1 inch version of the same model, compared to the 30mm tube: they are exactly the same size, only the outer tube is larger.