• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Advice on a new scope for my new deer rifle

HTSmith

Silver $$ Contributor
I just got myself my first new hunting rifle in 15 years, which means I haven't bought a hunting scope in 15 years. I'm asking for your experience and advice. I can hunt up to 30 minutes after sunset so good lowlight performance is very important. So far as power I'm thinking of 14 to 15X on the top end. I was thinking of the Nightforce SHV or the Leupold VX5? How much low light performance does a 50mm objective get you over 40mm? How about the lighted reticle? Thanks for your input.
 
We have the same 30 minute rules here in TX. Where I hunt, 200 yards would be a long shot. That said, I really like the VX5HD 3-15x44 fire dot. In fact, I just bought my second one from @AthlonOpticsGuy. Have one on a 6.5x47 with the custom dial (which works), and I just put the second on my 30BR repeater fun gun. I found myself wanting to hunt with it, but being limited by the LPVO Razor I had on it. Not any more!

I also have the discontinued SHV 3-10x42 MOAR with side focus (no illlumination), My eyes much prefer the Leupold.
 
My vote for a low light scope is the illuminated Zeiss 3x12x56. Or the equivalent in a Schmidt & Bender or Swarovski. When choosing a low light scope, being able to see the reticle is paramount. German glass with a large objective and illuminated will allow you to make accurate hits. I've hunted in the south all my life. If you want missed opportunities try a fancy fine reticle at dusk. You won't be making long shots at dusk.
 
X-Caveman said:
We have the same 30 minute rules here in TX. Where I hunt, 200 yards would be a long shot. That said, I really like the VX5HD 3-15x44 fire dot. In fact, I just bought my second one from @AthlonOpticsGuy. Have one on a 6.5x47 with the custom dial (which works), and I just put the second on my 30BR repeater fun gun. I found myself wanting to hunt with it, but being limited by the LPVO Razor I had on it. Not any more!

I also have the discontinued SHV 3-10x42 MOAR with side focus (no illlumination), My eyes much prefer the Leupold.
Click to expand...
I second this. Same scenario for me. I just put one on my 220 savage 20 ga after using one on my Browning XBOLT 6.5 CM. @AthlonOpticsGuy is THE guy for Leupold. I’ve had multiple transactions/interactions with him and he is the best.
 
I have the Leupold vx6 HD 3x18x44 and it works great. I can still see through the scope after it is too dark to see clearly with the naked eye. It is plenty bright enough for legal shooting hours. We have the same as you 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset.
 
Prose said:
I have two Tract Toric 3-15. One 42 and one 50 mm. Both get me well past legal shooting far beyond my Leupold scopes. They have an illuminated option too.
Click to expand...
I almost went this route, but Leupold was real good to me a few weeks ago when I lost the battery cover on my first VX5. Speaking of, that’s my one nit to pick on the leupy. The illumination control/ push button kinda sux. I like a dial with off btwn each brightness like on the Vortex/ Tract offerings.
 
HTSmith said:
How much low light performance does a 50mm objective get you over 40mm?
Click to expand...
In theory if the scopes are of the same "quality" then "some" (this also assumes same quality means image quality - a bright fuzzy image doesn't mean much)... Generally a larger objective would allow you to increase the magnification and still get the same amount of light that your eye can use (not that big of difference 1x-2x at most... At your zero dark thirty time say 7x with the 50mm and 6x with a 44x. I faintly remember reading some time ago about a guy that put out a deer antler and tested some scopes at sunset and was able to get 6 minutes more with the larger objective?????

HTSmith said:
How about the lighted reticle?
Click to expand...
At zero dark thirty hunting in the deep woods with an over cast the reticle can disappear - the quality of your scope, fine lines, your eye health etc. You need to look at various reticles and determine which ones for you. They range from an illuminated dot, smaller cross hair in the middle, to the entire reticle illuminated. If you don't get an illuminated reticle, just make sure it's thick enough to see under poor light.

I would encourage you to go and look through a variety of models and see what fits your eye etc. What looks good to my eye has no correlation on what will look good to yours.
 
S&B Klassik 3-12 gets my vote. I have a 2.5-10 in a zenith which is nice too. Can only imagine how a polar or exos would preform. Good luck in your search. It can be agonizing for me sometimes, mostly because I can’t test them first.
 
Prose said:
I have two Tract Toric 3-15. One 42 and one 50 mm. Both get me well past legal shooting far beyond my Leupold scopes. They have an illuminated option too.
Click to expand...
I'd never heard of a Tract scope before. Does yours have the illumination?
 
Dunno how your budget is but a Swaro 2.5-12x50 would fit your requirements perfectly. They are one incredibly bright scope. I have three Swaros but the main one I use is a 3.5-18x44 on my .280 AI. We have no shooting time restrictions here in NZ and even when it's too dark to make out much with my Leica Geovids, I can still shoot them with the Swaro. You would not be disappointed.
 
HTSmith said:
I'd never heard of a Tract scope before. Does yours have the illumination?
Click to expand...
No too heavy for me. The illuminated ones are on 30mm tubes and weigh about 27 ounces. My one inch tube tracts weigh about 20 and 22. The t-plex reticle they have works really well in low light.

Tractoptics.com
 
HTSmith said:
Curious the models you have?
Click to expand...
S-TAC 4x20x50 with MOA-3 reticle for my centerfire hunting rifles and SIII 8x32x56 for precision 22 rimfire as well as S1 3x9x32 on my squirrel rifles. I have multiples of each model and have never had an issue with any of them. I sent one SIII 8x32x56 back to get the turrets changed from 1/4" to 1/8" and had it back in less than 10 days. I haven't had time to get in back in the field yet.
 
I love the Leupold VX5 3-15 with Firedot. That Firedot feature lets me kill those big black hogs in very dim light. Black crosshairs on a black hog wasn’t working too well for me.

If you want an illuminated reticle, be sure it dials down to barely visible in dark woods. The adjustable brightness Firedot is perfect. Also good is the illuminated reticle on my Athlon Midas 2.5-15.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Classified Ads

Forum statistics

Threads
164,831
Messages
2,185,129
Members
78,541
Latest member
LBanister

Share This Page

Back
Top