Who make the brightest illuminated scope for hunting at right before sun rise and just after dusk? Moonlight hunting??I have all Swarovski (Z3,Z5 and Z6), Zeiss, Schmidt & Bender and March scopes on my rifles. Do they make any brighter ones? I was looking for and possibly buying a Steiner Night hunter Xtreme Rifle Scope - 2-10x50mm. Does anyone know if this would be any brighter? Any others?
Rifle Scopes Brightest Scope at Dawn and at Dusk/ Moon Light?
- Thread starter andrews1958
- Start date
Brightness is relative especially if you have young eyes. Generally the larger objective scopes are going to yield a “brighter image” just because of the larger exit pupil, but quality of glass and coatings can make a difference as well. If you are sticking with SFP options there are a lot more 56mm scopes to choose from. The new Blaser Infinity 4-20x58 designed by GSO is probably going to be one of the best low light scopes but until they get a better reticle with wind holds I have no interest, I’ve been hoping sister company Minox would take the optical formula of the 4-20x58, put it in a standard 34mm tube, add ZP5 turrets and MR2S reticle and I would snatch one in a heart beat. Another great scope is the Hensoldt 4-16x56, known to have one of the most forgiving eyeboxes in the industry. And the Hensoldt 6-24x70 (aka the Hubble) was probably the low light king but these scopes have been discontinued.
More important than brightness is a scopes ability to resolve contrast and detail when the light gets low and most of your alpha glass is going to be able to do that even at 50mm so don’t just limit yourself to the largest objectives. Leupold and Vortex have invested money into multicoating and what our eyes like to see when light levels drop and the AMG and Mark 5HD both impressed me during low light testing.
More important than brightness is a scopes ability to resolve contrast and detail when the light gets low and most of your alpha glass is going to be able to do that even at 50mm so don’t just limit yourself to the largest objectives. Leupold and Vortex have invested money into multicoating and what our eyes like to see when light levels drop and the AMG and Mark 5HD both impressed me during low light testing.
Blaser B1 4-20x58 iC
Blaser 4-20x58 iC. The twilight specialist – superior for sitting game and when hunting in the very last light.
www.blaser.de
Oh man, what a beautiful design on the optical system but what a dud on the turrets and reticle....
I do a lot of shooting on my farm at first light or last light so I need a rocking optical scope, but not going to spend nearly $4k on setup like this. I hope you are right on Minox building one for the serious shooter, not the gentrified rich guy who hunts once a year (and has to have at least $10k in his rig).
I know that this Zeiss is the best when it come to low light hunting.
And it has been the overall king on test in Finland, many times.
Schott glass.
www.zeiss.com
And it has been the overall king on test in Finland, many times.
Schott glass.
ZEISS Victory HT 3-12x56 | The specialist for hunting in low light
Built with SCHOTT HT glass, this specialist for sitting game at night makes even the smallest targets visible after the sun has set.
www.zeiss.com
I've done extensive hunting, which lots of it is right around dawn/dusk but I've also done lots of nighttime hunting using ambient light only. This was with both a ZP5 3-15 and a Tango6 4-24. This hunting season, I've used the ZP5 a lot more than the Tango. They are both excellent for these scenarios. However, the last two times I went out there, i took the rifle wearing the Tango. Man am I seriously impressed with that optic every time. The sun is still not out and I aim down the Tango and it just impresses me with the image that I get from it.
I cannot speak to all of the other brands, but I took my PRS rifle hunting this year, and I was able to see details at the edge of the field with ease 45 minutes after official sunset. I wasn’t actively hunting, but I was waiting for some family to come out of the woods so I decided to see how good the scope would perform. The scope is a Gen 2 Razor 4.5-27x56. I am really impressed with how well it gathers light in the twilight hours. I didn’t even need to turn on the illumination to see the reticle. I could see my downed deer at 225 yards through the scope, and I could not see it with the naked eye. (I shot the deer 10 minutes after official sunset - legal hunting goes 30 minutes after sunset)
No, it’s the objective diameter that can help with low light, not the tube diameter. There are other factors at play like quality of glass and coatings but all things being equal a 34mm (or larger) scope won’t bring in any more light than a 30mm scope. Generally what you get with a larger diameter scope tube is more travel with your turrets and potentially better IQ when at the extremes of the turret travel.
Last edited:
Similar threads
Rifle Scopes
Help picking light weight scope for shorty build
