Digital v’s glass

Leica Fortis 6 - Bright and powerful.
Willj

Willj

Member
Ladies & gents, what your opinion on digital v’s glass scopes, so I’m asking as a novice, I was out today on my first stalk, muntjac & CWD, I shoot a 243 with the alpex LRF on top, my first opportunity was a CWD at 220 yards, checked the distance on the LRF & completely missed, next muntjac in cover crop around 80 yards, scope decided to turn off 🤬 eventually I got it turned on & managed to drop the young doe. Next was another muntjac in the game cover & I couldn’t see it through the scope at around 30 yards 🤬.
During all this I had to change the batteries on my habroks binoculars because they packed up after less than 2 hours on full batteries.
 
Both have their place.

I have Zeiss glass on one rifle (6.5 PRC), GPO glass (.308) & a Alpex 4K LRF (.243).

Digital will, at this stage not replace good glass in the light of day, but for me even the best glass cannot surpass Digital during the first and last hour of shooting light.

The LRF on my Alpex has worked well thus far, and zero held.

Make sure you haven't got the auto on/off toggled.

I quite often take the .243 & alpex on lowland stalks, especially on short winter days. But I don't think I'd take it up the hill chasing stags in October, good glass and reliable clicks for that job!
 
I’ve written numerous times on here about my journey from optic to digital and back. Yes, I too have stalked entirely digital like you with Habroks and an Alpex but frankly, I prefer glass and have now gone back to my excellent glass scopes and my trusty Leicas for daytime stalking, swapping the latter with my Habroks (and now Dracos) for FL/LL and adding a TI clip on to the scopes at those times. Early days for the Dracos and they may see more daylight use than the Habroks but, in addition to the beauty of stalking with good glass, there’s way fewer things to distract or go wrong with the stalking experience. The useful maxim KISS applies IMHO.
 
I'm a Luddite.
Still have glass on all my rifles. I like the fact that the tried and trusted tech is not going to let me down.
My observations/experience with the ups & downs of living with digital/thermal on top of the rifle has made me realise I'm not ready for the jump.
And reading what you have just gone through reinforces that.
But my nephew has an Alpex 4K on one of his rifles and loves it, he's shot maybe 150 deers using it, and it hasn't missed a beat... he is young and techy, the oppisite to me.
I know I'm missing out, though. :norty:... maybe soon.

I hope you still enjoyed your outing :tiphat:
 
I've gone fully digital. I have had zero (as in none) issues with my Alpex 4k Lites (I've two).

I did have two occasions were I went to use my Habrok and they were dead so I had to use the spare batteries. Not an issue as both times were the beginning of a stalk, just unexpected as I knew both times it had been switched off with plenty of battery.
 
Willj said:
Ladies & gents, what your opinion on digital v’s glass scopes, so I’m asking as a novice, I was out today on my first stalk, muntjac & CWD, I shoot a 243 with the alpex LRF on top, my first opportunity was a CWD at 220 yards, checked the distance on the LRF & completely missed, next muntjac in cover crop around 80 yards, scope decided to turn off 🤬 eventually I got it turned on & managed to drop the young doe. Next was another muntjac in the game cover & I couldn’t see it through the scope at around 30 yards 🤬.
During all this I had to change the batteries on my habroks binoculars because they packed up after less than 2 hours on full batteries.
Click to expand...
Used a Drone 10 for foxing on the .243 after buying a .270 and putting the glass scope on it, then found over time the (mainly muntjac ) we becoming later and later so took the .243 with my thermal spotter. The % went up as I could see them! so for a long time I used the drone but they like a battery!
Picked up some Fallow ground and shot it last year with the .243 but a friend has a Alpex lrf on his 2506 and sent a few videos so I found a as new second hand one.
I did go out the other day and had left the Alpex on so drained both battery's but keep x2 18650 in the shoot jacket so put one in the side port and carried on. I only use the thermal spotter and have a spare battery for that.
I have switched off the auto off function and do a battery check as it comes before I leave home. Last night a no show for fallow so carried on with the IR on top and managed a dog fox as the farmer likes those trimmed up.
Battery's are going to be your first failure point so get/change your routine you could buy 3 good quality 18650's so you have new starting point.
Good luck and don't give up
 
Been there, seen it, tried it, stick it. I do not need to shoot deer in the grey or semi darkness and I can sort foxes traditionally where necessary. You will never beat glass by the best end suppliers and even cheaper ones are getting better. I maybe a Luddite but an S&B 8x56 or similar with a pair of Zeiss or similar binos are ample for my needs to stalk and shoot deer.
Ok if you want everything like thermal etc that's your choice but it aint mine because I don't need it. I've also seen others.make unusual shots with digital when it shouldn't happen, and nobody could really put forward why it happened even though it was on video.
 
Just in the process of fitting both to my 243 via Q D mounts so I can swap out. Alpex 4k lrf bang on the money for extra half hour or so either end of daylight/legal time . Missed the swiftness of the swaro 8x56 so another QD mount so I can swap about ...Very impressed with the Alpex.two shots through same hole 🕳️ on paper when zeroing from a bench plus some neat videos to study my shots ..,..wish it would stop raining though ... adiós amigo's.
 
My own entirely irrelevant thoughts.
Shooting deer with digital is just that, killing. Why do you you need an image intensifying device ? Do you need to kill something so much you need to push into the dark. You may do if it's your job/source of income/demands of the area (a friend has that issue, so I fully understand)
The use of thermal etc for spotting no problem, and having looked through some of the modern thermal binos, I'd quite like to own them. These new multispectral fellows look great. Will they survive like a set of quality glass binos, dunno.
 
Malxwal said:
. Will they survive like a set of quality glass binos, dunno.
Click to expand...
This is the big question.

A good pair of glass binoculars or a good glass scope will last decades. I don’t ever anticipate replacing my Leica binoculars, and they’ve already done 19 years. I’ve shot with 30+ year old Swaro scopes that are as clear as the day they came out of the factory.

Impressive (and useful) as all the NV and thermal kit is, I doubt any of it will last more than 5 years of intensive use.

So: spend £1500 plus on a glass optic that lasts the rest of your life? Or spend £2000 plus on electronics that you’re going to have to treat as a consumable?

I have one thermal scope for the where I absolutely have to shoot at night: sites with a lot of public access or very nocturnal sika. But I much prefer shooting by day with glass.
 
Jh1986 said:
I've gone fully digital. I have had zero (as in none) issues with my Alpex 4k Lites (I've two).

I did have two occasions were I went to use my Habrok and they were dead so I had to use the spare batteries. Not an issue as both times were the beginning of a stalk, just unexpected as I knew both times it had been switched off with plenty of battery.
Click to expand...
What calibres have you put them on ?
 
Ratel said:
Been there, seen it, tried it, stick it. I do not need to shoot deer in the grey or semi darkness and I can sort foxes traditionally where necessary. You will never beat glass by the best end suppliers and even cheaper ones are getting better. I maybe a Luddite but an S&B 8x56 or similar with a pair of Zeiss or similar binos are ample for my needs to stalk and shoot deer.
Ok if you want everything like thermal etc that's your choice but it aint mine because I don't need it. I've also seen others.make unusual shots with digital when it shouldn't happen, and nobody could really put forward why it happened even though it was on video.
Click to expand...
All our eyes deteriorate and that is the part of getting old and wearing out, many of my permissions the owners ask for foxes to be trimmed up to taking a digital scope topped with an IR as just like last night deer were a no show the glass scope lads went down the pub I carried on for a while managed a dog fox with no fuss.
A new farm 500 acres which I am just learning 3 foxes in the first 2 trips, owner very happy as they put down a few birds, the Fallow are camped out over the boundary but will be there at some point.
The 1 hour before/after was put in place for a reason which with this digital age works very well for myself as it keeps the stalking doors wedged open where others fail to see the value of it. :old:
 
Willj said:
Ladies & gents, what your opinion on digital v’s glass scopes, so I’m asking as a novice, I was out today on my first stalk, muntjac & CWD, I shoot a 243 with the alpex LRF on top, my first opportunity was a CWD at 220 yards, checked the distance on the LRF & completely missed, next muntjac in cover crop around 80 yards, scope decided to turn off 🤬 eventually I got it turned on & managed to drop the young doe. Next was another muntjac in the game cover & I couldn’t see it through the scope at around 30 yards 🤬.
During all this I had to change the batteries on my habroks binoculars because they packed up after less than 2 hours on full batteries.
Click to expand...
Perfectly timed question - off to Perthshire on Friday and have just put my Zulus on the 6.5x55 SE just to see how it goes. At the range yesterday out to 250 the Ballistic Calculator was spot on - today I will try it beyond 300 so watch this space…
🦊🦊
PS
Also taking the .308 with S&B 8x56 - just in case….
 
Glass has its own benefits in terms of clarity and depth.

Digital has it's benefits. At the end of the day we are all shooting deer in legal hours and pretending digital is "just killing" is ignoring the entire stalk up to the trigger pull.

You may be using glass, but you are still using a rifle, with bullets travelling at a few thousand feet per second, against an animal with nothing but it's wits. You aren't somehow more sporting.

At the end of the day you still need crosshairs on target.
 
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