Oh sorry I was on about thermal. I have an alpex on my .22lr, no issues at all. But again, they have warranty, if for some reason yours had an issue you could just return it?
Digital scopes, yes or no?
- Thread starter jonylandrover
- Start date
Oh sorry I was on about thermal. I have an alpex on my .22lr, no issues at all. But again, they have warranty, if for some reason yours had an issue you could just return it?
jonylandrover
Well-Known Member
I dont have one, im asking for options on them and digital scopes vs glass for the stalking I do. Mainly Reds at 300 to 400 yards at 1st and last light. I think the thread has a got a little confused and off topic.
timbrayford
Well-Known Member
Useless in the rain , image quality far inferior to glass in normal daylight, but..... on a gloomy winter afternoon in dense woodland and at deer o'clock far superior, instead of just seeing a dark shape you can actually determine age (old vs young) , sex and species.
Not so sure about cheaper digital being useful at 400 yards, you may need the very high end stuff for that?
I am completely switched over to digital. No issues with loss of zero. Units are reliable. Provided you remember to charge them. I however do not shoot your distances. Glass will give you a better definition, but digital you will be able to see after the glass gives up.
I think it will be 5 years before they will be similiar.
Now interestingly, a lot of comments on the new Alpex are that is it better in the day than the old one, but not as good at night. As for your comment about cost. High end scope out to 400 yards, is £2500 plus. Alpex or similiar is 1/3 the price.
Only you can decide.
I think it will be 5 years before they will be similiar.
Now interestingly, a lot of comments on the new Alpex are that is it better in the day than the old one, but not as good at night. As for your comment about cost. High end scope out to 400 yards, is £2500 plus. Alpex or similiar is 1/3 the price.
Only you can decide.
jonylandrover
Well-Known Member
High end glass these days is just overpriced. Yes its probably marginally better but not 2000 quid better than what i have in my opinion. My Element optics helix 6-24x50 does it very well for most things I do. Its clear. It tracks perfecty for windage and elevation. Has zero stop turrets, and a lifetime warranty. I think glass these days is a bit like snap-on tools, lots of other makes these days offer lifetime warranty and are just high quality if not better. I was the same when the Mac tolls van came to my garage, what rubbish will this be, however allmost all our tools are Mac now, service is better, warranty is better, customer relationship is better, tools are in most cases way better. But snap-on carries a name that looks good and is well known and is a bit of a tart name. I think glass follows this with some unfortunately.
7Miller
Well-Known Member
I have DNT Thermnight 635r on my mm-08 and the longest DAYTIME shot taken was 488 yards, (ranged and recorded on the scope but due to my swearing with excitement, I cannot post here 
), on a fox, which dropped instantly. I have DNT Zulus on other rifles and do not have a glass scope anymore. That's mainly down to corrective eye surgery that went wrong meaning I struggle more with glass than I do digital, even though the image is instantly much clearer for me, for a second or 2.
The ballistic calculator and night vision option is a real gamechanger for me on everything from my sub 12 pcp air rifle, to my FAC pcp, and my centrefires.
I wish I could use glass for pure daylight options but, as mentioned, I struggle drifting in and out of focus for some odd reason. Yes it's 100% down to the surgery not going as it should have but I don't get the same problem with digital and thermal.
If my eyes were perfect, I'd still use digital on my rifles though for the added bonuses of BC calculator and night vision options.
Glass will always give a superior image but digital provides other benifits.
), on a fox, which dropped instantly. I have DNT Zulus on other rifles and do not have a glass scope anymore. That's mainly down to corrective eye surgery that went wrong meaning I struggle more with glass than I do digital, even though the image is instantly much clearer for me, for a second or 2.The ballistic calculator and night vision option is a real gamechanger for me on everything from my sub 12 pcp air rifle, to my FAC pcp, and my centrefires.
I wish I could use glass for pure daylight options but, as mentioned, I struggle drifting in and out of focus for some odd reason. Yes it's 100% down to the surgery not going as it should have but I don't get the same problem with digital and thermal.
If my eyes were perfect, I'd still use digital on my rifles though for the added bonuses of BC calculator and night vision options.
Glass will always give a superior image but digital provides other benifits.
400 yards and no way can you call the wind looking through the grainy low grade picture the like the Alpex offers us! To read the wind from the movement of grass etc . We do not look through a rifle scope to asses a shot , that's what binos, hand held spotters and range finders are used for .
If a man has to ask .... ? they are a good way over their limit ! A stalker who can be trusted take this 400 yard shot ( no sighter shot etc ) shot would not be asking to be fair
TheOldTool
Well-Known Member
Although fairly new to the business, my limited experience so far ( I have a HikMicro 4K as well as decent glass) has meant that I prefer using the glass, but of course, there are limits to when you can. I have invested in QD mounts with return to zero capability and when I go out will take both so if needs be, I can swap them out.
jonylandrover
Well-Known Member
Thats what im asking, real world sight picture at 400 on a digital. Can't tell from a look in a shop can you?
But as for the 400 yard shots using glass, nope I dont have to ask, if conditions are right and im happy I take the shot. It all depends on conditions at the time. I have other ground to stalk so i can do that on the less favorable days. But those nice early low or almost wind free mornings are fare game.
@jonylandrover no problem at 300-400m. You'll get a grainy deer outline that's enough to place your shot.
I had a good view of roe the other evening at 300m with my lower spec Falcon Dark digital scope. What I prefer with mine is not having to adjust the focus constantly like with almost all the most popular NV scope's.
Falcon Dark DK-2L NV (Sytong HT-70) - An economical Zulus/Alpex alternative
I had a good view of roe the other evening at 300m with my lower spec Falcon Dark digital scope. What I prefer with mine is not having to adjust the focus constantly like with almost all the most popular NV scope's.
Falcon Dark DK-2L NV (Sytong HT-70) - An economical Zulus/Alpex alternative
TheOldTool
Well-Known Member
Oh, and I did not spend thousands on glass, I got two excellent second hand quality stalking scopes ( One a Zeiss, the other a steiner, both well over a grand new) and they are both really good. So for you, (@jonylandrover ) with the deals going on second Alpex's, you could easily get both for under a grand. QD mounts would be extra of course....but still, you have it all covered then.
400 can be difficult to read the wind , it can really only be observed and with grainy pictures from digital scopes. Not for me thanks ! I need / want to see wind moving the grass or leaves . I have been blown off a few times from winds i did not pick up on .
I wouldn't say that's a reason to avoid digital though. You can use binoculars to see if wind is blowing grass etc. I don't use my digital scope for those kind of ranges yet, but it is capable of it.
Scipio
Well-Known Member
For your particular needs, (quite long shots on red, at distances where the drop starts to become quite strong) it might be fairly useful having a trustworthy inbuilt rangefinder and automatic ballisticially compensating reticle in the scope, which a digital scope can offer.
And for other particular jobs, such as nighthunting for boar og pest control/eradication, these scopes do a job which is hard to otherwise solve.
However for most peoples regular day stalking hunts, with most shots being made inside 300 meters, if not even 200 ish meters and in, the drop with most medium size cartridges is quite small, and can be anticipated and compensated for ok if you do your job as a hunter and shooter. So for that style of hunting, i'd say going with good regular glass is probably all of cleaner, easier, often lighter, and as far as i hear from people using both, it also gives you a better image than what the digitals of today do.
So for me, it is a, "everybody should make up their own minds" answer, but a yes for certain particular types of hunting or pest control.
Good hunting!
This is with the DNT4k on a dull day at sunset a couple of weeks or so ago. I had only just got it so maybe didn't have it quite focused but I was just out checking the drops and verifying that the LRF and ballistic thingy worked ok.
The stone is about an inch or so in size and you can see the bullet hole just above the stone at 270yds. The image is a bit better in real life. You will easily see and aim at a large deer at 400yds. I am not here to pass judgement on your wind calling ability or the rights and wrongs of shooting at 2yds or 2000yds. You asked about the ability of these 4k scopes which seems a reasonable question to me.
The scope will cope fine. It has genuinely impressed me and I use March and Polar T96 optics as my main glass. Don't get me wrong, you will not be seeing fleas jumping off the arse of a dog at 500yds like you might be able to with seriously high end stuff but you will put deer on the deck in dying light. I had blanked 10 times in a row before I got the DNT and then shot 5 deer in the next 3 attempts. You will simply be able to shoot later in to the day.
The stone is about an inch or so in size and you can see the bullet hole just above the stone at 270yds. The image is a bit better in real life. You will easily see and aim at a large deer at 400yds. I am not here to pass judgement on your wind calling ability or the rights and wrongs of shooting at 2yds or 2000yds. You asked about the ability of these 4k scopes which seems a reasonable question to me.
The scope will cope fine. It has genuinely impressed me and I use March and Polar T96 optics as my main glass. Don't get me wrong, you will not be seeing fleas jumping off the arse of a dog at 500yds like you might be able to with seriously high end stuff but you will put deer on the deck in dying light. I had blanked 10 times in a row before I got the DNT and then shot 5 deer in the next 3 attempts. You will simply be able to shoot later in to the day.
This was 40mins after sunset with only 20mins of legal shooting time left. My T96 would not have made this shot against a dark backdrop. You will be in black and white mode at this point as colour will go south around 25-30mins after sunset but it is still easy to aim and shoot. It was pretty murky at this point with the naked eye and I could barely see them were it not for the thermal giving the game away.
My point is folks are missing that step , I still feel that the quality of the images are not really up to good enough for reliable 400 placement , A sub £100 airgun scope will produce better imaging in daylight , in most cases way better !
Longest I’ve shot a deer with the Alpex is 300 yards. Looking back at the footage which was downloaded and not as sharp as the live pictures, I can read everything needed including seeing wind at the target. In my opinion I think the Alpex will be capable at greater range than that.
Besides wind at the target is only some of the picture - over terrain wind can do alsorts. Someone taking shots at that range should be proficient enough to be able to read the conditions along the total path of the bullet not just at the target, trying to read a rustle in the leaves.
Besides wind at the target is only some of the picture - over terrain wind can do alsorts. Someone taking shots at that range should be proficient enough to be able to read the conditions along the total path of the bullet not just at the target, trying to read a rustle in the leaves.
palmer_mike
Well-Known Member
Yes, image quality not great at longer ranges
Similar threads
