Best low light scope for stalking?
- Thread starter Lukeamog
- Start date
I am delighted to find someone else who uses this Swaro: I have one on my .308, and it suits my woodland/lowland stalking perfectly
Overlay
Well-Known Member
I was dubious about putting on a 204 until I zeroed it, the 8 x is fantastic, it was only supposed to be until I freed up the zenith off another rifle, still gets good use and super accurate piece of kit, I purchased that one and 1-6 for boar shooting pre covid which just didn’t happen and they were just sitting on the shelf, now ones on a hornet and other on the 204 where they will stay, decent bit of kit, for woodland it’s top drawer
Depends.... what velocities do you need? How much extra powder will it need and can that be achieved by different powder selection in 308? In a target / sniping barrel easily achieve in excess of 3000fps MV (Labradar). In a 20” sporter 2650. Both are fairly irrelevant, as it is at the POI where it counts.
Plus a short action vs long action..... do you also need a longer barrel to optimally burn all that powder stuffed in the case?
There is a reason militaries stopped using 30-06. Powder technological advancements will enable efficient cartridge designs.
Will 30-06 do the job? Yes. Just not as efficiently. And the 308 is not as efficient as other later designs.
To the OP- glass has moved on, and you probably dont need to follow the advice I had when starting; put a scope of equal value to the rifle its going on. Match that spend on binos. It definitely worked .... but coatings technology has markedly improved.
Go for a scope with excellent reliability and after sales service. I own two swaros, a minox and a SWFA, plus a NF for other work. Ive shot as many deer with the minox than all but one other scope put together.
Pulsar C50 will take some beating
Probably because it works without being too fancy or expensive. Great glass and point and shoot, but heavy…..
Overlay
Well-Known Member
Love the zenith from S&B - bomb proof, I stick with FD7 ret combined with the illuminated reticule and clear glass
decent bit of faultless kit, like you say no frills and does the job in hand very well, I have a zeiss v8 with calibrated ASV and it works perfectly, but can’t say I’d miss it if it didn’t work.
i don’t mind a basic well made scope with a decent bit of glass and IR, not a lover of gimmicks especially nowadays with market overflowing with gadgets
( I use the t ceptor with external battery and within that is a recording facility- it’s never been used) the actual scope is phenomenal for what I do the, same with day scopes, buy what suits you, if your a gadget man you can do yourself out of a decent scope if you look through rose tinted glasses, my advice FWIW buy the best glass as a base you can get with variable mag to suit your shooting if you can get one with a variable dot and illumination shouldn’t be a need to change it
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
Nor betating the Zeiss 7x42 BGAT*P*. A practically unused pair of these will more than outperform most other binoculars currently on the market. Even 20+ year old ones that have not buggered perform very very well.
And am speaking from personal experience with both a 20 plus year old pair and a pair that are still new in the box that I gave to my father 13 years ago and have been little used.
Lowlight scope - 6x42 Zeiss, Swarovski or S&B. And I think the S&B has the edge for my eyes.
norcan
Well-Known Member
That’s all quite true.
But the advances in powder chemistry also apply to the older cartridge, so the hunter gets the same benefits with about 14% more power.
I’d probably go .308 within that caliber simply due to the availability of really cheap surplus ammo, but it’s nice that both options exist.
I have a Zenith 2.5-10 x 56 FD7 on my Fox rifle
JabaliHunter
Well-Known Member
8x56 was designed for shooting boar by moonlight. Over here, it caught on as a foxing scope, whereas a 6x42 (or 4x32) was recommended as a stalking scope… Nowadays a 3-12 or 4-16x56 will do the job of both, albeit in a much heavier, more expensive, but often shorter, package. Just need that comb raising!
nightforce are rubbish in low light in my experiance ( i shot with one in comp and sold it fast afterwards ) Big ass thing i was but low light performance very poor compated to my S+Benders
Malxwal
Well-Known Member
The NXS series are gash in low light, the ATACR and NX8 are a lot better, but they'd not be on my list for a low light hunting scope. The reason I use them is the quality of build and repeatability of tracking. Its an S&B on my main stalking rifle though.
its not better for light but a bigger tube is better for the extremes of adjustment , that's the only benefit to any tube greater than 1" put a load of windage in and you can limit elevation true travel . objective lens size and quality of glass and coatings are what really matter but are limited by the human eyeball in question ( i cannot expect to get as much light through in my 50s as i did in my twenties) , as i get closer to my sixties the optician changes my prescription each year just a little bit . stalking wise , i dont remember putting in 6 MOA windage ( because i would just get closer under such conditions) so guess that's mute eh?
JabaliHunter
Well-Known Member
Because S&B only put their T96 glass in scopes with a 34mm tube
boar & deer
Well-Known Member
Don't think the 34mm tube has anything to dk with the light gathering but ive tried the polar against all the top stuff and it comes up to for me compared side buy side the only thing i wish it had is the option for a asv + style turretsBecause S&B only put their T96 glass in scopes with a 34mm tube
Yes, I am aware of the science behind optics design & manufacture but it was simply my preferred and obtuse manner in which to observe a 34mm tube is wholly unnecessary in a woodland deerstalking scope. Or put another way the greater crosshair adjustment afforded by a 34mm tube is unnecessary in such a scope IMHO.
K
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