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Rifle Scopes Best light gathering hunting scope under 550 bucks

C

cur_dog

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Minuteman
Nov 29, 2011
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Texas
#1
Sorry if this has been asked by newbies like me before but looking for some opinions.

I'm on a limited budget for 2 rifles. Looking to get a good scope for each one.

Will only be used for hunting. Max range 200 yards. Good light gathering is a must. That real early and real late times are critical where I hunt.

I really like the regular plex in the reticals. Also, like the set objectives over the AO/SF ones but I'm open to the AO/SF.

Trying to stay under 550 bucks for each scope. Rifles are 308 and 280 AI.

Vortex seems to have few and I saw where Cameraland has some Ziess to.

Thanks and Happy New Year.
 
#2
Re: Best light gathering hunting scope under 550 bucks

Best glass in that price bracket is the zeiss conquest IMO. They have fantastic clarity and the scopes are reliable too. I have two conquest 3-9's and the glass is just as good as my swaro z3, the swaro is a few ounces lighter though and a little shorter.
 
#5
Re: Best light gathering hunting scope under 550 bucks

When I know that my shots will be under 200, I use my rifle with a Trijicon TR24. For me, it is the perfect short range hunting scope. Glass is good and the illuminated reticule makes first light and last light shots easy. I bought mine lightly used for $550.00.
 
#6
Re: Best light gathering hunting scope under 550 bucks

Scopes do not "gather" light they only allow light to transmit through the it. As a general rule the better the quality of glass and it's coatings are the more light transmission it will have. Objective lens size in conjunction with scope power play a part in the size of the exit pupil.


A fine or thin plex reticle can be hard to see and pickup in low light.
As stated, scopes with lighted reticles can be a boon in very low light but it doesnt take much to wash out an image in darkness so good control of the light is needed.

I would take a great quality low magnification/small objective scope over a budget high power scope with a huge objective.
 
#8
Re: Best light gathering hunting scope under 550 bucks

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: el gordo2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Scopes do not "gather" light they only allow light to transmit through the it.
</div></div>

Hmmmmm Not sure I agree with that. A riflescope is, in fact simply a "refractor" telescope with an erecting lens and the necessary reticle and adjustment bits.

The light-gathering power (or light grasp) of an optical telescope is directly related to the square of the diameter (or aperture) of the objective lens or mirror. Note that the area of a circle is proportional to the square of the radius. A telescope with a lens which has a diameter three times that of another will have nine times the light-gathering power. Larger objectives gather more light

Bill
 
#9
Re: Best light gathering hunting scope under 550 bucks

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Quark</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: el gordo2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Scopes do not "gather" light they only allow light to transmit through the it.
</div></div>

Hmmmmm Not sure I agree with that. A riflescope is, in fact simply a "refractor" telescope with an erecting lens and the necessary reticle and adjustment bits.

The light-gathering power (or light grasp) of an optical telescope is directly related to the square of the diameter (or aperture) of the objective lens or mirror. Note that the area of a circle is proportional to the square of the radius. A telescope with a lens which has a diameter three times that of another will have nine times the light-gathering power. Larger objectives gather more light

Bill </div></div>

Whether you agree or not, el gordo is correct. Scopes do not gather light, the lenses transmit it. Therefor the objective size doesn't have a damn thing to due with a scopes performance other than dictating the size of the exit pupil. It's all about the glass quality and coatings.
 
#10
Re: Best light gathering hunting scope under 550 bucks

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: redneckbmxer24</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Quark</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: el gordo2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Scopes do not "gather" light they only allow light to transmit through the it.
</div></div>

Hmmmmm Not sure I agree with that. A riflescope is, in fact simply a "refractor" telescope with an erecting lens and the necessary reticle and adjustment bits.

The light-gathering power (or light grasp) of an optical telescope is directly related to the square of the diameter (or aperture) of the objective lens or mirror. Note that the area of a circle is proportional to the square of the radius. A telescope with a lens which has a diameter three times that of another will have nine times the light-gathering power. Larger objectives gather more light

Bill </div></div>

Whether you agree or not, el gordo is correct. Scopes do not gather light, the lenses transmit it. Therefor the objective size doesn't have a damn thing to due with a scopes performance other than dictating the size of the exit pupil. It's all about the glass quality and coatings. </div></div>

Agreed. I have never seen a scope suck light in or make more light for that matter. Some merely allow more of the available light to pass thru the lenses and get to the eye. The thought that a scope can take low light, "gather it", make it brighter and shove it down a little tube to your eye is ridiculous. Exit pupil and coatings are the keys to brightness in a scope. Google that and get a good explanation to help you decide which scope to buy.
 
#11
Re: Best light gathering hunting scope under 550 bucks

Okay, light gathering was a poor choice of words. Looking for the best scope for the money I listed that will allow me to see the best in low light conditions
smile.gif
 
#12
Re: Best light gathering hunting scope under 550 bucks

I hunt with Conquest, one a 3.5-10x44 and the other a 3-9x50. The latter is a newer scope and seems to hold up better in low light. That is likely a product of the 50mm objective also. It was around $600 at Cabela's.
BTW, both of these scopes have held zero thru years of hunting use. They have been dropped, juggled on ATVs, etc and still hold the same POI before every season when I check them. That is what I look for in a scope more than how much light transmission the brand advertises.
 
#13
Re: Best light gathering hunting scope under 550 bucks

Couple things to consider around that price range (echoes some of what others have recommended):

Trijicon Accupoint- 1.25-4, 1-4, 3-9 & 2.5-10x56mm
Excellent glass, Fiber Optic and Tritium illumination (Plex Reticles)

Leupold VXR- 1.25-4 2-7, 3-9,
Very good glass, Manual (battery operated illumination) 'fire dot' (Plex like reticles)

Zeiss Conquest- 3-9x40, 3-9x50
Great glass, Plex reticle

Bushnell Elite 6500- 1.25-8, 2.5-16x50
Good glass, great mag range, Plex reticles

Sightron SIII- 1-7
Very good glass, illuminated Plex/German like reticle

Good luck with your search-
 
#14
Re: Best light gathering hunting scope under 550 bucks

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: cur dog</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Okay, light gathering was a poor choice of words. Looking for the best scope for the money I listed that will allow me to see the best in low light conditions
smile.gif
</div></div>

Zeiss conquest. If you could spend a few bucks more Swarovski sells the Z3 3-9 for $750. That's MAP pricing so you could probably get it as low as $600-650 if you call around. You can't go wrong with the zeiss though and I believe there's a $100 rebate going on right now.
 
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