What is the brightest scope at dusk, up to $1600.00

rangerxp

Eight Pointer
Zeiss Diavari -Z 2.5-10x48 T* Made in Germany with 30mm tube.
No longer made but can be found used ,,, IF you trust spending that much on a used
scope . Several used on ebay for $1300
I've used one for about 25 years
 

sll

Four Pointer
Not pertaining to the OP, but just to mention.....I have a couple of Weaver V9's that are 38mm objective. ONE of them is awfully bright at dusk and dawn.....as good or better than any Leupold or Zeiss that I have. Also better than my buddies Swarovski. They must have had one heckuva batch of glass on that run.
 

shadycove

Twelve Pointer
As my vision has grown older and less sharp, it is harder to judge antler when the light starts to fade or it is cloudy.
If I was gonna poach, I would not even need a scope. I'm not interested in that stuff.
But when you have a good buck at 200+yds and you want to shoot him.
You need a bright scope.
 

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
But when you have a good buck at 200+yds and you want to shoot him.
You need a bright scope.
Also how good a scope you need is really dependent on where you hunt.... if your just hunting open bean fields and decent $300 scope will get you to last light, but go back into the thick pines and that same scope just cut the last 20min off your hunt.



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Deerhuntr

Ten Pointer
when you hunt holly swamps and pine woods you need every advantage you can get when it gets close to the end of LST. I upgraded my scope on my main hunting rifle after not being able to judge a buck while it was there in my lane at last few minutes and decided to not shoot. I ultimately regretted that decision when I checked camera and my target buck was there and was in fact the deer I didn't shoot lol. Went from Leupold vx-3 to Meopta and haven't looked back.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I've got no problem seeing through my scope in an open field well past LST. If I am sitting deep in the woods it can be hard to see anything past 30-40 yards with 10-15 minutes to go.
 

bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
Hunting a pine thicket tonight and could see to shoot easily at 5:45 with the nightforce I have on my rifle. And I also didn’t have the illumination on either. Gun was unloaded and this was done strictly as an experiment to see how long past legal I could go in this dark hole. No deer were harmed during the execution of this test.


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nontypical

Ten Pointer
As my vision has grown older and less sharp, it is harder to judge antler when the light starts to fade or it is cloudy.
If I was gonna poach, I would not even need a scope. I'm not interested in that stuff.
But when you have a good buck at 200+yds and you want to shoot him.
You need a bright scope.
This was exactly my reasoning for investing in a better scope. Always had VX-3's in the past but a few years ago I bought a Swaro Z 5 5-25x52. I don't really need a 25 power scope where I hunt but it is very convenient for zooming in to check the antlers real close. I think I paid around $1300.00 for it with a coupon I had. It is definetly an improvement over the VX-3. I narrowed it down between the Swaro and a Nightforce that was of comparable price, liked the Swaro just a little bit better. Shot a nice 8 last year at first light with it. Very clear glass!
 

jgcpa

Spike
...when hunting an animal that is primarily nocturnal as most mature bucks are, that first couple minutes of legal shooting light or those last few make the difference between getting that target buck and not. I've used a lot of different scopes in my slow progression to upgrading to Swarovski and most caused me to lose 10-15 minutes on each end at sunrise and sunset because of poor light transmission.
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I know I am dredging up a thread that is a month and a half old... but thought it better to add on than to start a new thread:

In NC we have 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 mins after sunset. I can see ok with my old eyes, through a $50 Simmons, and a good but old Redfield, up to 30-35 mins before/after sunrise/sunset when I'm out in the woods. This is OK in NC, but it is lacking in SC where you can shoot for an hour on each side of rise and set. Can I take your statement to mean that the high end scopes will let me shoot for another 15 mins? up to 45 mins before/after? And see a bit clearer at 30 before and after? Is that about right for you guys that have spent the money on nice optics?

For you guys saying fixed power scopes lose less light, and I understand why they work better, how many more minutes do you get out of a (for example) Leupold fx2 4x32 than an inexpensive 3x9-40? Can anyone chime in on this?

Seems like you have to sit outside around dark and do a side by side comparison to really tell! I sure can't tell by reading reviews on line...
 
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Tunanut

Ten Pointer
No one has mentioned:

IOR Valdala
Steiner
Minox

All made with Schott glass and build military grade. Right up there with there with the best previously mentioned.
 

nchunt101

Ten Pointer
I know I am dredging up a thread that is a month and a half old... but thought it better to add on than to start a new thread:

In NC we have 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 mins after sunset. I can see ok with my old eyes, through a $50 Simmons, and a good but old Redfield, up to 30-35 mins before/after sunrise/sunset when I'm out in the woods. This is OK in NC, but it is lacking in SC where you can shoot for an hour on each side of rise and set. Can I take your statement to mean that the high end scopes will let me shoot for another 15 mins? up to 45 mins before/after? And see a bit clearer at 30 before and after? Is that about right for you guys that have spent the money on nice optics?

For you guys saying fixed power scopes lose less light, and I understand why they work better, how many more minutes do you get out of a (for example) Leupold fx2 4x32 than an inexpensive 3x9-40? Can anyone chime in on this?

Seems like you have to sit outside around dark and do a side by side comparison to really tell! I sure can't tell by reading reviews on line...
Do yourself a favor and get a Meopta Meopro 3-10x44 with the duplex reticle. You can find them for roughly $400. Low light performance/clarity will blow your mind if you are used to older/cheaper scopes. I don't have any experience with the Meostar but it must be an awesome scope to out perform the Meopro. IMHO the Meopro is a steal and easily outclasses several scopes costing hundreds more.
 
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