50 vs 40

M

MikeinFresno

New member
Ive been having this discussion with some of the guys at the local gun shop. It seems most of them only use a 40mm scope. One said he thinks a 50mm gathers too much lite for extended daytime shooting and adds to the fatigue on the eyes during the brite days, shooting squirrels for instance. I use a 50mm for hunting scopes to gather that little more light at first and last lite of the day, and use the 40mm for the long daylite sessions as suggested above.

What do you guys think of this idea and what do you do?
 
When it comes to buying a 200 dollor scope, I know that this is not what you want ot hear but it really dosent matter to me and I buy what ever is on sale at the time.
Usually the 50 mm as they say no one wants them.
smile.gif


On the nightforce I like the 50mm but that is a diff story.

What price range of scope we talking about, as the quality of glass makes a big differnce?
 
Here is my take on it FWIW. Unless your scope has an illuminated reticle you might as well stick with the 40mm objective rather than bulk up the gun with a 50mm objective. I learned this when I had a Z6 Swarovski that did not have a lit reticle. The scope gathered more light than you can imagine but once it got so dark I could see the deer but not the crosshairs in the woods. As far as the scope gathering too much light during daylight time goes I think a sunshade will take care of that. My opinion again FWIW is that the ultimate hunting scope has a 50mm objective, sunshade and an illuminated reticle.
 
talking Leupold VariX 3 for instance, sun shade may help too, had not thot of that. Ive had illuminted reticle stuff before and the lite from it over powers the intended target, IE a hog or deer when it is almost dark. I have not seen an illum scope I liked when actually looking thru it at almost dark conditions. Maybe I need to look at them again, maybe they have gotten better in this regard.
 
Originally Posted By: MikeinFresnotalking Leupold VariX 3 for instance, sun shade may help too, had not thot of that. Ive had illuminted reticle stuff before and the lite from it over powers the intended target, IE a hog or deer when it is almost dark. I have not seen an illum scope I liked when actually looking thru it at almost dark conditions. Maybe I need to look at them again, maybe they have gotten better in this regard.

I can't speak for all illuminated scopes but on the ones I have the rheostat can be turned down so that the reticle does not overpower the target. I keep mine turned down real dim and they work perfectly. My Vortex Viper PST has 10 settings with off in between each graduation. It can be changed quickly and easily just by turning the knob. This in my opinion is where the PST out does a Nightforce in a huge way. With a Nightforce you have to remove the cap and use a tool to change the setting. This is unacceptable in a hunting situation.
 
The never ending debate between the 40mm objective and the 50mm. I personally like the 40mm over the 50mm. I like the scope lower to the rifle.
 
on my AR Im using a 50 and it works out nicely since the scope needs to be higher anyway and the mount I happened to get for the right price worked out. I know there was an article I read somewhere in the past about exit pupil and such that got into some of this stuff, maybe it was a bino article.
 
For practical applications when it comes to light gathering it's not just size of the objective but the quality of the glass as was previously mentioned in the second post. That glass unfortunately comes with a price tag as well. The best times to hunt is usually when the available light is the worst.

I've used a sun shade and never experienced the mentioned fatigue. My bigger concern concern would be depending on the platform will the ring height needed to mount a 50mm scope allow for a proper and consistent cheek weld.
 
I agree 100%Originally Posted By: meat hunterHere is my take on it FWIW. Unless your scope has an illuminated reticle you might as well stick with the 40mm objective rather than bulk up the gun with a 50mm objective. I learned this when I had a Z6 Swarovski that did not have a lit reticle. The scope gathered more light than you can imagine but once it got so dark I could see the deer but not the crosshairs in the woods. As far as the scope gathering too much light during daylight time goes I think a sunshade will take care of that. My opinion again FWIW is that the ultimate hunting scope has a 50mm objective, sunshade and an illuminated reticle.
 
Some information that is good to know:



A 50mm objective does not gather or transmit more light to your eye than a 40/42mm objective in a 1" tube. It is the the exit pupil and the light transmission quality of the glass that determines low light visibility and what you can see at sunrise, sunset, and at night. The exit pupil should be as large as the human eye under the same conditions. The exit pupil is calculated by dividing the objective diameter by the power setting on the scope. At night a 42mm objective scope set on 6 power will give you a 7mm exit pupil which is optimal and matches your eye and transmits the maximum light the eye can see.

From Nikon: "As far as 30mm vs. 1", they do not gather or transmit any more light than a 1" scope, but they provide a larger sweet spot to enhance resolution."

From Leupold: "The key to a scope providing a bright image to the shooter is not how much light it "gathers" but how much usable light it transmits. "Gathers, transmits, what's the difference?" Quite a lot, actually. First of all, rifle scope do not "gather" light, they transmit it. Yes, large objective scopes allow more light to enter the scope, but that by itself does not guarantee that the image will be any brighter than a smaller objective scope's. In other words, the better the glass and coatings you get, the better your night hunting."

Since a healthy eye pupil is 7, think in numbers of 7:

First number represents magnification setting, 7 represents healthy exit pupil, last number is your objective lens size.

1X7= 7MM
2X7= 14MM
3X7= 21MM
4X7=28MM
5X7=35MM
6X7=42MM
7X7=49MM
7X8=56MM

FYI- The quality of the glass and the size/type of the reticle make a big difference in what you can see in low light conditions as well. Not to mention; what looks good to someone else might not look good to you which in my case would be red dots, holographic, and/or reflex type sights (look blurry to me)

Also, some illuminated reticles can drown out or obstruct the sight picture and/or light up the tube at night because the setting/adjustment control doesn't allow you to dim it enough. As mentioned the rheostat control is very nice and is one of the best features on scope with illuminated retIcles.

When i use a light, i like a mil dot reticle because it stands out (thickness) and I don't need an illuminated reticle.

I went hunting last night under total moon light (no other light) and was using a Trijicon accupoint 3-9x40 and the fine lit reticle help a lot.

I keep my scopes set on 3 98% of the time for the wide field of view and can see as far as I need to at night so i don't see any advantage to using a larger objective than 40 and I don't even need that.

Also fixed or anything with less lenses will also have a better sight picture in low light too.

You'll have to find what works best for you and unfortunatly, it's not cheap.

Good luck on whatever you decide.


 
I personally prefer the 40mm bell. I have never had a problem seeing my target during legal shooting hours. There is no need to by aiming at something outside of them. If you get a quality scope, there is going to no real advantage of going to the 50mm bell.
 
Last edited:
Leupolds new vxr is awesome. The fire dot in the center of the cross hairs will dim down to the point where it will not
wash out the target. For the price it is hard to beat. I also have a meopta with the thick german reticle and I can see the cross hairs in the moon light or in extreme low light with no problem. This is another great scope.
 
Intresting stuff, I'm in the 40mm camp, quality trumps size everytime. In fact I tend to use even smaller scopes. I've found that if there is enough light to see a coyote coming to the call there is enough light for me to shoot him even with a 20mm scope.

montanaandmoseslake2010021.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: e-manLeupolds new vxr is awesome. The fire dot in the center of the cross hairs will dim down to the point where it will not
wash out the target. For the price it is hard to beat. I also have a meopta with the thick german reticle and I can see the cross hairs in the moon light or in extreme low light with no problem. This is another great scope.

I was waiting for some reviews on these scopes. Glad to hear you like yours. I thought they may be nice for moonlight hunting with that reticle.
 
As always a good topic for discussion. After reading this and other threads like it I have drawn some conclusions.

A 50mm objective can be more useful in low light situations only if;

-Quality of glass is high to allow for more light transfer
-A 30mm tube is included to provide for more light transfer
-An illuminated is used to get on target in low light conditions

Am I thinking right or wrong?
 
Originally Posted By: greenhornet-1Any one tried the bushnell firefly reticle? I see they have one in 3x9x40.

Firefly reticle was a gimmick that has been discontinued. You had to "charge" the reticle by shining a flashlight into the lens. Bushy got tons of them back because they were not worth a hoot so they quit making them. Occaisionally you will see one for sale used but keep one thing in mind. Bushnell's warranty only extends to the original purchaser.
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top