Best optics for night shooting

marty555

Hi guys, what is the best glass to use when shooting at night out to 300m ?
I'm currently using an Bushnell 3.5-30x50 elite tactical. Don't get me wrong it's nice. But I seem to have to keep playing around with the zoom instead of just looking and shooting. Most targets are around 100-230 zoom is currently around 12 any more leaves it hard to find target fast then once I find it I zoom in to shoot. Just too much messing:mad:

aaakev

Set it at 10 and leave it there! On my 223 iv a 4-16 x42 centerpoint that i shoot same ranges as you mentioned and i just leave it on x10.

Longest shot at night with that set up was about 300 yards on a fox and no problem on x10 mag

Tommy87

Maybe you should think about a fixed power scope, like an 8x56 or a 10 power. Less fiddling around and more Charlie busting!

TriggerPL

Ul find that if ya bought a zeiss or the likes,
If cash is a problem duralyt is the way to go

Croppy Boy

Recently bought one of these from Paddy Carley for €650. Excellent scope.
http://info.sightron.com/Riflescopes/SIII-Series/SIII10x42MMD/

4200fps

If your having problems finding the target just look down your rifle from above the scope having it pointed at the fox then drop your eye into the scope. You will have very little tweaks to do to find the target as you done half the work lining the rifle up. If its blur go on the zeiss, smith&bender, swarovski, kahles or what ever market you want to solve that problem 300yards 16power is lovely. You cannot ever have enough zoom when you have quality glass mounted on an accurate caliber. I use 24 power scope and i'd never go less than 10 power on any target really

dogcityroller

Croppy Boy wrote: »

Recently bought one of these from Paddy Carley for €650. Excellent scope.
http://info.sightron.com/Riflescopes/SIII-Series/SIII10x42MMD/

Plus1 on the sightron s. for the price they are hard to beat. You well only get better if you fork out for the usual suspects- swarovski,zeiss or Schmit and bender. I use a swarovski 6-24x50 habicht with the Tds reticle. In fairness the mate has a sightron on his 204 and really likes it. But at dusk time the swarovski has at least 15 minutes extra on it. Ye can see foxes clearly at easily 3 -400 yards at night at 24 magnification. I've seen secondhand ones of these scopes go for £800 which is an absolute steal as the quality of lenses in these scopes are unbelievable.

Cass

Another plus for Sightron. Have the 3.5-10 myself and its superb. Crystal clear, as much mag as i need, and not as dear as the usual suspects mentioned above.

dogcityroller

Repeat ability on the sightron s are meant to be very good also. A lot of f class shooters have turned to these over nightforce as these are a heavier scope and the optics are very similar. It all depends on what money you want to fork out at the end of the day. I prefer I higher mag scope for the simple fact that I use my rifle out to about 700 yards and like the higher mag for these further distances for target work.

gearoidol

I use a zeiss victory 6-24x56 with asv and illuminated red dot.decent glass and a nice reticle for foxing.usually leave it at 12 and zoom in if the fox is in heavy cover etc

Cass

dogcityroller wrote: »

I prefer I higher mag scope for the simple fact that I use my rifle out to about 700 yards and like the higher mag for these further distances for target work.

I have the .308 with high mag scope for just that.

zeissman

marty555 wrote: »

Hi guys, what is the best glass to use when shooting at night out to 300m ?
I'm currently using an Bushnell 3.5-30x50 elite tactical. Don't get me wrong it's nice. But I seem to have to keep playing around with the zoom instead of just looking and shooting. Most targets are around 100-230 zoom is currently around 12 any more leaves it hard to find target fast then once I find it I zoom in to shoot. Just too much messing:mad:

Just leave the scope at 12 mag and take the shot.
12 power is plenty for 100-230 yard shots, with a bit of practice you will get better at finding the target quicker. The high quality european scopes do give a wider field of view than most other scopes. For example my zeiss has the same field of view at 24 mag as my sightron has at 20 mag.
The scope you have will do fine once you get the hang of it and I dont see any point in changing it.

Ghost.

marty555 wrote: »

I'm currently using an Bushnell 3.5-30x50 elite tactical. Don't get me wrong it's nice. But I seem to have to keep playing around with the zoom instead of just looking and shooting. Most targets are around 100-230

This is exactly why I prefer a fixed power scope for night shooting. But the bushnell elites have decent glass, you shouldn't need to change it. Just keep it under x10 and get used to it like like zeissman said. But if you are looking to change something like a S&B 8x56 or a Zeiss would be a good choice, but make sure you pick the right reticle to suit you. Some of them can be a bit thick for shooting out past 200 yards.

TriggerPL

Ghost. wrote: »

This is exactly why I prefer a fixed power scope for night shooting. But the bushnell elites have decent glass, you shouldn't need to change it. Just keep it under x10 and get used to it like like zeissman said. But if you are looking to change something like a S&B 8x56 or a Zeiss would be a good choice, but make sure you pick the right reticle to suit you. Some of them can be a bit thick for shooting out past 200 yards.

Duralyt ! Or get a reticle 6 or the mil dot one in zeiss , I've the 6-24 victory but it never passes 12x at night

Ghost.

TriggerPL wrote: »

Duralyt ! Or get a reticle 6 or the mil dot one in zeiss , I've the 6-24 victory but it never passes 12x at night

I like the Duralyt reticle 6, its fine enough for them long shots yet can be seen easy enough at night. I don't think the Duralyt comes in a mildot, it would be great if it did though.

TriggerPL

Ghost. wrote: »

I like the Duralyt reticle 6, its fine enough for them long shots yet can be seen easy enough at night. I don't think the Duralyt comes in a mildot, it would be great if it did though.

That what I mean buy a duralyt or a zeiss scope with ret 6 or mil dot