Certainly a fine scope but that huge objective makes it impractical for things a 3-12 scope is usually used for. I'd call some of the major Internet scope dealers (one is a sponsor here) and see what they would offer as a trade in. Add 10% and throw it on Ebay and see if anyone is interested. Best application I can think of is on a long range target/sniper rifle with an adjustable comb. Good luck!
Posts: 801 | Location: Pinedale WY USA & Key West FL USA | Registered: 04 February 2011
Originally posted by 45-70 shooter: that huge objective makes it impractical for things a 3-12 scope is usually used for.
Actually the 56mm objective would be a pretty standard size here in Europe and I would go so far as you say it is probably at least as common as 42 or 50mm and it might even be more common. When shooting in low light, especially in heavily forested areas, you can never have enough light gathering ability. Here in the UK a goodly proportion of our shooting is done at first or last light and shooting with the full moon is common in some other countries and is starting to catch on here for wild boar.
Originally posted by 45-70 shooter: that huge objective makes it impractical for things a 3-12 scope is usually used for.
The operative term here is "usually used for".
45-70, you apparently don't appreciate the value of a scope of this size and weight when mounted with quick-detachable rings. It can be instantly detached from the rifle and used in either offensive or defensive mode; for instance, to finish off wounded game by wielding it as a bludgeon, or in other instances to fend off an attacker should the rifle's action jam in the heat of battle.
The fact that it has to be mounted so high as to make it impossible for your cheek to contact the gun's stock when your eye is aligned with the sight picture is a small price to pay for such utility. The same is true of having a scope which weighs virtually as much as the gun slung underneath it -- that weight can come in handy when the quarry has a really tough skull!
So, please don't do as I used to and dismiss outrageously large scopes as follies of youthful ignorance or compensation for undersized genitalia. These scopes really can be essential in certain circumstances; besides, they make excellent little league baseball bats during the off season.
Posts: 13286 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001
I agree that for certain foreign country hunting. with different rules than we have, a high quality large objective makes sense. The key is the quality of the glass and coatings. A piece of Chinese junk with a 65mm objective is still inferior to a Nightforce 32 mm. Large heavy scopes work fine for deliberate shooting from a blind or hide but are a big handicap if you jump a deer or elk in the "black timber". Anything you can see (within ethical range) you can kill. I can see anything it is legal for me to shoot with the illuminated Nightforce 2-10x32. I did not intend any insult to a different type of hunting nor the size of your privates. I love my 4-28 IOR and 4-16 Schmidt for deliberate "set piece" shooting, (or driving tent stakes) but neither would be suitable for a "walk about rifle. Good hunting "over there"!
Posts: 801 | Location: Pinedale WY USA & Key West FL USA | Registered: 04 February 2011
Dang, I completely overlooked driving tent stakes! Add another big-scope advantage to the list.
Moonlight hunting from a hide is completely legitimate and is greatly aided by a scope with an adequate exit pupil, adequate magnification, and excellent light transmission qualities. However, a hunter should realize that no matter how large the exit pupil of the scope, if it exceeds the diameter of his eye pupil then it makes the sight picture no brighter. As we age, the maximum dilation of our eyes grows smaller (that's why you can't see as well at night when you're 60 as when you were 20.) Also, health factors, particularly being or having been a smoker, can greatly limit your pupil dilation.
Seven MM is about the maximum that healthy young pupils will naturally dilate in total darkness. A 45 or 50 year-old smoker may not have capacity to dilate beyond 5mm. In this case, an 8x40 scope, which produces an exit pupil of 5mm, will appear every bit as bright as an 8x56mm scope, assuming identical qualities to the glass and mechanics of the instrument.
Bottom line: There's no point in putting premium gas in a low-compression engine; no point in buying a surgeon's scalpel to slice warm butter; and no point in burdening yourself with an over-sized/over-priced scope if the circumstances can't possibly warrant it.
Posts: 13286 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001
I like the large objective for callin' coyotes at night, but that's the only time it really has seemed of value to me. Legal shooting light for big game is over before the big scope is of value here.
