Looking to spend $350-$550, primarily inside of 200 yard shots, dusk/dawn light gathering is main concern. Looking at a Leupold VX-III and Pentax (30mm tube) any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Luepold, 3.5-10x40! Works every time!!!

The 3.5X10X40 is a gret scope. If your shots are under 200 like you say and you are using say, a 3006 or thereabouts, I'd also consider the 1.75X6X32. jorge

Yes almost all shots under 200 and usually around dusk in heavy pines. Light transmission is the biggest factor.

I put a 4X14X50 Bushnell Firefly Elite on my 7mm this year, it has the Rainguard coating, which I really like. I am fairly large, and tend to sweat pretty bad, and this scope has not fogged at all, even in cold weather. I own several Luepolds, and they are great scopes, but I do not seem to suffer any loss of light gathering quality with the Bushnell, plus I love the fact that when I bring her up, I can see through it every time. Plus the firefly reticle is a nice little touch, hit with a flashlight and for the next 30 minutes, the reticle is illuminated.

A Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 or 3.5-10x44 should work perfectly for you. I've hunted with numerous Leupolds over the years and still do, but none have been as good as the Conquests in low light performance and image resolution in all light conditions. I also find the Zeiss Z-Plex etched reticle to be more low light friendly than the standard Leupold wire Duplex.

A Leopold VX-III in a 1.75 X 6 X 32 or a 2.5 X 8 X 36 would work just fine.

What Deltahunter Said! The Conquest is a great scope value.

Has anyone had any experience with Pentax, I understand that it is a burris tube and pentax glass?

The Zeiss reticle does show up better. that's an easy fix with the Leupold, just order it with the heavy duplex or the #4 German and you have as good light transmission as you want with better eye relief , unless you want to go and spend the BIG bucks on the Euro Zeiss' jorge

If You are looking for a good dependable scope that sucks up the light, I would definitely highly reccomend the Nikon Monarch Line and the Zeiss Conquest Line as well.

Try theopticzone.com, They have just about the best prices you'll find and they are good people.

Good Luck!

Reloader

You have received some good info here and I'll add my 2 cents worth. I have a Leupold VariX-III (2.5-8) and a Nikon Monarch(3-9) and they both work great here in Eastern North Carolina. Like you, light gathering was an important factor as most of my deer kills here have been at the last 1/2 of legal shooting time. In addition, I hunt mostly woods instead of fields and both scopes gather all the light that I need to make a legal and ethical shot. I will give a slight edge in light gathering to the Nikon Monarch though. Good luck with your search.

well me personally I like my Schmidt & Bender 1.5-6x42 because out to 300 yards, a 6x scope is plenty for deer sized game.
for a lower price option, i recommend the zeiss conquest 3-9x40

I agree with Reloader, I just bought a Nikon Monarch Gold 2.5 X 10 X 50 30 mm tube. WWW.Scopesnmore.com $499.00 best price I could find anywhere and great service. This is a $900.00 retail scope.

The Nikon is 95% light transmission and lifetime transferable warranty.

The 30 mm tube really aids in low-light conditions over a 1" tube and the scope has both an eye focus and a side obj. focus.

Just my 2 cents.

John TN.