What is THE best rifle scope to use for night hunting? Preferably with an illumenated reticle.

I'm considering the following:

Schmidt & Bender Zenith
Zeiss Victory Diavari
Swarovski Z6i
Swarovski PV1-2

The intended purpose is mainly hunting feral hogs at night. I'm also planning a trip to Africa and want to hunt Leopard over bait.

I've used various Nikon, Leupold, and Burris scopes hunting feral hogs at night, and unless there is some ambient light (moon or flash lights with red lens) they're not very effective.

I figure this is the best place to ask as European hunters have more experience with night and low-light hunting than us Americans. Except those of us who hunt hogs.... and even then we typically hunt them over bait at night with red lights.

Appreciate the assistance.

I am sure Gerry, MHO, Stu, or someone else will chime in here, but I think it's pretty hard to be the 8x56 or 3-12x56. Illuminated reticles are ok, but they are honestly more for driven hunting than they are for night hunting.

If the reticle is too big, it's kind of blinding, and if it's too small it's hard to see. You need to go to your local late night hunting store and have the guy let you walk outside with one.

In the Winter in Northern Europe hunting boar over fresh snow with the moonlight! That's the stuff dreams are made of.

No scope is effective in total darkness without a goood lunar illumination.

Money no object? - Schmidt & Bender Zenith 2.5-10x56. Definitely go for an illuminated reticule, I would chose the L7. This will allow you to accurately locate your POA when you would otherwise loose the reticule against a dark background. If you set the dial correctly it won't blinnd your night vision.

It is very hard to go wrong with any of the "Big Three" - i.e. the brands you suggest. You could buy any of those and be perfectly happy. Some people prefer brand "A", others "B"...

If it is a scope specifically for night hunting, it is probably worth going to a 56mm objective, as the guys suggested above. It does not terribly matter whether in the form of a 2.5-10x56 or a 3-12x56. That is more a question of whether larger magnification is an advantage to you as opposed to larger field of view (at low magnification). The 2.5-10s are very versatile, though. I would personally stay with a variable (as opposed to an 8x56, say), simply to get the added versatility a variable offers.

These days, it probably pays to get an illuminated reticle for night hunting. It won't transform your scope into a night vision device, but if night hunting is what you are looking to do, an illuminated reticle might give you the edge. Personally, I prefer a reticle which also offers good low light performance even if the illuminated feature for some reason (e.g. low battery) should not work. For me, that normally means an illuminated version of a #4 - Zeiss has two versions which work well: #40 and #44. Swaro and S&B will have equivalent reticles.

It is paramount in illuminated reticles that they can be set really low (not to overshine the target). All three brands you mention will offer this feature. It is also nice if the reticle can be lit with a simple operation to a preselected illumination level - not to have to fiddle with it when the game finally turns up.

- mike

Of the DVD's I've looked at on leopard hunting most of the PH's have Swaro 3-12x50's which I think is the bbest endorsement you can get.

I have the same scope with the IR and would highy reccomend the it. when set at the correct intensity it doesn't affect your night vision at all, and is a great aid in shot placement. On a well moonlit night I can see foxes fairly well without a lamp out to a decent range.

The whole night vision argument is, (I find), a little irrelevent, because if you use bino;'s for spotting game, then the time you are going to look through the scope is when you are going to take a shot anyway.

Rgds,
FB

Fos, Be very careful choosing a `scope for baited Leopard at night, if, you go with a lot of magnification you will have problems, as when your P.H tells you to focus on a rosette on the Leopard,if you have too much mag you will have hell of a job to pick it up and focus on it.
I shoot alot of Wild Boar over here @ night and I have shot Leopard over bait in Africa and I use a 2.5-10 x 42 Swarovski and it was more than eough for Mr Spots and works well at night over here,obviousley you need some natural light as no `scope is a nightscope IMO.
I have used other peoples ilumiated reticle `scope and IMO waste of money, in fading light, the iluminated reticle seems to block out the animal or makes it go all fuzzy( technical term), and they don`t work for me.

quote:

Originally posted by FOsteology:
What is THE best rifle scope to use for night hunting? Preferably with an illumenated reticle.

I'm considering the following:

Schmidt & Bender Zenith
Zeiss Victory Diavari
Swarovski Z6i
Swarovski PV1-2

The intended purpose is mainly hunting feral hogs at night. I'm also planning a trip to Africa and want to hunt Leopard over bait.

I've used various Nikon, Leupold, and Burris scopes hunting feral hogs at night, and unless there is some ambient light (moon or flash lights with red lens) they're not very effective.

I figure this is the best place to ask as European hunters have more experience with night and low-light hunting than us Americans. Except those of us who hunt hogs.... and even then we typically hunt them over bait at night with red lights.

Appreciate the assistance.

Schmidt & Bender all the way!!!

Swaro too soft(in my opinion) zeiss second place to S&B.

3-12x50 or 4-16x50 illuminated ret will do anything you want it to-Allmost

Lets not forget Kahles.Maybe slightly less well known the the others but well up in the running for quality glass.
I would concur with the rest on getting a variable in say 3x12x56.It adds a bit more versatility.
And yes, boar on the snow in a full moon is the dogs....

Thanks for the advice.

Any info. reguarding the Zeiss? I've heard from a couple optics dealers (that carry all 3) that the Zeiss has better glass and is superior optically (by a smidge) to the other two.

I've been leaning towards the Zeiss as they weigh a bit less.

Do all three brands come equipped with a rhetostat for the illuminated reticle?

quote:

Originally posted by FOsteology:
Any info. reguarding the Zeiss? I've heard from a couple optics dealers (that carry all 3) that the Zeiss has better glass and is superior optically (by a smidge) to the other two.

I'm a Zeiss man myself. Zeiss has long been and still is the leading brand on the European Continent. Time and again, when objective optical tests are made, Zeiss comes out on top, Swarovski a hair after and S&B just a tad below either. But even "objective" analysis can allow different conclusions to be drawn, depending on which criteria are deemed important.

However, in reality it means very little. You spend very little time gazing through your scope, unlike your binoculars. In 99.99% of all cases, what one will allow you to see, the other will too. There are differences in reticle dsign (e.g. in a #4, Zeiss tends to have the thinner crosshairs than either Swaro or S&B, which I happen to like), and there are differences in how the illumination and click adjustments work (where I like the S&B system best). Now you can start studying spec charts, weight, FOV, size etc can be determining factors. Perceived ruggedness and service organization may be an issue.

What it ends up with, is that everybody have their own preferences. You can either judge based on what individual judgements you are conveyed, or you can go see for yourself. Who knows, maybe you'll end up an ardent fan of either brand?

- mike

Good advice here already and Seth knows MY preferences, since we've talked it so much....

I do alot of nighttime hunting. Sometimes I go home because I simply cannot see anything - even with good equipment, so you're gonna need some light, moonlight, reflected, background, etc. to see with a normal scope as opposed to a night vision device (illegal to shoot with here, you can look all you want but it better not be connected in any way to your scope/rifle).

I don't like the illuminated recticles for nighttime hunting - IMO they distract me (even at lowest settings) when attempting to aim or look through the scope at an object. Don't get me wrong; I love them for drive hunting in any of the 1X-4X small variables the but that's another kettle of fish.

Variables are all the rage, but with my 2.5x10x50 Docter, my Zeiss 3-12x56 & 2.5x10x48 Zeiss' that I use for nighttime hunting they all end up being turned down to 7 (for the Docter and smaller Zeiss) and 8 (on the other Zeiss) for the best visibility anyway. Try it with a variable under the darkest conditions you can find - the 8x56 setting will give the brightest picture every time.

IMHO if you want the best for nighttime hunting it's a combination of Zeiss 8x56 binocular with a straight power 8x56 Zeiss scope with either a #1 or #4 Zeiss recticle. If you can't see or give up a telling shot with with that combination; then pack it in and go home.

I wouldn't turn down a S&B, Swarovski or other high end branded name optic of similar power either but I just happen to use Zeiss and for me they're the best I've tried under the conditions I hunt at night.

While hunting with Gerry in August over the "pig tower in the dark" I learned alot about illumination.

My 8.5x58 Nikons were ok, Gerrys big German binos were better, but I think at least 8x56

The rifle scope is just as important, with at least 56 objective or greater being needed.

I couldn't tell you how man times I could see fairly well and then all of a sudden neither scope or binos worked anymore.

I would love to try it with some snow.

I have a lot of respect for someone that can sit nights in a high seat hoping for the chance to kill a pig.

I found it too boring for me, but it was interesting.

Now daylight afternoon in the roe deer tower, not so bad!

I am partial to S&B if weight and size are not an option. To my eyes they are the best. I have used a 3-12x50 very, very extensively and it gives all the light gathering I have ever needed. Had a 2.5-10x56 S&B for a brief time, but it was just too big for my uses. For maximum light gathering, I would use this scope

I ended up purchasing a Schmidt & Bender Zenith 1.5-6x42mm Flash dot #7.

Thanks for the assistance.

Good choice ! I have exactly the same scope and with the same reticle on my .338 wm. Fantastic scope. You will really like the flash dot.

I use several Schmidt&Bender, Zeiss and Swarovski scopes and my vote goes to the S&B and Zeiss with the no #4 or illuminated reticule .
The S&B scopes are more ruggered like what the old Zeiss use to be.
ozhunter

Ingvar,

Nice rifle and scope combo. I thought you guys were only allowed to have a rifle under 8mm?

You know I had orders to Keflavik in 2003, then the big Navy bosses got the word to extend everyone that was there and I lost my job and ended up going to Spain instead.

I would have given anything to live, see, explore, and hunt your wonderful country. I have always thought of it as heaven on Earth.

I hope to get to spend some part of my life exploring it. I retire from the Navy in 6 years, hopefully I can find a way to get to know it better without breaking the bank.

I have a Kahles 3-9 on my 338 Blaser. I had often thought of doing a 1.75-6 Schmidt and Bender on the 358 Norma my gunsmith is building me.

Thanks again for posting photos of your rifle.

Seth

I have not had the chance to try it hunting yet, but my set up for roe and red from high seats will be the Ruger #1 in 270 Win with a S&B 8x56 with German #4 reticle.

So far on the range it has turned out to be real pussycat to shoot.

If it is the best night hunting scope... I doubt it, but it is an affordable alternative, and a good one as well

Seth! To bad you didn’t get to come to Iceland…but maybe someday you will have the opportunity. My shooting club is just 3 miles away from what used to be the US Navy base in Keflavík. Regarding your question about the 8mm max … we may by and own bigger calibers, but we are not allowed to hunt with such calibers here in Iceland… only shoot them at the club or use them for hunting abroad. An odd regulation but maybe someday the government will change that silly regulation .

That sertanly sounds a bit silly Ingvar.
I use my 338 Winnie for moose, and it is an exllent big game calibre.

By the way, I worked on Iceland in 1973, building houses in Sandgerdi after Helgafell erupted on Vestmannaeyar.
It was part of an aid program from the Norwegian Government to help those who lost their houses in the eruption.
Iceland is really something else, both the land itself, and the generous and friendly people.
Hope to be back someday with more time to spend as a tourist

My x-girlfriend worked for the our Goverment on the Navy base in Keflavik at the library, and she and I have remained friends (not friends with benefits unfortunatly). She has some very interesting stories about travelling there.

I was looking into doing a self drive tour for 11 days in 2008. I am thinking about hunting reindeer in Greenland with Stephan if Diana offers it next year. There is a layover in Iceland and I want to spend some extra time there. Maybe 10-15 days upon return.

I have a few DVDs coming in that I have ordered, is there anything else I should order thave gives a good representative of Iceland.

Seth ! You can find most of the info needed on Iceland on my website: www.whatson.is or www.icelandreview.com . About Greenland many Icelanders go there hunting every year, Reindeer, Musk-Ox and Polar Bear. If Diana wont offer a trip to Greenland then there is an Icelandic tour operator that does……contact GJ Travel at gjtravel@gjtravel.is or call +354 511 1515 they are offering…. 4 day trip from Reykjavík for reindeer 2.200 USD. 5-8 day trip Musk-Ox 3.500 USD but I don’t have the price for the trip on Polar Bear but its expensive ! I will be going very soon to Greenland, I know a lot of guys that were trilled after spending a week there.

I will also throw in my 2 cents.....

I do most of my hunting in the deep dawn and early morning (red deer, roe buck) and boars in very very bad light conditions. I also asked many people about their oppinion and got twice as much answers as I asked questions... finally I spoke to my gunmaker and he offered me to test them and take my decision afterwards... and so did I. Finally..... all the Zeiss, Swarovski and Kahles performed very well.....with one exception..... the Schmidt & Bender Zenith 2,5-10x56 FD 7 performed outstanding!! Best handling, flash dot technique, brilliance and rugged quality and finally I had the impression, that the contrast in lowest ligt (stars, moon..) is a little bit better than with the competitors. No mechanical internal parts made of "plastic"...

The prices are almost equal, the differences are not worth to worry about if one takes into consideration, that one is going to make an investment into the next 30 years of successful hunting.

So, finally,.... I replaced most of my hunting scopes on my rifles with exactly that Schmidt & Bender and bougt seven.... believe me, I wouldn't have done that, if I were not convinced to buy the best scope money can buy.... but as I said just from the beginning.....just my 2 cents.....

cheers
Gerald

Yey, it is a tick heavier than the others.....but who the f*** cares about a few gramms ?