Best 2-7x scope for low light situations?

[North Country Gal]

Your best bet is to actually go look through a variety of scopes, but, yeah, with your experienced eye, I think you would see a difference. Not sure what scope brands you have in your area, but I've been impressed with the Leupold VX3 HD series. The VX3 HD 2.5-8x36 looks like a winner. Nice lightweight scope for a lever gun.

[Redthies]

Thanks NCG. I know you are very experienced in optics etc, so I’ll take a look at that one.

[North Country Gal]

You are very welcome. Let us know what you find.

[Hatchdog]

I was just telling my wife that I have learned more about scopes in the last couple of weeks than over 40 years of selling and using them.

Thanks NCG for all the great info.

Red, I did a search yesterday for any 2-7x with an objective greater than 33 and struck out. Then I searched for a 3-9x40 compact such as Leupold used to make and struck out again. That 2.5-8x36 sounds promising, good luck.

[The Happy Kaboomer]

Unfortunately the light gathering ability is directly tied to the size of the objective lens. I don’t think any 33 mm scope is going to do what you want. I have an old Leupold VX 2-7x33 (1” tube) which is a delightful scope on a lever gun, crisp and clear in daylight, but it doesn’t work well at dawn or dusk.

https://www.bushnell.com/through-the-l ... ptics.html


Have you considered using a set of tall Warne QD rings with a big scope? Pick a scope with a large diameter tube! That way you can remove the entire setup in a few seconds when you don’t actually need it. It holds zero very well if you have a quality picatinney rail on the rifle, and after you mark the location on the rail with a dot from a silver Sharpie... This is my BBX .44 Mag with low QD rings.



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John Davies
Spokane WA

Ya know. You nailed it!!!!......Small scopes of cheaper quality just don't cut it early and late...........I just installed a Swarovski Z5 2.4x12x50 on my 444P lever gun. My Win mdl 70 wears a Swarovski........My Marlin 35 Rem lever wears a Leupold Var-X III 3x10x50 with heavy duplex. My Browning BAR wears the same Leupold.......Our deer hunting hours are 1 hr before sunrise to 1 hr after sunset. Small scopes with small objective lens just won't cut at these time.....Last night I put the crosshairs on a small buck at 830 pm.......It would have been easy to kill him. He got a pass.
I went through the cheap scope evolution many years ago. Most wouldn't cut it early and late. So I skrimped and and saved and bought the best glass I could afford(including binoculars) and they work great.........In my opinion you don't get into the medium to good glass in scopes and binoculars till you get above $500 and up............I'm not being a snob. Just stating what works for me in low light hunting.