Paul Austin puts the very best low light and lamping scopes under a grand to the test…
Selecting a scope is quite frankly a nightmare. The range is huge, and the closer you look, the more confusing the competing array of features and options appear. A key factor for any scope is its light gathering ability and that’s the driving force behind this round-up.
To help make the selection, I turned to long range shooting and scope guru Mr Richard Utting of SharpShootingUK. With his help and the assistance of Shaun Ellis, we’ve pulled together a collection that we feel are the premiere low light scopes for less £1000. Most are dedicated hunting scopes but there should be something for everyone, whether you shoot air, rimfire or centrefire. There’s no lame ducks here, these scopes are as good as it gets for under a grand, in terms of image quality and low light performance.
It could well be that additional features such as reticle styles, parallax adjustment, illumination or dialling ability makes the difference for you, but rest assured, whichever scope takes your fancy, it will definitely be a stunning low-light performer.
The testing process
Comparing such a wide variety of scopes is a tricky business. Obviously, everybody’s eyesight is different and it’s a very subjective business. To make the process fair, I put three shooters to the task, myself included, to score each scope independently, with the individual scores being combined to give the final results. Each scope was given a number and any obvious identifying marks obscured with the aid of electrical tape. As you can see, there are some very big names alongside lesser known newcomers. Big brands can sway opinions, so out with the electrical tape to keep things fair!
There’s not enough time to test so many scopes at last light, so to keep thing consistent I set-up an Alpha hunting torch on its medium power setting using a white LED to produce a consistent light source. Each scope was also tested separately with a red LED, to see how well it performed in a traditional lamping/foxing scenario.
Standard Bisley targets were placed at 50-metre intervals from 100m to 300m plus a 100m fox target tucked away in a hedgerow, to provide a particularly tough contrast test. As the Schmidt & Bender is a fixed 8x magnification that was the mag used on all the scopes during the test. Obviously, variable power scopes will score higher in the features category.
The categories
Brightness
A scopes brightness is pretty self-explanatory; literally, how bright the overall image appears to the shooter.
Contrast
The importance of good contrast can easily be overlooked. Spotting a brown-ish critter on a brown-ish background is a challenge for any scope and without good contrast it’s virtually impossible.
Range
Again, fairly self-explanatory. Quite simply, how far you can see clearly given the available light.
Clarity
The clarity score combines of all of the above and gives an overall image score for each scope.
Lamping
A dedicated test with a red pill to determine how the optics and associated coatings cope with a typical night shooting set-up.
Features
All the extra whistles and bells, such as variable mag, illuminated reticle, dialling turrets and parallax adjustment. The mini review for each scope will go into the specifics.
Karl Kaps Classic 2.5-10×56 FFP Non-Illuminated Riflescope
A classic German hunting design. No fancy features just quality glass and rocksolid construction, plus, a reassuring 25-year guarantee. The scope really is pretty basic with no parallax adjustment and old school low profile hunting turrets. Its lightweight and ships with the obligatory set of bikini caps.
Although a traditional looking scope, it does have a modern twist; unlike most of the others in the roundup, it is a first focal plane (FFP) scope. Oddly enough, especially given the FFP design, it’s only offered with a standard posted crosshair. Given the basic (non Mildot) reticle and the lack of parallax, it’s ideal for centrefire shooters but it wouldn’t be the best choice for air rifle or rimfire.
Brightness: 8.0
Contrast: 7.5
Range: 7.3
Clarity: 7.8
Lamping: 6.5
Features: 5.0
Combined Score: 42
Price: £795.00
Contact: Optics Warehouse www.opticswarehouse.co.uk
Schmidt & Bender 8X56 Klassik
Post a request for assistance in selecting a low light scope on any shooting forum and you’re pretty much guaranteed that the Schmidt & Bender 8x56 will get a mention. It’s been around forever and is regarded quite rightly as a classic low light foxing scope. More Germanic glass but in this case manufactured in Hungary. By far the simplest design in the roundup, but if you’re after exceptional image quality with no frills, it’s a real contender. It’s a fixed mag scope but the few features on offer are very well implemented.
The dioptre adjustment has plenty of range and the hunting turrets are an improvement on the Karl Kaps offering, cleaner clicks and better ergonomics. Like most hunting turrets, it’s a case of set and forget, so not exactly a deal breaker. A simple but beautifully made optic.
Again, no parallax adjustment, so ideal for centrefire but not the best choice for close range encounters with an air rifle or sub HMR rimfires.
Brightness: 7.7
Contrast: 7.8
Range: 6.8
Clarity: 7.2
Lamping: 7.5
Features: 3.0
Combined Score: 40
Price: £439.00
Contact: Optics Warehouse www.opticswarehouse.co.uk
Sightron S-TAC 2.5-17.5X56 IR MOA
The Sightron takes us away from the tradition hunting design and heads off in a more target/tactical direction. Another well-respected scope with more in the way of whistles and bells. Importantly for air rifle and rimfire shooters, the scope offers excellent parallax adjustment, alongside well implemented hashed target turrets. Although capped, you could easily leave them aside and use it as a dialling scope out in the field. The clicks are clean and well marked. No zero reset, so it’s out with the Allen keys to reset the turrets.
With a 2.5-17.5, there’s also plenty of mag to play with. Another major plus is the centre dot illuminated reticle. Unlike many cheaper implementations, the dot is very dim at the lower power settings and as you move up in power, each click turns the illumination off and on, making it easy to return to the ideal setting.
It’s a second focal plane scope (SFP), so no expanding reticle as you increase the mag but crucially for air and rimfire shooters, it does offer a very fine (perhaps too fine) Mildot style ret, so a great choice for anyone who needs to add some holdover on occasion. There’s a lovely matt finish, plus, a stretchy neoprene scope cover to keep it safe. Overall a nice package.
Brightness: 7.8
Contrast: 6.7
Range: 5.5
Clarity: 6.5
Lamping: 7.2
Features: 8.0
Price: £895.00
Combined Score: 42
Contact: Optics Warehouse www.opticswarehouse.co.uk
Nightforce SHV 3-12X56 .25 MOA
The Nightforce is a slightly strange hybrid of a hunting and target scope. It has similar capped target turrets to the Sightron. Although slightly more squat and lacking the crisp click of the Sightron’s, they do allow dialling if the need arises. In terms of additional features, that’s where the similarities end, as the rest of the scope is much more in keeping with a traditional hunting design. There’s no parallax adjustment; so, again not the first choice for air or rimfire but ideal for centrefire.
The reticle is non-illuminated with a centre cross surrounded by a German post style layout with extra bits. Sounds confusing but it’s quite a nice layout, aimed squarely at a centrefire audience.
The dioptre and mag adjustments are good quality but, to be fair, that’s the case with all the scopes on test. The matt finish is again similar to that of the Sightron. A quality second focal plane scope with good fit and finish but perhaps lacking some of the extras found on the Sightron and Delta.
Brightness: 7.0
Contrast: 7.0
Range: 6.0
Clarity: 6.7
Lamping: 7.5
Features: 5.0
Price: £674.99
Combined Score: 40
Contact: Optics Warehouse www.opticswarehouse.co.uk
Zeiss Terra 4-12 X 50
The Zeiss Terra is a little different than the other runners and riders. Firstly, it has a 25mm tube, rather than a 30mm. Secondly, it’s has a 50mm, as opposed to a 56mm objective. Given both of the above, I think it’s held up quite well. Less glass and the thinner tube make it a lightweight at just 495g, compared to the 867g of the Sightron, for example.
Another classic hunting scope with no parallax adjustment or illuminated ret; so, yet another scope best suited to a flatter shooting centrefires. The capped turrets are traditional with no hash marks or numbers, so definitely not a dialler — very much old school ‘set and forget’.
The ret is a basic posted crosshair; so, again not ideal for those in need of occasional holdover. The mag range is good and the general mechanics and fit and finish are what you’d expect from Zeiss. Good for closer range shooters who don’t like carrying too much weight.
Brightness: 7.8
Contrast: 7.7
Range: 5.2
Clarity: 6.7
Lamping: 7.0
Features: 5.0
Combines Score: 39
Price: £425.99
Contact: Optics Warehouse www.scottcountry.co.uk
Delta Titanium-2-5-15X56 HD Illuminated SF
The Delta sets the standard when it comes to features. An excellent centre dot illuminated reticle, combined with a side parallax focusing down to 10m to match the 10-year warranty. A big mag range and last but not least, the best zero reset capped turrets on test.
Unlike its competitors, there’s no Allen keys required when you’ve finished zeroing; simply pull up on the caps, rotate to zero and clip them back in place. Job done. The turrets and clicks are as good as any on test, although they couldn’t be classed as true diallers, as they don’t have rotation hashes.
Nevertheless, an all round great design. The only minor shortfall being lack of a Mildot style reticle; so, once again, the Delta is another scope best suited to HMR or centrefire. The ret itself is a fairly standard posted crosshair but the excellent illuminated centre dot does make it something special.
Brightness: 8.3
Contrast: 7.8
Range: 7.3
Clarity: 8.3
Lamping: 8.3
Features: 8.0
Combined Score: 48
Price: £699.95
Contact: Optics Warehouse www.opticswarehouse.co.uk
A big thank you!
This article has taken a fair bit of putting together. I’d like again to thank Richard Utting (www.sharpshootinguk. com) and Shaun Ellis of Optics Warehouse for their invaluable assistance. I’d also like to thank my fellow shooters Simon Robinson and Paul Ayriss for braving sub-zero temperatures during the testing. Hopefully all their efforts will help put the perfect scope on your rifle.
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