3-15x??

[Vermin93]

3-15x42 or 3-15x50

Same scope
Same ballistic drop compensation reticle
Shots out to 600 yds
42mm weighs 17.6 oz
50mm weighs 20.8 oz

Which one do you go with?

 

[stylishblueticks]

42mm is the largest I have. I like to have the center of the scope as close to the center of the bore as possible tho.

 

[Kimberman]

42mm objective is the biggest I will put on a hunting rifle.

 

[Jcalder]

Biggest I have is a 44. A 50 would probably require me to change rings and I don't wanna go any higher than I already am

 

[Vermin93]

I forgot one difference.

42mm has a 1 inch tube
50mm has a 30mm tube

Does that change things?

 

[1 good shot]

I forgot one difference.

42mm has a 1 inch tube
50mm has a 30mm tube

Does that change things?

it should be noticeably brighter in low light

 

[Deer Assassin]

42

 

[Model70Man]

I forgot one difference.

42mm has a 1 inch tube
50mm has a 30mm tube

Does that change things?

it should be noticeably brighter in low light

Not necessarily true. Only on 13x to 15x can you maybe or possibly discern a difference between a 42mm and 50mm scope. Most people cannot tell the difference.

Tube diameter has nothing to do with how much light is transmitted. Tube diameter is more of a function of how much windage and elevation a scope can have.

 

[Vermin93]

I admit to not knowing a whole lot about this, but I thought the main reason that the huge 56mm scopes are popular in Europe is because they better support night and low light hunting. That would seem to imply that a 50mm scope would be better than a 42mm scope on the edge of a big field at first/last light - no?

 

[Model70Man]

On 15x, the 42mm objective will have an exit pupil of 2.8 and the 50mm objective will have an exit pupil of 3.3. The average pupil of an adult in low light is around 6.5 to 7mm. Most people will not be able to tell the difference between 2.8 and 3.3 exit pupil. A difference of .5 on max zoom. A 56mm objective would have a 3.73 exit pupil on 15x and would have a noticeable difference from the 42mm objective. There really isn't much difference between a 50mm and 56mm objective to see a substantial difference on max zoom. An exit pupil of 8 or more will look the same since most pupils do not dilate much past 8mm.

30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset is not an issue for most modern day scopes with 40-42mm objectives. My 2.5-8x32 Conquests are my brightest scopes.