Scope for nightime use (lamping foxes)

[Oddbod]

I'm looking for a scope to use on a 22-250 for fox control.
Most shooting will be done in low light, or at night using a lamp to illuminate the target.
A couple of people have recommended use of an illuminated reticle.
Range up to 300yds.
Price below $1,000
My research so far has come up with the following options.

Kahles KX 4-12x50
Zeiss Conquest 4.5-14x50
Leupold VX-L 4.5-14x50 (Illuminated reticle)

I would appreciate your opinions & suggestions as to scope & reticle choice.

Thanks

Mike

 

[gabby]

Hi Mike; I used to hunt fox at night quite a bit. The way we did it was we used a caller using sounds like dying rabbit, squealing woodpecker, and fox pups in distress. We used a red filter on the lamp ( they come in much easier and closer ) then when close used a clear light to take your shot. These were grey fox which tend to be more aggressive than reds. Most of the area we hunted was brushy so most of our shots came in the 15 - 40 yard range. The longest shot I ever made was about 75 yards. I used a 3x9 Bushnell with the illuminated reticle. I can't stress enough how the illuminated reticle is much better than a scope without it for night shooting. Any of the scopes you named should serve you well. As far as reticle choice I would go with a fine crosshair and dot. Having said that I haven't shot any thing out to 300 yards at night. I know you stated you didn't want to go over $1000 but you might want to check out some of the Nightforce reticles to get some ideas. Mike

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Mike, Nighforces are a good low light scope with an excellent illuminatde reticle. The 50 - 56 mm objectives will run $1400 plus, which IMHO is the best valvue on the market. I just picked up a 5 1/2 x 22 x 50 the other day and it is a great piece of work. May be more scope than you are looking for.

Cheers, and good fox hunting

 

[Akkill]

kahles kx or cl if posible way better than leupold and better than conquest i allso used a burris whit red dot reticle very good glass but not so ruged like kahles whish have better controls too.

 

[Brocksdad]

+1 on the Kahles Scopes. Try to get something in the C line of Kahles scopes.

Rob

 

[Oddbod]

Thanks for the replies (& PM's).
I was hoping to keep below $1,000 for this scope but on reflection it looks like $1,500 is more realistic - bit of a bugger when the £ has fallen 12% against the $ over the past month.
Ho hum, it's only money.

 

[pinshootr]

for that kind of money get a night vision scope
light bulblight bulb

 

[Jon A]

Do you have spotlights that really light stuff up at 300 yds? I ask because if you're talking about hitting something from long range under just moonlight, the requirements are going to be a lot tougher than if something is lit up well with a spotlight.

Though I've mostly done this at closer ranges, I find if something's lit up with a light many scopes can work well. Size of objective, glass quality, etc, doesn't matter all that much. Having a nice thick reticle and good illumination help. But it's not a difficult task, you can do well with a much cheaper scope.

Going without a light, especially at longer ranges, the scope needs to be able to see the target first. This is where the high quality expensive glass really comes in, as well as 50/56mm objectives. The illumination system needs to be good as well, having settings low enough it doesn't wash out the target. This is where you can spend some big bucks.

Though as you said, you can quickly get into spending some silly money for killing foxes. Before dropping the big money I'd be inclined to try out a 3-12X56 Meopta with the illuminated dot 4a. Illuminated dot 4a's simply rock for this sort of use, from a dim glowing dot in the dark to a brighter glowing dot with a thick, quick to see reticle surrounding it in low light or under the spotlight. 56mm of Meopta glass will still see the target after many much more expensive scopes have gone dark. Anyway, that's just another suggestion you may not have thought of that could save you some money.

If mainly spotlighting at closer range, you could probably get by pretty well with an even cheaper scope. But then again, if you can afford a couple grand...a high end Zeiss, S&B, Swaro, etc, can bring you much joy.

 

[Oddbod]

Lights are gimbal mounted, switchable twin 180 watt - one red lensed & they cost way too much....
Most of the lamping shots are at less than 100yds but longer ranges come into play early on as the light is fading - hence the desire for a large objective lens.
Thanks again for the help & I'll let you know what I get.

 

[Akkill]

well a q-beam 3000,000 candels power spot ligth if good for those distance but beyond half way is where you realy needs good glass .

 

[Oddbod]

And nine years later, I've ended up with a completely different rig...

 

[Schnyd112]

Do you have spotlights that really light stuff up at 300 yds? I ask because if you're talking about hitting something from long range under just moonlight, the requirements are going to be a lot tougher than if something is lit up well with a spotlight.

Though I've mostly done this at closer ranges, I find if something's lit up with a light many scopes can work well. Size of objective, glass quality, etc, doesn't matter all that much. Having a nice thick reticle and good illumination help. But it's not a difficult task, you can do well with a much cheaper scope.

If mainly spotlighting at closer range, you could probably get by pretty well with an even cheaper scope. But then again, if you can afford a couple grand...a high end Zeiss, S&B, Swaro, etc, can bring you much joy.

This has been pretty much my experience exactly. I have never had the chance to shoot a really nice scope in the dark, but rabbits and coyotes out to about 150 were pretty easy with leupold vxii's. Much past that and you were shooting at eyes. I don't really know our max range, shooting 220 swift and 22-250 it's pretty much flat passed where we could see so the limit was our light.