Watch our guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rkOppBq3J0 Read our blog post: https://www.optics-trade.eu/blog/the-ultimate-low-light-riflescope-buying-guide/ Browse low light riflescopes: https://www.optics-trade.eu/en/riflescopes/hunting-rifle-scopes/low-light-rifle-scopes.html

2. INTRODUCTION
• The purpose of this guide is to
help people choose the right low-
light riflescope
• General features and fields of
use are listed, followed by
riflescopes divided by price
range (characteristics of
riflescopes from each price range
are pointed out)
• Our favourite picks are listed,
along with the pros and cons of
each

3. GENERAL
FEATURES
•56, 60 or 54 mm objective lens
•Capped turrets
•Heavy (from 800 g to 1 kg)
•Mostly used in stationary forms of
hunting

4. LOW LIGHT RIFLESCOPE CONFIGURATIONS
•3-12x56
•2.5-10x56
•4-16x56
•3-15x56
•Also, some with bigger zoom factors (2.8-20x56, 2.3-18x56

5. ZOOM FACTOR
•The ratio between the max. and
min. magnification
•The bigger the zoom factor, the
more lenses in the design
•The more lenses in the design, the
bigger the loss of light
•High-quality lenses reduce the loss
of light
•4x zoom riflescopes are becoming
more rare

6. THE IMPACT OF
COATINGS ON LOW-
LIGHT PERFORMANCE
•Coatings can double the brightness
of the riflescope
•When light is reflected from the
optical surface, a part of it gets lost
but coatings decrease the amount
•The best coatings have up to 40
layers
•The best riflescopes have more than
95 % of light transmission rate

7. LIGHT
TRANSMISSION
RATE
•The percentage of light that passes
through a riflescope
•80 %+ = decent
•90 %+= exceptional
•A graph portrays the most accurate
results
•The light transmission should be
great below 550 nm of wavelength
•Contrast is also important

8. FIXED MAGNIFICATION VS VARIABLE MAGNIFICATION
•The user is not able to
change the set
magnification
•The user is able to change
the magnification
according to various
circumstances
Fixed Magnification
Variable Magnification

9. LOW-LIGHT RIFLESCOPES AND
THE RETICLE
•FFP (First focal plane)
•SFP (Second focal plane)
•With the FFP, the reticle appears
small when zoomed out and large
when zoomed in
•With the SFP only the small dot in
the centre is illuminated, not the
whole reticle

10. FIELDS OF USE
✓Low-light conditions
✓Hunting at dusk or dawn
×Not suitable for other hunting styles mostly because
of the heavy weight

11. HOW THE TESTING WAS DONE
Carried out by the Optics Trade team
We tested how well do they perform in low light
We wanted to achieve as least biased results
The riflescopes were ranked according to the price
Two riflescopes were tested at once
All rifleescopes were paired up at one point
We created a list

12. PRICE CLASSES
•Below 500 €
•500 €-1000 €
•1000 €-1500 €
•1500 €-2000 €
•2000 €-2500 €

13. BELOW 500 €
•Most are produced in China wtih a
•2, 5 or 10-year warranty period
•4x zoom factor
•Fixed parallax
•Usually of the 3-12x56 type
•Usually with capped turrets
•Many have bigger portions of the
reticle illuminated
•Purged with nitrogen or argon

14. YUKON JAEGER 3-
12X56
✓a small illuminated red dot for low-light use
(compared to others in this price range)
✓relatively wide field of view
✓generous eye-box
✓can withstand heavy recoil (also .375 H&H and
calibers with similar power)
×yellow tint on the image
×long
×light transmission rate (compared to more
expensive scopes)

15. 500 €-1000 €
• 4x, 5x or 6x zoom factor
• Many with a fixed magnification
• Made in China or Japan
• Finely-adjustable red dot
• Offer up to 11 levels of illumination
• Magnification higher than 12x
• Adjustable parallax
• Capped turrets
• 5-10 years of warranty

16. MEOPTA MEOSTAR
R1 3-12X56 RD
✓great light transmission rate for the
price
✓30-year warranty
✓available with a mounting rail
×some do not like the thick reticle
×daytime performance
×narrow field of view
×tunnel effect at low magnifications

17. DELTA OPTICAL 2.5-
19X56 TITANIUM HD
✓cheapest Japanese low-light hunting riflescope
✓4x zoom (better light transmission)
✓fiber optic reticles
✓thick reticle (good for low-light use)
×narrow field of view
×not as bright as the more expensive models

18. NOTABLE
MENTIONS NOTABLE

19. BURRIS SIX XE 3-18X56
SCHMIDT & BENDER KLASSIK
HUNGARIA 8x56

20. 1000 €-1500 €
•Made in Japan or Europe (Germany and
Portugal)
•Mostly with a 5x or 6x magnification
•Can be mounted on big-caliber rifles with heavy
recoil
•Finely adjustable dot
•Some have continious adjustment
•10-year warranty period
•Capped turrets
•The opton of mounting the scope with a mounting
rail

21. MINOX ALL-ROUNDER
3-15X56
✓an extremely bright image for the money
✓comes with flip-up covers
✓Sharpness
×field of view

22. STEINER RANGER 4 3-
12X56
✓light transmission rate
✓finely adjustable red dot
✓bright and sharp image
✓optional rail mounting
×illumination settings are better with Zeiss
×4x zoom factor

23. 1500 €-2000 €
• Products from only renowed manufacturers
• Made mostly in Europe
• 10-year warranty
• Finely adjustable red dot
• Continious adjustment or a large amount of illumination
intensity levels
• High-quality coatings
• Sharp images
• Cappet turrets
• The option of purchasing the scope with a BDC turret
• 4x or 6x zoom factor

24. STEINER RANGER 6 3-
18X56
✓field of view
✓excellent light transmission rate
✓6x zoom factor
✓illumination
✓size
×/

25. ZEISS CONQUEST V6
2.5-15X56
✓a very finely adjustable red dot
✓illumination
✓BDC turret
×no adjustable parallax

26. NOTABLE
MENTION NOTABLE
KAHLES HELIA 2.4-
12X56I

27. 2000 €-2500 €
•Made only in Europe
•Finely-adjustable red dot
•Most have continious adjustment
•Several illumination intensity levels
•Most avaliable with mounting rails
•6x or 8x zoom factor
•Can be bought with a BDC turret
•Adjustable parallax
•More than 12x magnification
•10-year warranty

28. SCHMIDT & BENDER
POLAR 4-16X56
✓light transmission rate is measured on every single
model (claimed by S&B)
✓build quality
✓FFP or SFP
✓price
✓can be ordered with a BDC turret
×unnecessary 54 mm lens (not much of a difference in
weight compared to the 56 mm model)
×non-fiber optic reticle illumination
×34 mm tube (making the scope heavier)
×the position of illumination (on the side)
×short mounting length

29. SWAROVSKI Z6I 2.5-
15X56
✓field of view
✓contrast
✓image sharpness
✓can be ordered with the Swarovski SR rail mount
✓BDC turret
✓great illumination
×bright, but not as bright as some more expensive
low-light riflescopes

30. 2500 €+
•The best of the best
•Red dots with continious adjustment
•Amazing quality
•High-quality coatings
•Worthy investments
•10-year warranty

31. LEICA MAGNUS 2.4-
16X56 I
✓eye-box
✓design
✓the widest field of view
✓the option of a BDC turret
✓impressive light transmission rate for its price
✓colours
✓contrast
✓can be bought with a rail
×zoom factor (only 6x)
×the illumination is marginally worse than in V8 and
Z8

32. BLASER INFINITY 4-
20X58
✓FFP reticle (user preference)
✓BDC turret
✓image brightness
✓58 mm lens
✓rail mounting
×ergonomics
×price
×FFP reticle (user preference)
×parallax on the ride side of the scope
×5x zoom
×even in the lowest setting, the illumination could be
dimmer

33. NOTABLE
MENTIONS NOTABLE

34. ZEISS VICTORY V8 2.8-
20X56
SWAROVSKI Z8I 2.3-18x56

35. CONCLUSION
•Low-light riflescopes are great for hunters who hunt
at dusk or dawn
•Big differences between different price classes
•With the help of this guide, you know what you get
for a certain price