Scout scope

[Tob]

Dear all,
As this is my first post on AH: What a fantastic resource this forum is!

Background: I am going on my first to South Africa, Transvaal, Zandfontain on a PG hunt in late May. I am planning on bringing my Steyr Scout in .308 W with Norma TXP (= A-Frame), 165 gr.
I really love to stalk as close as possible and the harder my hunt, the happier I am.

Question: My sight is the original Steyr Scout/Leupold 2,5x28mm. Is this sight sufficient for my intented purpose? Do I need more magnification?
And please feel free to add any other advice for a rookie!

Thx!

 

[Diamondhitch]

Your weapon is your choice. A .308 with A-frames is fine and most shots should be less than 150yds which should be no problem with that scope. A 28mm objective with that magnification also will have sufficient light gathering.

You definitely handicap yourself slightly but IMO not significantly, a Bow or Muzzle loader are both perfectly acceptable weapons and both have far more limited range than your rig. I wouldn't worry about it one bit.

 

[Diamondhitch]

BTW Welcome to AH

 

[Royal27]

Welcome!!!!

Like Hitch said, you'll be fine and the choice is yours. That's what it is all about, doing it the way you want to.

 

[enysse]

Welcome to AH, you should be fine with your .308.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Welcome to AH.

You're set, unless you are hunting in really low light.

Otherwise, Happy hunting.

 

[Red Leg]

Agree. I have the same rifle and scope set-up and you can hit anything in Africa out to 200 yards quickly and accurately with it. I haven't taken mine with me because at heart I am a steel and walnut fan. My scout is for repelling boarders. But it would work great on PG and so will yours.

 

[Diamondhitch]

Welcome to AH.

You're set, unless you are hunting in really low light.

Otherwise, Happy hunting.

2.5x28mm = 11.2mm exit pupil. max human eye is 9mm. The scope will transmit more available light than the eye can use.

 

[BRICKBURN]

2.5x28mm = 11.2mm exit pupil. max human eye is 9mm. The scope will transmit more available light than the eye can use.

I'll have you test this theory with this same scope and only modify light conditions.

For the sake of consistency (pupil size) get your optometrist to give you some "Tropicamide" for this test (for pupil dilation). After administering the required Rx wait 10 minutes. Repeat administration process prior to test 2.

1. Look through the scope on a sunny day at noon. (same target same distance)

2. Look through the scope an hour after sunset.

I'll wager in scenario 1 you will certainly have more light energy than your eye can use (which will be demonstrated by your blinking/closing your eye and wincing in pain) and scenario 2 will not cause the same reaction because you will not have enough light energy transmitted.
[Please don't do this for real. It will hurt.]

You and I know that is not the only factor of light transmission and reception.
Better glass, and coating will change the result, etc. (sure works with cameras)
Never mind other personal factors, eye health, myopia, etc.

Every hunter will be different, just like reloads in different rifles.

If you can see through the scope in the lowest light conditions you hunt in, it will be good enough for you. You decide.
Mine was a cautionary statement not an assessment of a particular piece of equipment.

 

[Nyati]

Welcome to AH, Tom.

You should be OK with your choice.

 

[Diamondhitch]

I'll have you test this theory with this same scope and only modify light conditions.

For the sake of consistency (pupil size) get your optometrist to give you some "Tropicamide" for this test (for pupil dilation). After administering the required Rx wait 10 minutes. Repeat administration process prior to test 2.

1. Look through the scope on a sunny day at noon. (same target same distance)

2. Look through the scope an hour after sunset.

I'll wager in scenario 1 you will certainly have more light energy than your eye can use (which will be demonstrated by your blinking/closing your eye and wincing in pain) and scenario 2 will not cause the same reaction because you will not have enough light energy transmitted.
[Please don't do this for real. It will hurt.]

You and I know that is not the only factor of light transmission and reception.
Better glass, and coating will change the result, etc. (sure works with cameras)
Never mind other personal factors, eye health, myopia, etc.

Every hunter will be different, just like reloads in different rifles.

If you can see through the scope in the lowest light conditions you hunt in, it will be good enough for you. You decide.
Mine was a cautionary statement not an assessment of a particular piece of equipment.

The thing you are not factoring is available light. for instance 1,000,000 lumens of light transmitted at 100% to your eye will be a bad thing while 1 lumen of light transferred to the eye will barely be visible.

Exit pupil is a universal measurement of the maximum amount of available light that can be transmitted to the eye, of course as you have mentioned there are also other factors such as lens coatings at work. The standard I have followed is min 10mm exit pupil will allow you to see as well through the scope as you would without it, minus the magnification of course.

Think of your eye as a collector, much like a pipe would be. Now imagine a jet of water (assuming a perfect spray pattern with no losses and no friction in the pipe) 4" spraying into a 12" pipe, 100% of the water is entering the pipe but the pipe requires 12" to keep itself full. Now how about if the pipe is swedged down to 4", now the pipe is getting 100% of what it can handle. Now spray a 20" jet of water at the 12" pipe, the pipe is 100% full and the excess is wasted. The same 20" spray at a 4" pipe wastes even more water.

In the same way, the eye can only process as much light as it is able to take in, any larger of an exit pupil casts light beyond the opening of the eye and is only usable to the diameter of the pupil.

In mid day your pupil narrows, for instance in bright conditions maybe to 4mm. At that time a scope with a 4mm exit pupil will appear as bright as one with a 20mm exit pupil. Once the available light is insufficient to see, it doesn't matter how much your scope looks like a flashlight, it is not.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Once the available light is insufficient to see, it doesn't matter how much your scope looks like a flashlight, it is not.

Yup, when it's dark, it's dark. Turn on a flash light.

 

[Tob]

Thank you all, as I stated earlier - this is a great forum with a very helpful and polite group of peole.

Cheers - Toby

 

[Diamondhitch]

Yup, when it's dark, it's dark. Turn on a flash light.

LOL, Hey Wayne, that comment wasn't meant as a shot. I should have added a smiley at the end.

 

[BRICKBURN]

LOL, Hey Wayne, that comment wasn't meant as a shot. I should have added a smiley at the end.

My psychotherapy bill is in the mail. :zen: