Counting antler points in low light

[husky390]

Howdy all. I have a pair of Swaro 10x42 EL’s that are great but on two separate hunts have had a lot of difficulty being able to see and count antler points on bulls in low light situations. One scenario was facing northwest at dusk, the other was facing west at sunup. Both bulls were at a minimum of 250 yards away.

Would Swaro 12x50 EL’s do a better job in low light than my 10x42’s?


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[AZ_Hunter_2000]

How "low light" are you wanting?

10x @ 250 yards is the equivalent of the bull being 25 yards from you with your naked eye.

 

[husky390]

How "low light" are you wanting?

10x @ 250 yards is the equivalent of the bull being 25 yards from you with your naked eye.

Not sure. Maybe my eyes are old and expectations and inexperience are high. Here in Colorado we have a points system on elk and it’s been a struggle for me to count their points when they’re standing in front of timber.


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[Outdoorsman12b]

There is probably more to it than just this but light gathering abutting with equal quality glas is generally derived by dividing the objective size by magnification. Rule of thumb is adults can handle a power factor of 5, so in your specific example your current binos are actually slightly better. Now if you were going to 10 x 50 or even 8x42 yes would be brighter.

I’m assuming that your looking for more brightness and not more magnification based on the scenario you have outlined above. Another challenge is obviously keeping your binos steady enough to count points which is pretty hard with 10 freehand. For this if possible a tripod is a game changer.

 

[KenLee]

Try the 8x42 NL with forehead brace

 

[LaHunter]

Howdy all. I have a pair of Swaro 10x42 EL’s that are great but on two separate hunts have had a lot of difficulty being able to see and count antler points on bulls in low light situations. One scenario was facing northwest at dusk, the other was facing west at sunup. Both bulls were at a minimum of 250 yards away.

Would Swaro 12x50 EL’s do a better job in low light than my 10x42’s?


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Are you free handing the binos, or do you have them on a tripod or some other means of stabilizer them? Having the on a rock solid rest of some type makes a world of difference. If your current binos aren’t sufficient, then it is most likely your eyes are the problems

 

[Tourguide]

I have leica geovid 10x42s and an older pair of German made leica trinovid 8x50s. Those old 8×50s blow away the 10s in low light, you need as much exit pupil as you can get as your eyes get older and the light gets dimmer

 

[roosiebull]

Howdy all. I have a pair of Swaro 10x42 EL’s that are great but on two separate hunts have had a lot of difficulty being able to see and count antler points on bulls in low light situations. One scenario was facing northwest at dusk, the other was facing west at sunup. Both bulls were at a minimum of 250 yards away.

Would Swaro 12x50 EL’s do a better job in low light than my 10x42’s?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have not compared the 2 in low light, but would expect them to be very similar, like mentioned, lower power and bigger objectives will get better low light performance

The 10x42 el is a good performer in low light in general, so how much are you willing to spend for an extra couple minutes, and if your EL’s can’t count points, can you see good enough through your scope to shoot? Is it still legal light?

Probably stuff you have considered, but important

 

[Stinky Coyote]

shoulda got leicas

on equal/similar quality glass magnification trumps exit pupil, the 12's should show you more on the same scene even at same low light example

as per the other thread on this, stereo vision trumps mono, Ie; equivalent to see with 15x binos you need 22x spotter, so trying to see same through 10x rifles scope as 10x binos may be a fantasy, you may need about 15x on the rifle scope to match

 

[atmat]

Are you binos on a tripod? If not, I’d start there.

Otherwise, yes, a 12x50 will be easier than a 10x42 at that distance at low light. You get more magnification and basically same exit pupil.

It’s worth noting that in really low light and in heavy timber at 250 yards, things just get hard to see.