Kahles scopes? Decent quality?
- Thread starter janssen
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Last time I looked Kahles was owned by Swarovski and Hensoldt was owned by Carl Zeiss.....both Kahles (included) and Hensoldt (exclusively) marketed products aimed at military/police buyers. I have seen Kahles scopes in military dress withstand serious abuse very well!
Based on their respective clients - and from limited personal experience - I think they are very good quality products. S&B also sells various products into both markets and what I have seen/used was also very good..
As for Steiner ... their binoculars when introduced initially got a very good reception BUT in my experience the "perception" of high end (and not necessarily inexpensive!) Teutonic optics did not stand the test of time and several friends that purchased Steiner binos have discarded them or given them to their kids. Primarily due to mechanical issues/lack of durability. Personally I would be cautious around that brand until their scopes are well proven by objective use.
I own and use scopes from Zeiss (Oberkochen and Jena) Swarovski, S&B, Leitz (binos only) etc and they are all pretty good. Unfortunately just because they can make a good optic doesnt mean they dont know how to make a cheap one if they want to .. and slip it in to their product line. Caveat Emptor.
Based on their respective clients - and from limited personal experience - I think they are very good quality products. S&B also sells various products into both markets and what I have seen/used was also very good..
As for Steiner ... their binoculars when introduced initially got a very good reception BUT in my experience the "perception" of high end (and not necessarily inexpensive!) Teutonic optics did not stand the test of time and several friends that purchased Steiner binos have discarded them or given them to their kids. Primarily due to mechanical issues/lack of durability. Personally I would be cautious around that brand until their scopes are well proven by objective use.
I own and use scopes from Zeiss (Oberkochen and Jena) Swarovski, S&B, Leitz (binos only) etc and they are all pretty good. Unfortunately just because they can make a good optic doesnt mean they dont know how to make a cheap one if they want to .. and slip it in to their product line. Caveat Emptor.
I have owned several Kahles scopes, and those models were marketed for hunting applications, rather than military/police applications. In fact most Kahles scopes that I have seen, were marketed for hunting applications.
Agree 100%.
Thanks guys,
Appreciate your insight, just wish the new kahles k1050 came illuminated as my scope is intended for hunting as well as LD shooting - can't afford different rigs for each application.
Has anyone here used the new kahles 10-50?
Should I give up the IR option and go kahles considering I shoot LD all year and hunt once?
thx - 'appreciate the info as I can't afford to have multiple high end scopes in the safe - one needs to do the job. Diapers are expensive! and lets not talk about when they want to go to school!
THX JJ
Appreciate your insight, just wish the new kahles k1050 came illuminated as my scope is intended for hunting as well as LD shooting - can't afford different rigs for each application.
Has anyone here used the new kahles 10-50?
Should I give up the IR option and go kahles considering I shoot LD all year and hunt once?
thx - 'appreciate the info as I can't afford to have multiple high end scopes in the safe - one needs to do the job. Diapers are expensive! and lets not talk about when they want to go to school!
THX JJ
I wont argue that point which is why I said that Kahles "included" military markets as opposed to Hensold which is pretty much exclusively sold to "Government" agencies.
Oddly enough my experience differs from yours though in that MOST of the Kahles I have seen have been in military applications - primarily the Cdn C3 sniper rifle fwiw.
Either way those that I have seen have been tough, hold zero and have good optics
which means that we shouldnt be shooting....
Not being critical or offer up any annoying "holier than thou" advice cause we all have had similar experiences, BUT I am not sure that an illuminated reticle is necessarily good in some situations.
eg in daylight but heavy brush when it is sometimes hard to pick out the reticle from the magnified brush ... an illuminated dot can save moments.
In low light though when your pupils are dilated to accommodate dimmer surroundings you have a reduced depth of field but generally at hunting range an adequate image during legal hunting hours to make out game sufficiently. Putting a scope to your eye under these circumstances with a "bright" illuminated dot or crosshair will cause your pupil to contract .... and in some cases make it more difficult for you to discern the target. I think for those shooting times the best solution is a "bright" scope that delivers a good exit pupil (eg a 6x,42mm scope) with a HEAVY picket or duplex reticle. Not entirely sure illumination is that helpful unless set to a very low level. JMHO and I imagine others will have other opinions
(PS .. I assume by "IR" you mean illuminated reticle and NOT "Infra Red" the more common interpretation)
Sorry I should rephrase - hunting to me is not only deer/moose/bear were you can take your shot or leave it for another day and a cleaner shot, but is a large part of varmit control. I organic farm and in the summer have 150 turkeys and 500 chickens free ranging around, when I see a coyote/fox/wolf exc. having a free dinner I have no problems using guestimation when drilling it. If I wound him I am not happy but on the other hand I do need to feed my family, feeding his family is his problem and shopping on my farm has consequences.
Sometimes you are shooting at shadows or the running dark blob behind the white chicken and the shot has to be fairly quick. Buggers won't sit still under the barn light for me
- no accounting for the predators these days.My hope is that with a illuminated scope turned down (excellent point on the pupil dilating) I can get faster or better target acquisition in low light - somtimes low light is night with my wife "lighting" up the predator with a spotlight - No not deer etc....
Shots are generally at the 3-400 mark.
Funny my kids don't even wake up at late night shots out the bedroom window and the neighbors don't even notice them anymore.
Now about the pupil dilating - doesn't that change with red lights?
- And yes I meant illuminated scope not Infra Red
