Shirstone scope...and other scope stuff
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My dad put one on his new Sako he bought last week. Had it at the range yesterday and the glass is clear as a bell. The recticle lights up in his wich could be a neat feature with 5 minutes left to shoot. Without looking side by side it seems to be clearer then my Leupy, not sure about Zeiss ect as I've never spent that much money on one.... 
These scopes aren't real cheap, I was a bit uneasy watching him buy it without ever having heard of them but he's happy and I'm jealous
Not happy with the Sako however..........
These scopes aren't real cheap, I was a bit uneasy watching him buy it without ever having heard of them but he's happy and I'm jealous
Not happy with the Sako however..........
That is what I was thinking. If they were real cheap I wouldn't even bother. On the other hand, it is hard to shell out $ for an unknown. They seem to be competatively priced if they are in fact high quality: 3-10x56 with 30mm main tube and illuminated reticle is ~$1000. Do you know where it is made?
they're huge, ugly, heavy, ugly, and when you shoulder your rifle you need to crane your neck to get high enough to align your eye with the super extra high mounts
Leupold VXII's w/ 40mm objectives seem to work pretty good. We're not hunting wild pigs in Scandanavia at 2am you know...BC has 1 hr after sunset legal shooting light. At 1 hr past it is still light enough to see with the VXII on most days...
my .02 cents, to each their own
Leupold VXII's w/ 40mm objectives seem to work pretty good. We're not hunting wild pigs in Scandanavia at 2am you know...BC has 1 hr after sunset legal shooting light. At 1 hr past it is still light enough to see with the VXII on most days...
my .02 cents, to each their own
I found a Swedish website and they sell these scopes for 1/3 the price of a Kahles. I have found that I can't see very well even 1/2 hour after sunset if an animal is in the edge of the timberline. But I also only hunt with 1" main tube scopes. I use a VXII 3-9x40, VXII 4.5-14x40 and a Swarovski 3-9x36 Habicht. On our last hunting trip my partner had to pass up shots two evenings in a row because he couldn't make out if the deer had antlers. It was still "legal", but overcast skies, rain/mist and brush combined with dark timber edges foiled his hunt. We talked about whether a different scope would have made the difference. He was using my rifle with the Swarovski and his binos were Leupold 10x42.
Don't want ti Hijack this thread, but I am not enamored with scope tubes larger than 1" either. If you need more definition in low light conditions, buy a decent set of Binoculars, and then you can use them with any rifle you happen to be packingHowever, The Shirstone scopes are supposed to be quality optics, but if they only come with a 30mm tube, it will be a long time till I own one [read never] I like my 6x42 and 3.5-10x40 Leupys. Regards, Eagleye.
Usually a 30mm tube has nothing to do with light-transmission... it is only to house larger erectors for more adjustment. :idea:
There is an advantage to 50mm objectives with regard to exit pupil at higher magnifications.
The difference in a properly mounted 30mm tube and a 1 inch tube is only a couple of millimeters in your head height... not even noticeable on most rifle stocks :roll:
There is an advantage to 50mm objectives with regard to exit pupil at higher magnifications.
The difference in a properly mounted 30mm tube and a 1 inch tube is only a couple of millimeters in your head height... not even noticeable on most rifle stocks :roll:
While BR is right about the adjustability of the 30mm lens, I think there is more to it than that. The larger tube whould allow for easier passage of light, with fewer "bends", and therefore one would expect the light that is transmitted to be of higher quality. For example think of the path of the light in a 50mm lens that has to pass through a 25.4mm (1") tube vs the light entering a 50mm lens that is constricted down to only 30 or 34mm.
Here are numbers for the popular 40mm objective lens:
a 40mm lens has an area of 1256.6 mm2
a 30mm tube has an area of 706.9 mm2
a 25.4mm tube has an area of 506.7 mm2
So on a 30mm tube the light has to pass through an area that is 56.3% of the objective lens, whereas the 1" tube offers only 40.3%.
I think that should make some real difference. But since I don't own one of these scopes I can't make adirect comparison.
From Schmidt & Bender's web-site-
Keep in mind that all scopes look relatively bright in the middle of the day. The true quality of a riflescope becomes apparent at last light or, in the case of Schmidt & Bender, even after dark. Make arrangements with your dealer to allow you to compare different scopes in late evening or at night. It is the only way you can approximate actual hunting conditions.
and also with respect to light transmission:
It is impossible for any scope to "gather" light. It can only transmit existing light. And, regardless of advertising claims you may have heard, there is no riflescope made that can transmit 100% of available light.
As light enters the objective end of the scope, before it reaches your eye it passes through several lenses. Each lens absorbs a small quantity of light. Residual reflection from the individual lenses will also prevent a certain amount of light from passing through the scope. In addition, undesired reflections within the metal tube can hinder the quality of the viewed image and the transmission of light.
Each lens has two surfaces. Thus, the total number of lenses within a scope (a variable-power scope can have between seven and ten) is multiplied by two, then multiplied by 0.25% to determine the amount of light lost in the transmission. Simple multiplication is not accurate, however, as each succeeding lens progressively reduces the total amount of transmitted light. It is a favorite technique of some scope manufacturers to claim light transmission values of nearly 100%. Of course, they're measuring the first objective lens only, conveniently forgetting about the other eight or nine!
Any higher transmission levels are physically impossible to achieve with current technology, and claims to the contrary are to be discounted. What does light transmission mean in practical terms? An average scope may transmit 85% or so, and inferior scopes substantially less. The human eye can distinguish transmission differences of 3% or more. Consequently, there is a very real difference in what you can see through a superior scope versus run-of-the-mill optics.
The very best rifle scopes human beings can create will transmit to your eye—under perfect conditions—a maximum of 94.5% to 95% of available light. There are but a handful of scope companies remaining that produce optics approaching these levels, Schmidt & Bender being one of them.
Under hunting conditions, when you might be trying to distinguish a target at absolute last light, these differences can be critical. It can determine whether you bag your game or whether you have long since called it a day.
(emphasis is mine)
Here are numbers for the popular 40mm objective lens:
a 40mm lens has an area of 1256.6 mm2
a 30mm tube has an area of 706.9 mm2
a 25.4mm tube has an area of 506.7 mm2
So on a 30mm tube the light has to pass through an area that is 56.3% of the objective lens, whereas the 1" tube offers only 40.3%.
I think that should make some real difference. But since I don't own one of these scopes I can't make adirect comparison.
From Schmidt & Bender's web-site-
Keep in mind that all scopes look relatively bright in the middle of the day. The true quality of a riflescope becomes apparent at last light or, in the case of Schmidt & Bender, even after dark. Make arrangements with your dealer to allow you to compare different scopes in late evening or at night. It is the only way you can approximate actual hunting conditions.
and also with respect to light transmission:
It is impossible for any scope to "gather" light. It can only transmit existing light. And, regardless of advertising claims you may have heard, there is no riflescope made that can transmit 100% of available light.
As light enters the objective end of the scope, before it reaches your eye it passes through several lenses. Each lens absorbs a small quantity of light. Residual reflection from the individual lenses will also prevent a certain amount of light from passing through the scope. In addition, undesired reflections within the metal tube can hinder the quality of the viewed image and the transmission of light.
Each lens has two surfaces. Thus, the total number of lenses within a scope (a variable-power scope can have between seven and ten) is multiplied by two, then multiplied by 0.25% to determine the amount of light lost in the transmission. Simple multiplication is not accurate, however, as each succeeding lens progressively reduces the total amount of transmitted light. It is a favorite technique of some scope manufacturers to claim light transmission values of nearly 100%. Of course, they're measuring the first objective lens only, conveniently forgetting about the other eight or nine!
Any higher transmission levels are physically impossible to achieve with current technology, and claims to the contrary are to be discounted. What does light transmission mean in practical terms? An average scope may transmit 85% or so, and inferior scopes substantially less. The human eye can distinguish transmission differences of 3% or more. Consequently, there is a very real difference in what you can see through a superior scope versus run-of-the-mill optics.
The very best rifle scopes human beings can create will transmit to your eye—under perfect conditions—a maximum of 94.5% to 95% of available light. There are but a handful of scope companies remaining that produce optics approaching these levels, Schmidt & Bender being one of them.
Under hunting conditions, when you might be trying to distinguish a target at absolute last light, these differences can be critical. It can determine whether you bag your game or whether you have long since called it a day.
(emphasis is mine)
todbartell said:
Hey TodBartell - Thanks again for another pic... Now that's a scope! :wink: :lol:
As far as these 'Shirstone' scopes go, I've never heard of them. What are they priced like & what 'mainstream' scopes are they comparable to?
Wide north out of Drumheller imports Shirstone scopes, David is a personal friend of mine, and Shirstone is anything but Junk. There is a large selection including smaller objectives and 1" main tubes, as well as some that are not illuminated. I have 4 shirstones right now, and a leupold VX III and to be quite honest, I would purchase another Shirstone for the simple fact that I would be saving a couple hundred dollars. I think they are available retail from Back Country Sports in Red Deer AB.
