Scope tube size, does it matter to you?

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rcs9250 said:
I’ve always been a Leupold fan. I wish they made a descent scope with side focus down to ten yards.
I have mostly 30mm as that seems to be the most popular tube diameter nowadays. For my use 1” would have adequate elev and windage travel but there doesn’t seem to be a big selection with ten yard focus.
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Well Sightron used to have the Big Sky line of scopes which where Japanese made and great glass, they focused to 10 yards, the three I had where front objective focus. I still have one on my 97K. They were all 1.0" scopes.

I did have a Leupold 6-20X40 EFR 1.0" tube I think it was, but it also had front objective focus. That particular scope had a very small eye box and I never got use to it. I bought that scope from Lou Ferrigno..lol.
 
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bustachip said:
Well Sightron used to have the Big Sky line of scopes which where Japanese made and great glass, they focused to 10 yards, the three I had where front objective focus. I still have one on my 97K. They were all 1.0" scopes.

I did have a Leupold 6-20X40 EFR 1.0" tube I think it was, but it also had front objective focus. That particular scope had a very small eye box and I never got use to it. I bought that scope from Lou Ferrigno..lol.
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Yeah, I don’t care for the adjustable objective. Much prefer the focus knob on side of scope. When hunting it’s just less rifle movement in my opinion.
 
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to me any size generally isnt a problem until it is ... for example say you want to use a clip on night vision setup that does need more light and amplifies imperfections in the clarity of view and focus .. now now that bigger tube and higher quality image makes a bigger difference .. otherwise its alot like anything else, selling you crap and features you dont really need lol
 
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I don't care about weight, I am shooting from a bench only.
I care for maximum clarity only, I like to zoom in the paper ring with maximum power all the way to "X", would that be a x32 or x40 or x50 all depepned what distance I am shooting.
If the scope is not giving me clear sharp picture at full power - I don't need it and I don't want it... there it goes down with next morning wind.
30mm and up, nothing below.
The 34 mm what I have is very fine focusing adjustable all the way to 100 ish, beyound needs a bit playing with... but it is only a Japanese glass not a German, unfortunately.
 
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bigHUN said:
I don't care about weight, I am shooting from a bench only.
I care for maximum clarity only, I like to zoom in the paper ring with maximum power all the way to "X", would that be a x32 or x40 or x50 all depepned what distance I am shooting.
If the scope is not giving me clear sharp picture at full power - I don't need it and I don't want it... there it goes down with next morning wind.
30mm and up, nothing below.
The 34 mm what I have is very fine focusing adjustable all the way to 100 ish, beyound needs a bit playing with... but it is only a Japanese glass not a weight scope you can afford..lol. Japanese has some good glass so you're not handicapped there.
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Nothing wrong with Japanese glass. Sounds like you need a fixed power like a 45 X45 or something along that line target scope.
 
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Ta-Ta Toothie said:
Tube diameter has nothing to do with light transmission etc. The bigger the tube, the more adjustments you will have for elevation and windage.
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... and a large clear field of view ...

Good link
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Well, I thought 30mm was pretty "large" of a scope tube diameter after having had only 1" tubes.

But as I keep falling down the rabbit hole the last 3 scopes I bought had 34mm tubes.

Because I am wanting more magnification, and when people want more magnification they want it to shoot longer distances — and for that they also typically need more elevation adjustment in their turrets. So, that's what comes "in the package" when I buy a 5-30x or 4-32x scope.


Currently, I don't need that much adjustment, with the low mounting Hawke rings with 25moa inserts and the low mounting Burris XTR Signature rings (with up to 50moa adjustment) I'm good for now.

But it is what it is.


⚠️ Just to make sure the following scope myth does not keep getting passed down:
➧ A larger tube does NOT make the scope brighter.
➧ A brighter scope image comes from:
▪ a larger objective diameter (e.g., 56mm vs. 50mm)
▪ better glass
▪ better lens coatings
▪ better (younger!) eyes — believe it or not! 😆


A larger tube allows for more turret adjustments (more clicks) — but don't assume that sight unseen — DO check the specs to compare.

A larger tube usually makes the scope heavier due to more metal and larger lenses inside the tube.



Last weekend I mounted a 6.9oz (195g) red dot sight on my Prophet and realized why Leupold called it the "Freedom RDS": After shooting mostly with 30oz+ scopes (850g+) 🤦🏻‍♂️ — the loss of weight felt like true freedom! 😆

Matthias
 
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OldSpook said:
... and a large clear field of view ...

Good link
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Optic Brands Click a brand name below to view all firearm optics offered by a brand, with reticles, street prices, features, and links to official brand product pages, merchants, and reviews. Brand Optics Warranty ACME Machine 0 Warranty covers defects, term varies by product from 1-year to...
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Objective plays a bigger role then the size of the tube. Each to its own.
 
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Ta-Ta Toothie said:
Objective plays a bigger role then the size of the tube. Each to its own.
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You’re probably right on that advice but boy how we love variable. 20-25 years ago finding a fixed power scope in 5 or 7 or 10 was easy. Nowadays they pretty much don’t exist. But you don’t get focus knob typically until after 10 power to my knowledge. Zoom just requires a lot of light robbing glass elements.
 
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JungleShooter said:
Well, I thought 30mm was pretty "large" of a scope tube diameter after having had only 1" tubes.

But as I keep falling down the rabbit hole the last 3 scopes I bought had 34mm tubes.

Because I am wanting more magnification, and when people want more magnification they also typically want more elevation adjustment in their turrets. So, that's what I get for buying 5-30x and 4-32x scopes.

Currently, I don't need that much adjustment, with the low mounting Hawke rings with 25moa inserts and the low mounting Burris XTR Signature rings (with up to 50moa adjustment) I'm good for now.

But it is what it is.


⚠️ Just to make sure this scope myth does not keep getting passed down:
➧ A larger tube does NOT make the scope brighter.
➧ A brighter scope image comes from:
▪ a larger objective diameter (e.g., 56mm vs. 50mm)
▪ better glass
▪ better lens coatings
▪ better (younger!) eyes — believe it or not! 😆


A larger tube allows for more turret adjustments (more clicks) — but don't assume that sight unseen — DO check the specs to compare.

A larger tube usually makes the scope heavier due to more metal and larger lenses inside the tube.



Last weekend I mounted a 6.9oz (195g) red dot sight on my Prophet and realized why Leupold called it the "Freedom RDS": After shooting mostly with 30oz+ scopes (850g+) 🤦🏻‍♂️ — the loss of weight felt like true freedom! 😆

Matthias
Click to expand...
To add to your list, the less the light has to travel through, the brighter the picture. This is why I’ve switched to fixed power scopes for a lot of my use. Zoom comes at a cost.
 
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rcs9250 said:
You’re probably right on that advice but boy how we love variable. 20-25 years ago finding a fixed power scope in 5 or 7 or 10 was easy. Nowadays they pretty much don’t exist. But you don’t get focus knob typically until after 10 power to my knowledge. Zoom just requires a lot of light robbing glass elements.
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Typically yes, but SWFA offers a fixed 10X with a rear focus ring (not a knob) for parallax adjustment, it's built in Japan has decent glass for $300. I have one on a rimfire and it's pretty nice for the money.
 
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bustachip said:
Typically yes, but SWFA offers a fixed 10X with a rear focus ring (not a knob) for parallax adjustment, it's built in Japan has decent glass for $300. I have one on a rimfire and it's pretty nice for the money.
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Thank you, I will check into that. I was hoping my post would bring out that kind of info. Thanks again. 👍
 
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OldSpook said:
1 inch is good when weight matters most.
30mm is good for general purposes. 34mm is good when light transmission and a large clear field is desirable.

JMT
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Old Spook,
I have heard from many that tube size has nothing to do with light transmission, or very little at the most. A jump in size typically enables more erector tube travel (= more MILs or MOA). Light transmission derives from the size of the objective lens, the glass quality, coatings, and the overall optical engineering. Right? S7
 
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Florida_Man said:
To add to your list, the less the light has to travel through, the brighter the picture. This is why I’ve switched to fixed power scopes for a lot of my use. Zoom comes at a cost.
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FL_Man,
I am only very recently beginning to consider fixed-power scopes. I have been wanting to ask someone this question: All other things being equal, will a fixed-power scope provide a better image? I know they are often less money, so that too makes them attractive for certain contexts. Thanks. S7
 
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Sanctify7 said:
FL_Man,
I am only very recently beginning to consider fixed-power scopes. I have been wanting to ask someone this question: All other things being equal, will a fixed-power scope provide a better image? I know they are often less money, so that too makes them attractive for certain contexts. Thanks. S7
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I think yes they will, not the $50 scopes, but the quality scopes. Less lenses and moving parts, so light passes thru easier = better quality image.
Watch some of cyclops videos on fixed power scopes, he has a 15X fixed Valdada I think, and says it's the best image compared to a lot of high end variable scopes.
 
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