TXCOONDOG
Highlands, Texas
Some information that is good to know:
A 50mm objective does not gather or transmit more light to your eye than a 40/42mm objective in a 1" tube. It is the the exit pupil and the light transmission quality of the glass that determines low light visibility and what you can see at sunrise, sunset, and at night. The exit pupil should be as large as the human eye under the same conditions. The exit pupil is calculated by dividing the objective diameter by the power setting on the scope. At night a 42mm objective scope set on 6 power will give you a 7mm exit pupil which is optimal and matches your eye and transmits the maximum light the eye can see.
From Nikon: "As far as 30mm vs. 1", they do not gather or transmit any more light than a 1" scope, but they provide a larger sweet spot to enhance resolution."
From Leupold: "The key to a scope providing a bright image to the shooter is not how much light it "gathers" but how much usable light it transmits. "Gathers, transmits, what's the difference?" Quite a lot, actually. First of all, rifle scope do not "gather" light, they transmit it. Yes, large objective scopes allow more light to enter the scope, but that by itself does not guarantee that the image will be any brighter than a smaller objective scope's. In other words, the better the glass and coatings you get, the better your night hunting."
Since a healthy eye pupil is 7, think in numbers of 7:
First number represents magnification setting, 7 represents healthy exit pupil, last number is your objective lens size.
1X7= 7MM
2X7= 14MM
3X7= 21MM
4X7=28MM
5X7=35MM
6X7=42MM
7X7=49MM
7X8=56MM
A 50mm objective does not gather or transmit more light to your eye than a 40/42mm objective in a 1" tube. It is the the exit pupil and the light transmission quality of the glass that determines low light visibility and what you can see at sunrise, sunset, and at night. The exit pupil should be as large as the human eye under the same conditions. The exit pupil is calculated by dividing the objective diameter by the power setting on the scope. At night a 42mm objective scope set on 6 power will give you a 7mm exit pupil which is optimal and matches your eye and transmits the maximum light the eye can see.
From Nikon: "As far as 30mm vs. 1", they do not gather or transmit any more light than a 1" scope, but they provide a larger sweet spot to enhance resolution."
From Leupold: "The key to a scope providing a bright image to the shooter is not how much light it "gathers" but how much usable light it transmits. "Gathers, transmits, what's the difference?" Quite a lot, actually. First of all, rifle scope do not "gather" light, they transmit it. Yes, large objective scopes allow more light to enter the scope, but that by itself does not guarantee that the image will be any brighter than a smaller objective scope's. In other words, the better the glass and coatings you get, the better your night hunting."
Since a healthy eye pupil is 7, think in numbers of 7:
First number represents magnification setting, 7 represents healthy exit pupil, last number is your objective lens size.
1X7= 7MM
2X7= 14MM
3X7= 21MM
4X7=28MM
5X7=35MM
6X7=42MM
7X7=49MM
7X8=56MM