I've seen lots of "experts" claim that tube size don't matter, but my real world experience says it does.
The 30mm tube is always better in low light.
Besides, my wife told me years ago that tube size absolutely matters. Bigger is better.

Tube size has no effect. The "tube" that contains the lenses is not related in size to the tube size. The tube that carries the internal lenses has to be able to move up and down at an angle for you to zero the rifle and dial if needed, hence that is never the size of the OD of the body. Bigger tubes allow more erector travel.

Straight from Swarovski:

https://www.swarovskioptik.com/hunting/blog/RS_tube_size_matters_but_not_much

That said, Schmidt & Bender Polar T96 is the brightest to most eyes last I researched. May be something newer that is better.

Outback, I guess I stand corrected by the experts.

I just know from my actual first hand experience in all sorts of hunting situations globally that a 30mm tube scope lets you see more at dark than a 1” tube scope from nearly ever manufacture known to mankind.

I have a Swarovski that's pretty dang good I can't imagine anything being a whole lot better unless you go to night vision or thermal

Exactly. That's my conclusion as well. But what do we know, right?

Please explain. I am curious.

Kinda hard to explain what your eye sees at dark.

The best way to learn this is to actually do it.

Get a 30mm tube scope and a 1” tube scope and go sit in a field with no artificial light and look through both scopes at dark.

I’ve done this several times over the years with most of the optics I own. Especially if I’m thinking of swapping some around at the end of the season. I’ll set up somewhere away from town and any traffic in a place I can see various “targets” from 50-maybe 250 yards. I put everything either on a bench or the ground on bipods and starting with the last 15minutes of light switch from rifle to rifle and record when I can no longer see adequately out of each. I usually do 3-4 at a time like that.

I've never owned any of the extremely high $ scopes, however I currently own a Meopta R2 56mm scope. It's pretty dang bright, and I'm not sure how much better it's going to get (if any) by spending $1000 more. I can use it past legal light. With any of these scopes, low light hunting becomes 1) a distance game, and 2) a 'yeah I can identify a deer body but what is it?" game. Against the contrast of a green field, I could probably see to shoot a deer's body no telling how late, maybe even into the night … especially at 50 yards away. Now, if someone told me I had to identify a shooter's rack up against brush in the wood line, in the shadows, 200 yards away at end of shooting light, I can't claim the R2 scope (or any scope) would do that.

At risk of angering BGH and Outback, I don't see how the tube diameter plays into light transmission physics. To make the point either way you would have to have the same objective, same coating system, same # of glass elements, and same magnification range, from the same manufacturer, in the same product series to compare two different tube diameters. I understand they are saying that in the real world manufacturers tend to use higher end glass/coatings/optical design/etc in "30mm euro optics" type scopes, and that on average real world is that 30mm scope tend to be your low light products.

Good luck with your scope hunt. I guess if you have the money just buy the highest end Zeiss/Swarovski/S&B and be done with it. If you feel like saving some $$ buy a Meopta R2 and go compare against one of your buddy's high end models. If you do that please report back the results, I would be interested

To do a fair comparison you'd have to have the exact same glass and the exact same coatings in a 1" and 30mm tube scope. I don't know of any scopes like that but I saw some say the Meopta Optika with the 30mm tube was the same glass as the Meopta Meopro 1" scope so , if that's the case, maybe someone could do an actual side by side comparison.

[quote=riflenut]If you're talking I agree, my Zeiss works tremendously past legal time. It’s like duck hunting, I have to look at sundown time, do the easy math for 30 before or after and work from that. If I’m in some deep cover, 30 min. is plenty, but in a field I could use more time. I have to pack it in while still seeing deer with the scope and/or Steiners.

If you’re seeing better with a 30mm scope than a 1” in low light, id wager there’s other things going on with glass quality, coatings, or objective....than just another 4mm of metal tube diameter. The interior lenses are usually the same size between the two. Doesn’t take much scope to see past legal, but there’s off-brands like Trijicon (and others) that’ll blow the most expensive swaro (or Zeiss or S&b) out of the water for a ‘low light’ scope. Sure, they eat up batteries, but it’s not that much more expensive.

I had a Trijocon Accupoint which is the same scope as the Accupower except it uses tritium for illumination instead of battery powered. It was fine and good for the money but isn't in the same ballpark as the high end euro scopes in low light. It wasn't even as good as the Meopta Meostar. It compared to a Zeiss Conquest as about equal in low light , which is plenty good, but the illumination put the Trijicon over the top.

Schmidt Bender T96. Nothing beats it.

No question about it gents- The tasco world class

If youre looking for a better scope to get you past legal shooting light, why not just get thermal imaging? Both are illegal. If youve set your mind on breaking the law in order to kill that buck youre after, I think the thermal imaging would be the ticket. Im thinking about getting one to shoot coons and such you know.

I was sitting in the stand the other evening watching a hardwood bottom next to some thick pines. I could see clearly in the open hardwoods at last light but barely make out anything in the pines. That's where better glass separates itself.

I was driving 80 mph on I65 yesterday.

Priced a thermal scope lately?

I think you entirely missed the drift. Trijicon THERMAL OPTICS doh

I have accupoints and other ‘day’ scopes.

There are decent hunting thermal scopes for similar $ as the swaros folks are bringing up here.

Personally, I’d rather fling that sort of $ at something made for a task, than something that just tries to get in the door. Then again, I’m not trying to do anything ‘illegal’ with either type of scope.