new New 270 wby, what power scope

[Valleysnyper]

Pulled the trigger on a VX5-HD with the firedot. Got it for $799, was mismarked at Cabelas. Reg $999. Now to get it mounted, Thanks for everyone's help

[Chris338378]

Good luck with the new scope.  Please let us know how you like it and how it works for you.

[Glen8338]

I was going to suggest a Z3 Swarovski buit if you can get a Z5 for that price I would buy and good luck! 
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[African Leadwood]

Pulled the trigger on a VX5-HD with the firedot. Got it for $799, was mismarked at Cabelas. Reg $999. Now to get it mounted, Thanks for everyone's help

What magnification did you choose? Congratulations on a great scope.

[zonie]

A little on optics light gathering ability whether  scopes, bino's , spotting scopes  it doesn't matter the same principle for all 3 .  Tube diameter has no bearing on light gathering ability.   Exit pupil = objective lens dia divided by power gives you exit pupil diameter.  Example 50mm objective lens dia ( the front lens) divided by 10x power = 5 mm exit pupil,   that same 50mm objective lens diameter with a scope set on 3x power =  16.6 exit pupil.  Here's where the exit pupil is important in general I'm sure there are a few people out there that are the exceptions,  young people can dilate their eyes to around 7mm (exit pupil),  middle aged persons can dilate their eyes to around 6mm,  old folks can dilate their eyes to around 5mm.   What this means your eyes normal dilated  can only bring in 7mm, 6mm, or 5mm worth of  usable light  depending upon your age.  Now if you have a high powered scope say 50 mm  set @  24 x power the scopes exit pupil will be 50 divided by 24 = 2.08 mm exit pupil so what this says even an older persons eyes can dilate to 5mm exit pupil and the scope is only allowing in 2.08 mm worth of light making the older persons eyes dilation more than the scope can give them,  now if you cranked the same scope  power down to 10x power you would have the scopes exit pupil increase to 5mm which would be the maximum eye dilation for an older person.  Something to try take the rifle outside and look at a hill side , tree, rocks, something with defination  right at dusk with your scope crank the scope up to say 9 or 10 x and then imediately crank it down to 3 or 4 x and see the difference in light gathering ability.  if it's already light  or dark out  it really doesn't matter you either see on all power settings or totally dark you don't see anything.  This works on any type of variable power optic,  if your optic is fixed power then you are stuck on whatever the exit pupil of the optic  making it a little harder to see very early in the morning or just at dusk the variable powers  give you a few extra minutes each day depending upon just how powerful your optic is.  Here's something to keep in mind we are NOT talking optics quality and lens coatings these are different subjects that can  enhance your ability to see things clearly  so not to be confused with your ability to see things clearly early morning or dusk we all know good optics build & lens quality is very important on how we see.    Years ago I had to test this for myself sitting on a hill side right at dusk with a pair of 10x Zeiss bino's and my rifles scope was a Leupold 2.5 x 8 x Vari x III ,  I couldn't see squat on the hillside with the 10x binos, or rifle scope on 8x,  until I cranked the rifle's Leupold down to 2.5 x then I could see all sorts of things until it got too dark to see anything and had to hike back with a flashlight. 

Fire dots and lighted reticles can be very useful so long as you are absolutely sure of your target and beyond.  Reticle choice to me is very important.  I inherited my folks Lee floating dots and ultra fine cross hair scopes ,  couldn't see either reticle in the brush so I changed all the scopes out to other reticle types.  Back then we normally used iron sights anyway so going to a better scopes was like this is way better for distance. 

[zonie]

Yep that's about it until a persons learns what exit pupils really are then they can make an informed decision on what they may need to buy  .   To be honest lens coatings are subjective to the person looking thru them,  Roger and I out hunting he liked the Nikons he was using at the time,  and I liked Vortex.  My son  sometimes likes different optics than I do,  we both like the Kowa  lens coatings a little better than Swaro.  We all don't see things the same,  some lens coatings brings out better color contrasts, etc.  That's why we try our friends optics and make side by side comparisons. 

[African Leadwood]

A little on optics light gathering ability whether  scopes, bino's , spotting scopes  it doesn't matter the same principle for all 3 .  Tube diameter has no bearing on light gathering ability.   Exit pupil = objective lens dia divided by power gives you exit pupil diameter.  Example 50mm objective lens dia ( the front lens) divided by 10x power = 5 mm exit pupil,   that same 50mm objective lens diameter with a scope set on 3x power =  16.6 exit pupil.  Here's where the exit pupil is important in general I'm sure there are a few people out there that are the exceptions,  young people can dilate their eyes to around 7mm (exit pupil),  middle aged persons can dilate their eyes to around 6mm,  old folks can dilate their eyes to around 5mm.   What this means your eyes normal dilated  can only bring in 7mm, 6mm, or 5mm worth of  usable light  depending upon your age.  Now if you have a high powered scope say 50 mm  set @  24 x power the scopes exit pupil will be 50 divided by 24 = 2.08 mm exit pupil so what this says even an older persons eyes can dilate to 5mm exit pupil and the scope is only allowing in 2.08 mm worth of light making the older persons eyes dilation more than the scope can give them,  now if you cranked the same scope  power down to 10x power you would have the scopes exit pupil increase to 5mm which would be the maximum eye dilation for an older person.  Something to try take the rifle outside and look at a hill side , tree, rocks, something with defination  right at dusk with your scope crank the scope up to say 9 or 10 x and then imediately crank it down to 3 or 4 x and see the difference in light gathering ability.  if it's already light  or dark out  it really doesn't matter you either see on all power settings or totally dark you don't see anything.  This works on any type of variable power optic,  if your optic is fixed power then you are stuck on whatever the exit pupil of the optic  making it a little harder to see very early in the morning or just at dusk the variable powers  give you a few extra minutes each day depending upon just how powerful your optic is.  Here's something to keep in mind we are NOT talking optics quality and lens coatings these are different subjects that can  enhance your ability to see things clearly  so not to be confused with your ability to see things clearly early morning or dusk we all know good optics build & lens quality is very important on how we see.    Years ago I had to test this for myself sitting on a hill side right at dusk with a pair of 10x Zeiss bino's and my rifles scope was a Leupold 2.5 x 8 x Vari x III ,  I couldn't see squat on the hillside with the 10x binos, or rifle scope on 8x,  until I cranked the rifle's Leupold down to 2.5 x then I could see all sorts of things until it got too dark to see anything and had to hike back with a flashlight. 

Fire dots and lighted reticles can be very useful so long as you are absolutely sure of your target and beyond.  Reticle choice to me is very important.  I inherited my folks Lee floating dots and ultra fine cross hair scopes ,  couldn't see either reticle in the brush so I changed all the scopes out to other reticle types.  Back then we normally used iron sights anyway so going to a better scopes was like this is way better for distance.

Lots of good info here Zonie, but...

I don't feel exit pupil is everything. The magnification increases the "twilight factor" and I certainly sense this - i.e. I see better with a 8x / 10x in dark light and with my 10x bino's. Now there are guys who say twilight factor only works to the extent that your exit pupil can derive benefit - i.e. a small exit pupil and a high twilight factor together is of little value. I sense this too as 12x/14x is not always the best combination for me.

This may be a function of my eyes and the ability - or lack thereof - of my pupils to open. Just another interesting twist to your experience. I would be the guy seeing better with your 2.5-8x36 at around 6-7x if I had to guess. Do a test - look in the twilight with the naked eye - maximum exit pupil right... pick up your 10x bino's and look again and you should see more clarity.

Here is a link to a good discussion: https://www.swarovskioptik.com/hunting/blog/ontarget_02

Someone told me once that his dad said his ols S&B gave him 30 minutes more hunting time and that is absolutely true. Optics quality is a big deal, but here we hunt mostly in good light. 

[zonie]

African Leadwood thanks ,  good info on twilight factor.  In general terms  if a person asks what kind of scope they should choose,  it's such a subjective question sometimes there's  just no good answer other than buy the best quality you can afford.    I think I'm going to start a thread on how  to choose a scope

[Weatherby4Me]

I'm currently using a Bushnell Elite 4200 Tactical that is 6-24x50 . In the evening, as it's getting darker, the 24x is useless, I can't see anything. I don't turn it passed 18x, and generally use it at 12x where the Mil-Dots are true. It's a 30mm tube, the first 30mm scope I've had. My Zeiss was a 1" scope, 3.5-10x44, and at the edge of dark, it always seemed like using your naked eye. May have all been in my head lol