Leupold Competition 45X question

[Win1892]

I bought a Savage 12F benchrest rifle years ago when it first came out. I put a Leupold Competition 45x scope on it at that time. I used the rifle infrequently at 300 yards and lost interest in it a year later.

Recently I have met a couple of guys who have been shooting at 500-1000 yards and wanted me to start handloading for them. I've knocked the dust off the Savage and have been shooting it at 500-800 yards.

They are shooting Nightforce and Vortex glass and these scopes look way, way better than my Leupold. Their scopes are brighter and clearer than mine to a degree that I am beginning to question if my scope may have a factory defect.

I'm shooting half minute of angle at these ranges so the scope is doing its job from a precision standpoint, but I would like a clearer picture to help these 52 year old eyes of mine.

Am I expecting too much from my mid grade scope?

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I shoot rimfire br with several people who have tried the Leupold 45x. Many of them have complained of poor clarity.

 

[Haxby]

That scope does not have fully multicoated lenses, and it has a 1mm exit pupil.
That sounds like a formula for a dark scope.
Any reasonably good scope these days will be fully multicoated. An exit pupil of 2mm, which you would get from, for instance, a 22X44mm scope, will make a big difference in apparent brightness.

 

[tuj]

45x is a lot of magnification, especially if there is any mirage. Variables are a lot better when you are dealing with this factor.