help with $1k ish scope purchase

[woolenmammoth]

Time for a new scope. Need some advice.

I currently have a sighttron 8-32 and a 36x scope. Dont have too much complaint with either in practical use.

Ive got a leupold 8.5-25 on another rifle. Its not a particularly fair comparison, but the leupold is just much much better glass, its much higher contrast at full magnification and I get much less fatigue sitting behind it for hours at a time. The eye relief of the sighttron at full mag is also somewhat futzy but easily overcome.

Im considering the 45x leupold and also have the sighttron 10-50 in mind. Then theres the NF BR series.

If the 45x leupold performs in comparison to the 10-50 sighttron as my lower mag leupold does, its a no brainer purchase for me. Unfortunately I cant look through both to compare. Has anyone out there? If the NF BR was significantly better than the leupold 45x, Id buy that. But again, need some advice.

Im speaking purely from an optics perspective. I know sighttron has had issues with the side focus (I got lucky with a good scope) and Im well aware of the softness of the clicks, etc. Just specifically discuss image quality and fatigue from it.

I should probably mention I look through lenses for a living, so maybe Im a little more sensitive to this than the average guy so I'll just throw that out there...

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

 

[fdshuster]

I've been perfectly happy with my NF BR's, two at 12-42x and one at 8-32x. Have never looked thru a 45x Leupold, but I really would not want to be locked into a fixed 45x, leaving no possibility of lowering the magnification during times of heavy mirage. There have been times when even the Leupold 36x BR's have caused difficulties, but there was nothing I could do about it. JMO.

 

[LHSmith]

I have both a 40x and 45x LCS which I use in score competition. Never had a NF....a little too heavy for my rifles to make regulated weight limit. Spend a lot of time behind them testing and during competition....can't say my eyes ever fatigued through them(once I learned to shoot with both sides open). There is a noticable optical improvement over my 36x Leupold M8. Mirage is a factor, but there are those very few who have mastered it and demand even more power.

 

[artbosco]

Time for a new scope. Need some advice.I'm considering the 45X Leupold.

Go for the Leupold 45X Competition. I particularly like the convenient, side parallax adjustment, and lifetime warranty.

 

[alton9]

I've looked through the 45x leopold & a 12-42x Nightforce BR model [set on 42] side by side. In my opinion there was no comparison, the nightforce was brighter, clearer, had a little more eye relief, & you could always turn it down if conditions needed it. Just my opinion, hope it helps.BTW I bought the nightforce & have another one on order [NXS] so I practice what I preach.

 

[zcrackshot]

I will say up front that I have never looked through a 45X fixed power Leupold. I own many VX-3's and a couple of Mk-4's. I also own Nightforce NXS's, not BR models but have looked through those as well on many occasions. My experience is that I like Leupold glass for various reasons and I like the functionality of their target scopes just as much. However when comparing them to Nightforce I just can't call it an apples to apples comparison as in my book it is not. I can read the license plates on my neighbor's abandoned cars out in his field from my front porch with ease from just over 900 yards with a 3.5-15X50 NXS while I have to set my Leupolds (VX-3's or Mk-4's) on 19-20 to do the same. Granted the price difference is not only in the dollar figure when purchased but also in other feats. I won't go into details as everybody knows the specs of the scopes but each has pro's and con's. I use Nightforce when weight isn't an issue and precision is a must. I use Leupold for most of the rest of my needs. They sure don't give up much to a Nightforce but there are differences. Good luck with your purchase. I hope my experience helps you to make the right decision for you.

Zac M.

 

[in2deep]

We had one of each one day looking through them side by side with my buddies comparing them and I have a feeling that you will find that the earth may not shake for you when comparing the 4 figure scopes to your to your $350. 36X Sightron. None of us did and in fact had a hard time choosing amongst them since they are all so good. You may find slight color variation nuances if you concentrate (it won't be easy) but all could see rust on a 1/4" bolt head far away and it would seem that none would give a big difference in being able to put the crosshairs wherever you needed to as far as accuracy goes and all are known to track great.
If you would benefit from side focus your down to the Leupy or Sightron 10-50 but the Leupy is brighter at 45X whereas the Sightron gets pretty dark when used over about 38X so really not much benefit over the litlle 36X model you have unles you need a variable. Eye relief gets touchy on the any of these at higher power if you want to be able to see impacts through recoil. My Leupy 45X has been repaired several times never had a problem with the 36X models and really like them but they will all work. The Nightforce seemed of course the most robust and indestructible.
At about half of the price I would take the 10-50 Sightron over the Nightforce and have the advantage of side focus.

 

[serial # 001]

woolenmammoth,

Don't remember if I posted this before, but here goes. A few weeks ago I compared my Nightforce 12-42X56 with my Swarovski Z5 5-25X52 and my Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50. The NIghtforce was no comparison better than either of the others. To see the same detail at about 500 yards the Nightforcw was on 12X, the Swarovski was on 16 1/2X and the Bushnell was on 15 1/2X. When I got out to about 725 yards the Nightforce was on 20X while the Swarovski was on 25X and the Bushnell was on 27X.

Also the Nightforce was better than either of the others in low light.

You won't be unhappy with a Nightforce.