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Leupold VS Nightforce

Trying to decide between two scopes, Leupold 8.5-25-50 30mm tube,$900) and the Nightforce 8-32-56 30mm tube,$1211).
Anything to help me justify the decision would be great. Good, bad and Ugly for both? Will be used to shoot at some long range groundhogs and to shoot in 500 yard matches.

Thanks
 
I own several MK4 and VXIII Leupolds and two NF's,a BR and an NXS).

One of my Leupolds came from the factory with a canted reticle and had to go back. Another had black specs all over the inside of the objective lens when it came out of the box. It too had to go back. My side parallax adjustment Leupolds suffer from a problem that seems inherent with the brand. When adjusting the dial it must be turned all the way back to the infinity end and then back up again when changing focusing distances. A couple of my Leupolds got to the point that when going up on the elevation dial I have to go several clicks past where I want to be, then back down to my desired setting before they will respond to the adjustment accurately.

My NF scopes have better glass, at least to my eyes. They are built tougher and withstand military testing better than all Leuplods other than the "real" MK4's. They respond precisely to the adjustments that I dial in. They eliminate parallax at the same time as getting the target picture as sharp as possible. The same thing can't be said for my Leupolds. My NF's have never had to go back to Idaho. On the downside, NF's are heavier and generally cost more.

IMO, Leupold has sat on its hands for the past several years and let its competition pass them by. I won't buy another Leupold unless things change!

If you don't want to invest the extra bucks for a NF I think you should strongly consider one of the new 8-32x56mm Sightron's. With a lifetime replacement guarantee, unequaled customer service, great glass, a superior tracking adjustment system, and a price of about $800 they beat that $900 Leupold hands down.

Just my .02, and I'm sure that you'll hear others ;)
 
NF has better glass, better repeatibility and will withstand more abuse and keep shooting.

I have both. The Leupolds are good scopes too, but for a little more the NF are better overall.
 
Seems as the Nightfore scopes will hold their value better that Leupold's will..
Some of the old ones are selling for more than they were bought for......
The few extra dollars spent would seem to be well worth the extras that are gained...
 
I own,3) NXS NF scopes.,1) 3.5 X 15 X 56 with the tactical milling reticle and,2) 12 X 42 X 56 with the DD reticle. I also own,3) Leupolds MK IV,1) 4.5 X 14 X 40 mildot reticle and,2) 8.5 X 25 X 50 mildot reticle. As mentioned previously, both scopes are good and both have their own set of quality features. But, if I ever had to part with either of them, the Leupolds will be on the first truck leaving. Bill
 
I've purchased my last Leupold.

Mushy adjustments, so-so glass,my Weavers are clearer) and crappy side focus don't live up to the Leupold reputation or pricing. I emailed Leupold with my concerns and they decided not to reply.

If you're on a budget, get a Weaver. If you have the extra bucks, Nightforce. If you've won the lottery, buy German.

Tom
 
#1 on Weavers. Tom is dead on with their clarity. I have 4 Grand Slams and the are great scopes. I switched from Luppys to Weaver Grand Slams on my hunting rifles about five years ago.
 
Chuck, you'll find this interesting:

A few months ago a buddy of mine purchased a Leupold VX-III 4.5-14. I looked through the scope and found the clarity/brightness to be good, but nothing outstanding. As an experiment, we put the scope side-by-side with a Weaver V16. He and I agreed that the Weaver,which costs half as much as the Loopy) had the better glass. We also had his two kids look through the scopes and they also preferred the Weaver. To add insult to injury, Weavers have much more positive turret adjustments. I'm done with Leupold.

Tom
 
I think the comments on Leupold sum up their product well.

I have looked through many leupolds and was not impressed by their optics considering their price. I know several silhouette shooters who have consistent turrents but these are much older AO styles. No one seems too interested in getting the new side focus models.

I have also looked through several NF scopes BR and NXS. Better optics for sure but no better then the Elite 4200's I shoot with.

Except for limited elevation,hopefully improved with upcoming models), the optics and mechanicals of the Elite 4200's are superb.

Have done side by side comparisions to IOR 16X and a Zeiss Conquest 20X variable. Saw no glaring difference with the Elites and I like the colour of the Elites better.

I am about to get a new 30mm tactical 4200 and will get the new 30X 6500 when it is out this spring. I had a 1" side focus 4200 and it tracked great and the side focus worked properly even doing a decent job at ranging.

I might give the new Sightrons a try too given reviews and feedback.

Nikon Monarchs also have great optics but the 1" AO scopes tend to have a narrow field of view. The new Monarchs are supposed to address this- don't know. optics are usually very good. The couple of scopes I have used had good repeatability.

The nikon tactical, now monarch X, has gotten rave reviews from shooters I know well. No two step polka to adjust, clear optics and repeatable mechanicals. Just wished they made a 20X or higher top end.

The 'lower' Nikon Buckmaster is another smoking good buy. A great entry level scope if not looking for high mag.

All of these are substantially lower in price then NF and Leupold without giving up real world performance.

Jerry
 
What you guys have said about Weaver is true- what you haven't said is that they are now owned by Meade optics and have horrible reports on customer service. Until this is changed, I've bought my last Weaver. This company has changed hands too many times to take them serious.

I agree with the side focus problems on the Leupolds, but I have found the glass on my new VXIIIs to be excellent.

I have had some horrible experiences with Bushnell/Bausch-Lomb customer service but the new 6500 series look promising: 4.5-30 wow, the best of both worlds to bad they don't have turrets on that model!
 
The Elite 6500 most certainly have target turrents. They will be low profile type but a true vernier scaled turrent.

Similar to those on the 4200 series and Nikon Monarchs

Jerry
 
Meade Instrument's customer service leaves a whole lot to be desired. I agree with you on that Dennis. If you finally get thru to anybody and if you talk to more than one person,you know, place a second call) I bet you will get a completely different story from each person. That was my experience anyway. Bill
 
I have Leupolds 8.5 X 25 X 50 side AO, and Nightforce NXS & Benchrest scopes.
I like both, but the Nightforce scopes are built like tanks-super sturdy, super sharp, and some really great reticles-and the reticles are etched- SO much sharper, and all are illuminated. If I dropped both on the floor, I think I'd know which one would still be dialed in....
 

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