NightForce Competition vs. March scopes

[cat64]

(Reposting this since I was told it is a better avenue). Another question. I guess based on the answers I got to my previous post I would like to hear a comparison between the above mentioned scopes. Some of you will perhaps disagree, but I looked through the glass of a couple NF other the Competition (which sports this HD glass) and the picture didn't seem as bright as the competition (my shooting buddies concurred). I was looking at March scopes but not familiar with their product/quality /glass. I am wondering if it's worth it to wait to save more for the latter scope.

Again, I know this is rahter subjective and that any of these scopes are rather expensive. However I saved a while and will sell other shooting supplies to afford this one in a lifetime purchase.

 

[DennisH]

The NightForce BR model works great for me.

If you can afford the March, get it. I came close to buying one several times.

IMO their was not that much difference except price wise to sway me one way or the other. If NF didn't have the new 55 power, I might lean harder towards the March.

 

[jefats]

Never used a March but just tried out my new 2014 NF comp with FCR-1 article....awesome!

 

[tenring]

I do not have the new 2014 NF scope (yet). I have several of the older NF12-42 BR scopes and they are very good. I also have a March 10-60. Both scopes have very high quality optics. The March might be 10% or so more clear. But it is nearly twice as much as the older NF, so my advice is to stay with the NF. Their warranty is great. With the March, the warranty is 5 years only to the original owner.

 

[1shot]

I currently own three NF scopes, an older 8-32NXS, a pair of 12x42, one being an NXS and the other a BR series. All three shared the same NP-R2 reticle. The major difference is that the BR series has .125moa adjustments and the focal ring is located on the objective lens at the front of the scope as opposed to being a side focus like all the other scopes in the test. Burris Black Diamond which is an 8-32x56 scope and a Leupold 8.5x25x50 LRT .250 adjustment and a duplex crosshair, as well as the previously mentioned scopes. Finally, and fairly new to the market is the March scope manufactured by the Deon Corp. located in Japan. The March that I have to evaluate is a 10-60x52 with a comparable reticle to all the other scopes that were evaluated. As an interesting side note is that the scope was included with a light reducing ring that limited the amount light entering the scope by approximately 50%.
One clear, cold late winter day, my shooting partner and I lined up all the scopes and were placed on towel on a window sill. The scopes were focused and aimed at the center of a knot in a cherry tree that had been ranged at 452 yds.
It was easy to tell that the March was the clear winner both with and without the light reducing ring. That said, the Burris was determined to be the best bang for the buck.
All scopes successfully passed the “box test” as they had or are mounted on current rifles. Several questions immediately come to mind.
1. Value
Is the March worth 2-3 times any of the other scopes?
I believe that there are diminishing returns to the amount of money spent in regards to how the scope preforms. A Bench Rest shooter that moves the erector system very little if at all, does not see the benefit to precise adjustments in comparison to a sling/prone or F-class who could conceivably be clicking back and forth after every shot in a 22 shot string.
2. Glass clarity
This can be very subjective as to what the shooter sees, and what the shooter considers “good enough”. A point to remember is the March is the only company that I am aware of that furnishes the previously mentioned light reducing ring. Personally, I find myself use the ring approximately 75% of the time, only taking it off on very hazy days or overcast days.

3. Conclusion
After shooting these scopes under match conditions, some of which weren’t so bright and sunny days with light winds and armed with the knowledge I have now in relationship to the scopes, I would save my pennies, sell that gun that never gets used or do whatever I need to do to come up with the money to own the scope of my choice.
In an often times overlooked subject, all the scopes that were evaluated come with a life time warranty with the exception of the March. March offer a five year warrantee to the original owner. As with all things in life, there are two sides to every coin. A life time warrantee is certainly a great piece of mind, however if the product is so rugged that it never breaks, it would seem to me to be fairly useless for anything other than a good sales tool.
I hope this evaluation is of some use to fellow shooters.

*I am not an employee of Kelby’s, Inc. or any other of the optic manufactures named in this post.
Furthermore, I receive no compensation of any kind for this test as I took this project on my own to satisfy my own curiosity, and I am sharing it on this forum in hopes it would be of some help to others.
Lloyd Smith
1shot

 

[DennisH]

1shot, very good information.

 

[Geronimo Jim]

This thread is about the Nightforce Competition vs March. Did I miss that scope in your evaluation? I have NSX's , BR's and Competitions. Trust me, there is no
comparison in the glass of the three. The Competition is awesome.

 

[johara1]

I heard a little about some problems with NF. comp. and heavy mirage……. by some really good shooters, but not with the March. Both seem to shoot very well for me, i have never been in a real heavy mirage situation myself……. jim

 

[1shot]

Geronimo Jim, yes you did. It is listed as the competition series of the NightForce scopes.
Lloyd

 

[dmoran]

Geronimo Jim, yes you did. It is listed as the competition series of the NightForce scopes.
Lloyd

It reads: "NightForce Competition vs. March scopes".... meaning the NF Comp model vs March is how I read it.

 

[Geronimo Jim]

The Competition scope is the new one brought out in 2013 and updated in 2014. They are not the Benchrest or NXS. In the post by 1 shot, he compares the March
with the NXS and BR and well as Leupold and Burris. I reread the post two times and could not find any mention of the new Competition scope that I thought the
title of this thread was about. Maybe I am missing something???

 

[cat64]

I believe the comparison listed has merit. However, my initial question was debating the 2013/2014 NF Competition scope and the March line products. I had an opportunity to look through a NF NXS and a Bench Rest model and I could vouch for the fact Competition model has more clarity and pop to its image. I don't know much about March scopes and thus considering a future purchase I have launched the inquiry. Thank you to all the contributors and please let the input "flow"

 

[johara1]

First i would say the NXS is the easiest to shoot….. bar none. The NF comp. is ok, it shoots good but there is more to a scope than just clarity. As far as clarity i can't see the difference between the March and NF comp. both are excellent, March has the edge on weight and both have the edge on the NXS on weight. In the end it would be easy to say you can't go wrong with any of the ones i mentioned, unless you get a bad one and they all make a bad one and they all go south if you shoot them enough …….. jim

 

[TonyR]

I have had all the NF scopes including the 2013 and 2014 spec Competition scopes as well as two March scopes, the 10X60X52. The choice would depend on what shooting you do and what constraints/rules you have to work with. Weight is the biggest advantage of the March scopes versus the NF Comp which has comparable glass. I shoot both F-Open and F-T/R with the same actions on different stocks. A March is light enough that I could make weight in F-T/R using a BAT M action. Much harder to do with a NF Comp without a skinny barrel but I sold one of my BATs and bought an F-Class Panda and can now make weight with almost any scope. There are lots of ways to solve a problem. The second issue is eye relief. It takes a while to get a clear sight picture with both the NF Comp and the March but that is not a big problem for F-Class where every shot is marked and scored before the next shot is taken. But I know light gun LR BR shooters that have found both to slow them down when they are running a string. Probably less of a problem with a heavy LR BR gun. Neither of my NF Comps have had any problems and all of the March scopes were flawless as well. Both give a very clear sight picture when you are lined up and the glass quality is very helpful when reading mirage through the rifle scope.

 

[1shot]

I try to help any one that I can. When I'm not in the market for a specific item, I tend to not research it as thoroughly as I should, no offense intended. It's a shame that others like can't "man Up" when then make an error. Thanks "Cat 64"
Lloyd

 

[cat64]

1Shot...takes a big man to say the words you said. Appreciated. By the other hand all the information you brought to light is valuable. Thank you for your contribution.

 

[1shot]

I try to help any one that I can. When I'm not in the market for a specific item, I tend to not research it as thoroughly as I should. no offense intended
Lloyd

 

[Wjesswheel]

Two weeks or so ago I purchased a burris 8x40 xtrii with the ftr reticle got about 70 rds thru the scope. Been shooting it basically at 30x. So I can use most of the reticle for holdovers and wind age. Shot 30 rd this past weekend with some new friends I met at the range. One a bushnell 30x with a horus reticle, one with a nf Nxs 24 x. The glass on the burris is at the very least better then the bushnell. It may lack a little on the nf. A nf Nxs 32x with zero stops like the burris 40x is at least $1000.00 more and the bushnell is right at $900.00 more if you can find it.

Did the box test on it at 210 yds zero it's basically perfect or darn close. The turret which I expected to be mushy from reading any of the reviews here on the scope from accurate shooter. Are far from it actually seem a little tight, you actually have to put some effort in them to move them. Shot it thru a over cast early afternoon to a Blazing hot afternoon full of mirage which was difficult, but it was the same thru all 3 scopes. To a late afternoon of almost perfect conditions wind wise. Shot 10 inch groups at 1000yds with a little dialing to get out there and iam less the 110 reds into it.It has returned to zero every time I have went back down to 210 yds. Had a blast shooting with my new friends what was supposed to be a 2 hr shoot turned into 5 hrs of BSing lots of fun

The best thing is the gun and scope shot better then my new buddies guns I met at the range, and they have higher priced stuff. The scope to me is amazing. I believe there are some going to show up at some big time shoots here in the future, I purchased it off some comments from really good shooters on here. Who gave it stellar reviews. I am certainly not a professional but would think the burris is capable of shooting way better then I am and the warranty is unbelievable. And with the $1000.00 I can buy some extra rds and reloading equip. Just my opinion.

 

[cat64]

The only negative mention about the Burris scope I heard was about the fact the reticle is too busy. How do you qualify that statement?

 

[Wjesswheel]

First of all I am a completely new long range shooter. Been wanting to shoot long range for many years just had college, braces, and baseball careers to pay for. It's out the way and finally I can spend some of my money on me. Sent an email out to a guy that had a really sweet bipod on his rifle asked him about it he also had the burris scope on it since I was thinking about purchasing it also asked him what he thought about the scope. Really did not know who the guy was at the time but he most certainly had a very nice set up. Emailed back and forth before I really put it together and figured it out. The bipod he had was amazing so i am on the waiting list for it.

I was think about buying a valdada think ether bulkyness is sweet but there reticles are kinda of off the wall think they make a very nice scope just crappy reticles. Thought about buying the limited bushnell with the horus from eurooptics but talk about a busy reticle. Then narrowed it down to the nxs and the burris. Then when he told me he was shooting the burris at the nationals this year, it made my decision for me. The guy has every scope available to him higher priced, supposed better quality,better reticles. He obviously is a much better shooter then I am or ever will be so I guess if he thinks he can do well at the nationals with it and I can save $1000 or $2000 dollars I went with it.

As far as the reticle being busy you should go to the burris site and look it up. Very simple holding nine at 550 and 18 at 750 shooting way below 8 inche and I am a complete beginner. Worked 62 hours this week, 20/80 vision so the 40x is sweet and shooting 10 inches at 1000 is remarkable to me with a factory sac age and factory 168 federal ammo. It some time shoots much better groups so that kinda tells me the equipment is fine and I am the weakest link in the scenario. I am never going to be a pro and like 1shot said the burris seemed to be the best bang for the buck. I had the money for what ever scope I wanted just chose the burris and so far very happy with it