NightForce vs. Leupold

[fredhorace77]

That's why everyone loves NF and Leupold has fallen in popularity. Glass clarity is very good for even a modestly priced scopes and comparisons of more expensive ones is like splitting hairs. I've never heard anyone say "i missed that buck" or "I dropped a point" because the glass wasn't clear enough. Turret repeatability is absolutely essential and where virtually all inferior scopes fail. As mentioned above, NF is the least expensive scope that gives you virtually perfect turret repeatability and long-term reliability.

I agree that leupold has fallen in popularity for the competition market but like i previously stated im not in competition shooting. "i missed that buck" because glass wasnt clear enough is something that can be said to be true for the hunting I do, which consist of night,day,evening and dawn...clearity of the scope is essential for me. I have never needed to move my turrets for any of my shots. Like i said i dont ever shoot past 300yrds. I was just assuming wrong in thinking that the night force glass would be several hundred dollars better but IMO it wasnt. The price difference must have to be in thier mechanics...Which i agree are second to none

 

[Gman]

It does seem to me though that Leupold had better start offering what the buying public is demanding or they will be left behind. The newest Nightforce Competition that goes to 55x is an example of progress.

Burris told me that this is why they dropped so many of ther scope lines...The recently started making scopes for Stiener optics and needed to free up some machinary...The rep told me that the hunting market is just where the money is "Not" at right now...he said the tactical market and competition markets have grown expentionaly and Burris has choosen to follow those. I personaly hated to hear this because I loved the older burris "made in USA" hunting scopes.

If you want a "Made in USA" Burris, buy a Pentax Lightseeker series. Either the XL (1" tube) or the 30 (30 mm tube) They are assembled by Burris here in the USA, and have Pentax lens' which are of a higher quality than what Burris used in the "Black Diamond" and "Signature Select" series of scopes. Personaly, I feel that the Pentax Lightseeker scopes are the best kept secret of any big game HUNTING scope for ranges of 500 yards and less. They also have a lifetime warranty with no reciept needed.

 

[its only light]

I posted earlier but +1 on the Pentax comment above me. Those are some nice scopes and as far as I can tell nobody knows of them. I'm the only person I know that has one.

I don't mean to hijack anything but I have a question/statement that I believe to be true anyways.

One thing I have noticed is that the lower power scopes (alot of times hunting scopes) are harder to tell a clarity difference than my higher mag scopes. An example is I have a 200 dollar weaver 2-10x50 that from what I can tell is just as clear as my 3-9 ziess conquest.

I guess I haven't compared these two brands in higher mag scopes so maybe they are closer than I think they should be.

Then I also had the experience I wrote about on the first page of this thread. My leupy mark 4 was absolutely horrible (for a 1200 scope). The NF I got after is leaps and bounds better as far as clarity and craftsmanship go. I'm starting to think I got a bad scope from Leupold though because I seem to be the only person who had an experience where one was noticeably better than the other.

 

[fredhorace77]

its only.... I think your right on the lower power scopes.. in all fairness when I tested the nightforce and Leupold the other day on the range it was at high noon and a blue sky day. maybe under worst conditions the night Force may have excelled over the leupold

 

[John from MN]

Until Leupold figures out that some of us prefer moa reticles, I'm going to keep buying NXS' and PST's.

 

[fdshuster]

And until they wake up and start offering higher magnification variables and 1/8 moa clicks, I'll continue to support Nightforce.

 

[lrgoodger]

+1 on higher magnification and 1/8 moa clicks. How the he** are ya gonna see a prairie dog at a mile with a measly 24x?