NIGHTFORCE X42 V Schmidt & Bender X50

[dully1963]

just to throw a spanner in the works the sightron big sky is equal and because of price better than both and in a side by side the sightron had the edge in clarity but at dusk or dawn i cannot coment as i use it just on the range
hope this helps and possibly saves you some cash as well ;D

 

[bozo699]

I had a NF nsx and thought it was very poor for the money. I also have 2 NF BR models which are head and shoulders above any NSX model I have looked out of. My S&B 12-50x56 is definitely better than either the NF NSX or the NF BR. However it really isn't a fair comparison as it is substantially more money.
Did the 2 shooters you mention have deals( sponsorship) from NF ? The NF BR models are fine scopes but Their findings are out of line with mine.

I think both track dead on and I would think both are very durable BUT if you want a clearer brighter image then the S&B is the way to go. .

I don't know what your trying to get at here, Yes the club is sponsored by NF but not the shooters I referred to, as I stated they were wanting the S&B because it has more power and clarity and power was what they were after, as stated these weren't my findings it was a couple friends of mine and I have absolutely no reason to doubt them. I would like look through a S&B br scope one day and I am sure I will, I simply tried to answer the op's question to the best of my abilities bases on my experiences and trusted friends of mine, it wasn't gospel just my opinions and experience AS STATED! As far as your last statement
( Clearer and brighter is very important to me but perhaps not to others ) I don't even know how to respond to that?? I don't know a single BR shooter that clarity and brightness wouldn't be of the utmost of importance to them, seriously do you know someone that prefers a 3-9 Simmons for there preferred 1K br scope?? I don't for sure! I am the first to say you get what you pay for for the most part but maybe some prefer the NF and maybe to there eye it is better,...who's to say but bold statements like you made are ridiculous, not facts and are only opinions based on your experiences same as our findings are based on our experiences
Wayne.

A ridiculous statement you say? That I find a well made optic ( made with what many consider to be amongst the best glass in the world)which is twice as expensive to be brighter and clearer. Ridiculous?,NO...rule of thumb? YES .......

canuck,
I am not here to argue with you, I tried to give my best advice to the op, I just now remembered Andy is in Europe which in that case the added cost to have the NF shipped is very expensive and he probably could get his hands on a S&B to judge for himself. dully1963 believes Sightron to be better, I looked through them and don't believe it to be the case FOR ME if they work for him then great.
You say a rule of thumb? YES,.... I agree, I also agree S&B has some of the best glass in the world, I absolutely love my S&B and it is definitely not for sale!
You say S&B is twice as expensive so they have to be better,....NOT TRUE just rule of thumb as you say,...some of the Zeiss Hensoldt Rifle Scopes are way more expensive then the S&B scopes are they better?... I didn't think so that is why my friend owns my old Hensoldt and I now own a S&B like they say opinions may vary I am very happy your S&B BR scope is working out for you,..Enjoy 8)
Wayne.

 

[DennisH]

I have a friend that just bought a 5-30 Z6I Swarovski that I believe has the NF and S&B beat

These are fine scopes-for hunting!!!!! I had one and sold it to buy two more NF BR's and I am happy I did so! I also had a Z5 I sold for the same reason! Swarovski if a fine scope (maybe clearer glass than a NF) and I still have three of them on hunting rifles. I hunt with my brother and two sons if your wondering who supplies the rifles/scopes when we go ;D I wouldn't trade these trips for nothing and am looking forward to the next one!

NEW QUESTION: NF or SB vs March Which do you perfer out of these two?

 

[ANDY T]

Hi
Thanks for all the feed back [still don't know S/B or NF]
i have a question reading through the replies it looks like the Nightforce shooters say the BR is better than the NXS why do you say this as i believe they both share the same lenses.?????

Andy

 

[Steve Blair]

I am no optics expert, Andy. But, I think that the side focus requires one or two more lenses. Even with excellent glass, there are always transmissive losses passing through a lens.

 

[Romulus]

For every application except BR, I would take a loss to clarity for the ease of use of side focus.

 

[bozo699]

For every application except BR, I would take a loss to clarity for the ease of use of side focus.

Romulus,
You said a mouth full,for every aplication EXCEPT BR, in BR you have ample time to adjust your parallax, so much time in fact you you second guess yourself for no other reason then nerves I guess and change it several times just to end right back where you started ??? When hunting long range ( the only reason you would need parallax adjustment ) it is much nicer to have the side focus because you have to take yourself out of position in the prone position to make the adjustment if it's not on the side, not the case at all when sitting on a bench, and even if you did, again you have ample time. Hunting your target may move and you may need to change the parallax after your initial setup, I don't know about any of you but I sure as heck don't change my parallax adjustment in the middle of a 10 shot string!!!
Wayne.

 

[Romulus]

So I think we are in agreement Wayne, lol. I don't mean to be contentious one iota.

 

[Steve Blair]

I don't know about any of you but I sure as heck don't change my parallax adjustment in the middle of a 10 shot string!!!
Wayne.

In F-Class competition, the side focus is frequently used during the match to assess mirage at points between the shooter and target. A lot can happen in 1000 yards and it pays to be aware of what your bullet will traverse. We must wait for pit service after every shot and make a judgement before firing the next. It is common to fire 25+ shots in 30 minutes during which the conditions can change drastically.

 

[DennisH]

Andy, it's up to you if you want to spend the $$$$ on SB.

I have never owned one, but they say they are great! I have no complaints with my NF Benchrest's! I did have complaints with Zeiss, Swarvoski (only bench shooting-hunting their great), and a few others, but I bought a NXS, I didn't like it, used a NF Benchrest and loved it! Again, I have several. Eye relief, easy focus-no lock ring, and the amount of adjustment along with good clairity has me sold.

I don't know if I would buy a SB or March, I would have to use one as that tells the tale. Also have to pull the $$$ out!

 

[bozo699]

I don't know about any of you but I sure as heck don't change my parallax adjustment in the middle of a 10 shot string!!!
Wayne.

In F-Class competition, the side focus is frequently used during the match to assess mirage at points between the shooter and target. A lot can happen in 1000 yards and it pays to be aware of what your bullet will traverse. We must wait for pit service after every shot and make a judgement before firing the next. It is common to fire 25+ shots in 30 minutes during which the conditions can change drastically.

Steve,
I couldn't agree with you more, I shot my first F-class shoot earlier this year and it is just like hunting, (PRONE) I was using my 12-42 BR/NF and it was a pain in the A** Again in my statement I was comparing BR technique to Hunting, (PRONE) same as you F-class two totally different cups of tea that require two different setups
Wayne.

P.S In BR that I shoot you don't get to see each shot like your F-class shooting, I really liked the F-class and hope to do more of it.

 

[DennisH]

Above is interesting, I have never shot at 1,000yds, I could change my mind on scopes when I do shoot at this distance!

 

[DennisH]

PS: My eyesight is not the best. With some scopes I have to wear glasses to focus!

The Swarvoski's and Nightforce Benchrest are to only two that doesn't require me to wear any glasses to perfectly focus! This alone sold me on both scopes.

The NXS, I had to wear glasses.

Again, I havn't tried a March or SB, but my interest is building up!

Dennis

Anyone else experience the above?

 

[Romulus]

Even after focusing the ocular objective to your eyesight?

 

[DennisH]

Again, I have tried many scopes, I have only been able to focus perfectly the Nightforce BR and Swarovski's to my eyesight WITHOUT glasses!

I bought several of the other scopes including the NXS and sold them after exhausting all adjustments!

I do know of one other person who has the same issue!

 

[Romulus]

If you don't mind me asking what are the adjusted prescriptions for your eyes or each of your eyes? I'd like to figure out the threshold for adjustment of focus for the NXS scopes. I have a friend who needs a lot of correction and he literally cannot gain aiming focus with my scope even after I allowed him to refocus the reticle. Like most things, there probably is a technical optical reason for this.

Wouldn't your experiences technically mean that the scopes you cannot gain focus with do not have the range to adjust for your + or - correction to get image to focus?

We're discussing reticle focus right? Or do you mean you cannot gain focus upon the image in the scope? If a reticle is out of focus or cannot be focused your eye will have a hard time switching between the image and the reticle.

 

[DennisH]

We're discussing reticle focus right? Or do you mean you cannot gain focus upon the image in the scope? If a reticle is out of focus or cannot be focused your eye will have a hard time switching between the image and the reticle.

The above is correct!

The reticle is double, but the target is perfect. Put glasses on and both are perfect! I can put reading glasses on and it will also correct my situation!

I would have to find my prescription to give the actual eye vision correction! I will try to find it!

Dennis

 

[DennisH]

PS: I am not the only one who experiences this! I have talked to a couple more who have the same situation. In fact, they suggested reading glasses which worked!

 

[bozo699]

PS: I am not the only one who experiences this! I have talked to a couple more who have the same situation. In fact, they suggested reading glasses which worked!

Dennis,
I have had this problem every since I started wearing glasses, after 40 I even started a thread on it and finally stopped making comments so the thread would just die out as everyone said I didn't have the scope adjusted correctly. The thing is I was adjusting my scopes perfectly for years, then came eye glasses and the problem appeared, my problem is without glasses I can see the target perfectly but the cross hairs are not, adjust the cross hair to clarity and the target is out of focus, I found by accident cheap reading glasses really helped.
Wayne.

 

[dreever]

In regard to side focus for parallax. If you are a lefty like me it's sort of a PITA. I have both the 12-42 BR and 12-42 NXS. For target work I prefer the BR. Not so much because it might be a tad clearer but because if you get on target at 12 power and adjust the parallax then crank the power up to 42 you still have perfect focus. Not so with the side focus NXS. You have to adjust the parallax for every different power setting.

Danny