Quality of Scopes... Need advice!!!!

[ducks-and-bucks]

I'm getting more and more into shooting for accuracy at further and further ranges and am wanting to buy a few REALLY GOOD QUALITY rifle scopes... I'm looking at Leupold, Night Force, Schmitt and Bender, and US Optics... All make very good rifle scopes no doubt, but I have a resource I found where I can get very good prices on Leupolds, a price where its hard to buy anything other than a Leupold. So my scope shopping comes down to start where I can get the best prices. So my question for you competition/long range fellers is how does the quality and performance of The Leupold Mark 4 scopes - AND UP to Leupolds very best scopes... compare to scopes from Night Force, US Optics and such?????? I know the Schmitt and Bender is just cream of the crop, but when prices matter and I don't have the rifle just yet that earns a S&B mounted to it, I have no reason for buying the S&B as of right now... So how does the top of the line Leupolds line up against the other makers???

 

[BigDMT]

Please don't mention leupold anything in the same sentence as NightForce

I've heard shmidt n bender has gone downhill in quality to where NightForce is actually a better scope. That is coming from a very accomplished 1k br world record holder.

I've had a mark4 before and traded it in for 2 nikon monarch scopes and was never happier.
The mark4 was a little nicer than the monarchs, but not much imo. Definitely not worth the $1100 i paid for it, so I traded it in for the two monarchs that gave me much more value for the money.

Leupold will never compete with the big dogs no matter how much money they want to charge for an optic. Period.

 

[bozo699]

Please don't mention leupold anything in the same sentence as NightForce

I've heard shmidt n bender has gone downhill in quality to where NightForce is actually a better scope. That is coming from a very accomplished 1k br world record holder.

I've had a mark4 before and traded it in for 2 nikon monarch scopes and was never happier.
The mark4 was a little nicer than the monarchs, but not much imo. Definitely not worth the $1100 i paid for it, so I traded it in for the two monarchs that gave me much more value for the money.

Leupold will never compete with the big dogs no matter how much money they want to charge for an optic. Period.

I think if you ask that record holder I think you will find he was talking about the new 12-50 bench rest model that S&B came out with, I think if you ask him he will give the 5-25X56 PMII S&B a very high marks I do totally agree with your statements about Leupold, I own at least 30 of them and I won't be buying any more of them.
Wayne.

 

[BigDMT]

Yeah he was talking bout the s&b br model. Surprised me really. Didn't expect to hear that about such an expensive scope.

 

[Lapua40X]

If you've got the bucks just get a Nightforce that suits your shooting needs and be done with it. You can argue for a week about high end scopes but Nightforce will always be in the mix so IMO there's no reason to spend a lot of time comparing the best with the best.

 

[BigDMT]

If you've got the bucks just get a Nightforce that suits your shooting needs and be done with it. You can argue for a week about high end scopes but Nightforce will always be in the mix so IMO there's no reason to spend a lot of time comparing the best with the best.

Case closed ;D

 

[bozo699]

If you've got the bucks just get a Nightforce that suits your shooting needs and be done with it. You can argue for a week about high end scopes but Nightforce will always be in the mix so IMO there's no reason to spend a lot of time comparing the best with the best.

Well I use NF for competing and for some of my hunting rigs but there is absolutely no comparing European glass especially in low light conditions!
Wayne.

 

[6BRinNZ]

Ducks - whats important to you about the scope?

I went NF NXS as its mechanical reliability is extremely good...and I'm not all that worried about chromatic aberration at the edges of the glass when shooting F-class

For target shooting I like positive clicks, reliable focusing and click repeatability...and zero stop functionality...the glass obviously has to be good but not the best.

Varminting - I like all of the above and the very best glass I can get...trying to discern a rabbit from a patch of grass can get hard over 600 yards....and looking into shadows gets tricky too....and almost always when heading back and the light is bad you get a good shot through the binos (leica geovids) but struggle without the very best glass in the scope(this comment goes to NF NXS).

I can't comment on the MK4.

Good luck

 

[bozo699]

Ducks - whats important to you about the scope?

I went NF NXS as its mechanical reliability is extremely good...and I'm not all that worried about chromatic aberration at the edges of the glass when shooting F-class

For target shooting I like positive clicks, reliable focusing and click repeatability...and zero stop functionality...the glass obviously has to be good but not the best.

Varminting - I like all of the above and the very best glass I can get...trying to discern a rabbit from a patch of grass can get hard over 600 yards....and looking into shadows gets tricky too....and almost always when heading back and the light is bad you get a good shot through the binos (leica geovids) but struggle without the very best glass in the scope(this comment goes to NF NXS).

I can't comment on the MK4.

Good luck

Well Written Wayne
Wayne.

 

[kelbro]

I would say that 99.9% (or more) of the people hunting cannot utilize better glass than Leupold at the maximum distance that they will (should) be shooting at.

Nothing against folks spending as much as they want for the best that they can buy but it's mostly just a feelgood thing.

 

[treeman]

I think that the real question is wheather you can shoot a three shot group click up 20 min elev. and back down 20 min and still be in the group. that is the dependability you need

 

[DennisH]

With my eyes not being what they use to be:

NightForce is actually a better scope

I go NightForce all the way and couldn't be happier. I have Swarvoski's and love them as well.

Both are in the budget and are clear. Swarvoski's are my hunting and NF are my target and long range everything scopes.

I haven't really looked at anything better.

 

[Ing. Michael W. Mayerl]

So how does the top of the line Leupolds line up against the other makers???

Leupolds are very good and their sniper scopes work very well.
When you wan`t better glas and better reticles, take a look on IOR.
For cheap rifles I use more and more Nikon. They offer Leupold Quality for a little bit lower price.

 

[mshelton]

March

 

[bozo699]

I would say that 99.9% (or more) of the people hunting cannot utilize better glass than Leupold at the maximum distance that they will (should) be shooting at.

Nothing against folks spending as much as they want for the best that they can buy but it's mostly just a feelgood thing.

There is nothing wrong with VxIII and above glass, it is a clear as NF or maybe even better, it is the returning to zero and dependability under harsh conditions that I choose to stay away from Leupold anymore and there customer service has also went down hill, there older straight power scopes would return to zero pretty well, especially the M8's I guess it really boils down to what you feel comfortable with and what you can afford, I often times see someone has built a rifle or bought an expensive LR ultra mag or something and has a Bushnell banner or similar scope on it and I can't help but laugh,.....if you can't see it or if the cross hairs won't stay put you can't hit it anyway no matter what rifle you have
Wayne.

 

[DennisH]

March scopes, too much more money, not enough quality difference to justify it. JMO

 

[halfmoanut]

Well JMO here. From what I have read you have and what you want to do.I would look at a LEUPOLD & a SIGHTRON. I have owned and still own several Leupolds,& a Nightforce. I have never in 50yrs of hunting and competition shooting had a single issue with any of my Leupolds.(life time warranty) kept me buying them and will always be a sales factor. Nightforce has an edge for long range shooting but only a slight edge.Two things (JMO) You don't put a 1000.00 optic on a 500.00 rifle, nor do you put a 500.00 optic on a 2500.00 rifle.

 

[BigDMT]

Halfmoanut: I agree on the $1000 scope on a $500 rifle point you made... I'm only wanting to push a .243 and a 22-250 to its Max potential or 800-1000 yards which ever comes first.. these two rifles are hunting rigs not competition rigs. They are just really accurate varminter rifles. From all the advice and info I've found I'm gonna just stay in the $1000-$1500 price range on scopes for them. There is very nice scopes in that price range. If I was putting a scope on a bench rest gun I'd spend 2k plus on a scope.. jmo

Not many folks have $2k scopes on their bench guns. No need. The price range you are looking in is more than enough to buy some of the finest scopes for benchrest shooting.

 

[bozo699]

Halfmoanut: I agree on the $1000 scope on a $500 rifle point you made... I'm only wanting to push a .243 and a 22-250 to its Max potential or 800-1000 yards which ever comes first.. these two rifles are hunting rigs not competition rigs. They are just really accurate varminter rifles. From all the advice and info I've found I'm gonna just stay in the $1000-$1500 price range on scopes for them. There is very nice scopes in that price range. If I was putting a scope on a bench rest gun I'd spend 2k plus on a scope.. jmo[/quote

I have a Tikka T3 lite in 7mm-08, I don't remember what I payed for it, $6 something I think and I have a NSX nightforce on it, wouldn't consider anything else but it on that rifle, when I bought the rifle they didn't have any good scopes at the store so I bought a 4-12 Nikon with the bdc system in it, what a joke!! great scope for bright days but early/late morning sucked and night hunting was totally out with it! so I ordered up the night force the next day and have never regretted it. Killed 4 yotes with it yesterday, it is my daily pickup/4 wheeler gun, most of my rifles anymore are all customs but I absolutely love this little combo, however if a Zeiss Hensoldt was what blew my hair back I would mount one of those on there but the nf will do,...JMHO's also.
Wayne.

 

[BigDMT]

Halfmoanut: I agree on the $1000 scope on a $500 rifle point you made... I'm only wanting to push a .243 and a 22-250 to its Max potential or 800-1000 yards which ever comes first.. these two rifles are hunting rigs not competition rigs. They are just really accurate varminter rifles. From all the advice and info I've found I'm gonna just stay in the $1000-$1500 price range on scopes for them. There is very nice scopes in that price range. If I was putting a scope on a bench rest gun I'd spend d 2k plus on a scope.. jmo[/quote

I have a Tikka T3 lite in 7mm-08, I don't remember what I payed for it, $6 something I think and I have a NSX nightforce on it, wouldn't consider anything else but it on that rifle, when I bought the rifle they didn't have any good scopes at the store so I bought a 4-12 Nikon with the bdc system in it, what a joke!! great scope for bright days but early/late morning sucked and night hunting was totally out with it! so I ordered up the night force the next day and have never regretted it. Killed 4 yotes with it yesterday, it is my daily pickup/4 wheeler gun, most of my rifles anymore are all customs but I absolutely love this little combo, however if a Zeiss Hensoldt was what blew my hair back I would mount one of those on there but the nf will do,...JMHO's also.
Wayne.

You know what's funny? One of the very best low light scopes i ever owned was an old style 2.5-10x50mm Burris Signature. Remember back when they were all gloss finish and had the cursive "B" on the side? Man that sucker drew in a TON of light!