I just got a new scope for my .308 for F/TR competition. I was deciding between 3 choices. i needed to keep the price in the $1500 or under range.
the choices were:
Nightforce 12-42x56 BR w/ DDR-2 reticle
Sightron 10-50x60 w/either fine cross hair or fine cross hair w/ dot reticle
Vortex Golden eagle with fine cross hair reticle (do the wait, who knows really how long)
i already own a Sightron 8-32x56 with a LRMD reicle, so i knew the Sightron quality is very good. the glass is good and the scope has held zero perfectly and the tracking is excellent. i wanted a bit more mag, however and 1/8 moa instead of 1/4 moa clicks that my 32x has.
i did a ton of research both on line and talked to more seasoned shooters than i that have used or have direct knowledge of the 10-50x Sightron and the 12-42x Nightforce.
in the end, i went with Sightron. there was never anything that i saw or heard that said the Nightforce was really any better in the most important categories, ie optically, zero hold, and tracking. click feel, reticle choice and ruggedness were mentioned, but none of those characteristics have been an issue with me on my current Sightron, so i felt comfortable along those lines. many shooters i spoke with said the Nightforce was a great scope, but one was paying a premium for the name and probably for it's inherent ruggedness. since this is a target setup, the need for extra robustness did not seem warranted. some mentioned the weight of this scope as an issue, but i checked, and it would have worked on my rifle to be under the F/TR weight limit.
if the price difference between the two were much closer, i probably would have bought the Nightforce, mostly because of the DDR-2 reticle. I picked up the Sightron with the fine cross hair/dot reticle at Optics Planet for $885. $1428 is the cheapest to find the Nightforce.
as for the Vortex, it looks very good on paper. if it had been available now, i might have went with it. however, i generally don't like to buy a relatively expensive item such as a scope without it having a track record over time. Vortex certainly makes many excellent optics, so more than likely there would have not been any issues. my shooting buddy has one on back order, so he gets to be a beta tester with it. i could still see myself acquiring one in the future.
the choices were:
Nightforce 12-42x56 BR w/ DDR-2 reticle
Sightron 10-50x60 w/either fine cross hair or fine cross hair w/ dot reticle
Vortex Golden eagle with fine cross hair reticle (do the wait, who knows really how long)
i already own a Sightron 8-32x56 with a LRMD reicle, so i knew the Sightron quality is very good. the glass is good and the scope has held zero perfectly and the tracking is excellent. i wanted a bit more mag, however and 1/8 moa instead of 1/4 moa clicks that my 32x has.
i did a ton of research both on line and talked to more seasoned shooters than i that have used or have direct knowledge of the 10-50x Sightron and the 12-42x Nightforce.
in the end, i went with Sightron. there was never anything that i saw or heard that said the Nightforce was really any better in the most important categories, ie optically, zero hold, and tracking. click feel, reticle choice and ruggedness were mentioned, but none of those characteristics have been an issue with me on my current Sightron, so i felt comfortable along those lines. many shooters i spoke with said the Nightforce was a great scope, but one was paying a premium for the name and probably for it's inherent ruggedness. since this is a target setup, the need for extra robustness did not seem warranted. some mentioned the weight of this scope as an issue, but i checked, and it would have worked on my rifle to be under the F/TR weight limit.
if the price difference between the two were much closer, i probably would have bought the Nightforce, mostly because of the DDR-2 reticle. I picked up the Sightron with the fine cross hair/dot reticle at Optics Planet for $885. $1428 is the cheapest to find the Nightforce.
as for the Vortex, it looks very good on paper. if it had been available now, i might have went with it. however, i generally don't like to buy a relatively expensive item such as a scope without it having a track record over time. Vortex certainly makes many excellent optics, so more than likely there would have not been any issues. my shooting buddy has one on back order, so he gets to be a beta tester with it. i could still see myself acquiring one in the future.
