The new scope race

[dreever]

The race is for higher resolution, more power, and improved tracking. Up to this point the Nightforce line had been the top dogs but not anymore. Now enter the March, Schmidt and Bender, and who knows who else will pop up.
The downside is the price increases. Nightforce isn't cheap with the top of the line NXS going for close to $1800. Now we have the March for $2100 and soon the S&B for a whopping $2800.
The questions that remains will be will the new scopes be reliable? Will they have the tracking of the Nightforce? And here's a biggie, will they have a lifetime warranty and the service to back it up? Time will tell on these points.

One question on everyones mind however is when is enough enough in the $$$ department? Oh, the top dogs with money will always have the $$$ to buy the latest and greatest, but what about Joe Average? I remember when Nightforce BR's could be had new for $900. Now what's the price? I have an NXS I got with a used rifle purchase. Would I pony up $1750 to buy a new one today? Gee, I don't know. I have to eat, pay my taxes, and do things for and with my family all of which comes before shooting. Will I ever plop down $2800 for an S&B? Very doubtful, and I know a lot of guys that think I'm some kind of bank because I own a couple of Nightforces.
What about the new guys? Where is this going to leave them?
One things for certain time holds all the answers, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Danny

 

[mikecr]

I'm thinkin new guys are sittin pretty well. Afterall, they haven't yet spent their money on everything shooting.

 

[usngunner]

This is another good reason to take a look at the IOR line of optics. I honestly believe the glass is as good if not better than the others you listed, and they're solid trackers as well. There is nothing in the 12-1300 dollar range that can hang with them. Period. I regularly shoot mine from 100 yards to 1k on my .308 and it always hits where it's dialed to.

The customer service has been outstanding as well. I had one scope with a parallax issue, had a new scope in hand before I got the old one sent back. No complaints here on any aspect of the scopes.

 

[Rust]

A fair amount of the recent price increases can be attributed to the miserable exchange rates for the dollar right now, and that issue has no real end in sight.

But my B&L Elite 4000,nowdays the Bushnell Elite 4200) has been a good scope for what I use it for, some friends have the Sightrons which seem to be quite a bit of scope for not a lot of money, and there are the Weaver target scopes of you can live with a fixed power.

One thing to consider is what do you really need in a scope. And how many scopes do you really need? Most folks want a dedicated competition scope on top of every competition rifle but there isn't any reason a scope couldn't be moved from rifle to rifle provided each rifle had it's own dedicated ring set that the lowers were never moved.

As a last thought, I've noticed that gas is more expensive than the 21 cents a gallon when I first started driving, and automobile prices are somewhat higher than the $3227 including tax and tags I paid for the first new car. Same with a loaf of bread, a pack of smokes, a beer. I used to tank up the car AND put a cold case of beer in the trunk AND get change from a five.

Personally I'm more concerned with the high cost of beer.