lets compare high end scopes

daniellybbert

daniellybbert

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I am mostly looking at these few scope and trying to decide the best bang for the buck
Im not interested in the cheapest or the most expensive but the best for the best price and why (facts only NO OPINIONS)

Nightforce 5.5-26X56 nxs
price $1530
100moa elevation 60 moa windage
I have heard that they are made in Japan and put together in USA
30mm tube


Schmidt&Bender
price $3000
made in GERMANY cant ever knock a German about the quality of their glass
34 mm tube
backwards windage and elevation knobs (I heard)
supposed to be completley awsome in low light

US Optics SN 9 3.8-22x58
base price $3100
dont know much about them still got to do some reading

any help in the FACTS would be appreciated
 
Unless 34mm main tube is a misprint stay away from that specific model of Shmidt&Bender. They do build awsome scopes, but finding rings or paying for the bases to use it on a different rifle (assuming it uses a non standard base) would be a friggin nightmare! Heard good things from a friend who uses a Night Force scope. Never tried it myself thought. I no absolutely nada about U.S. Optics. I've heard of them but don't know a sole who uses one. Which one of these scopes would be the easiest to get service/warranty work done on in your area? This maybe one of major questions you may want to ask yourself. They don't screw up too often, but you don't want to be waiting 6 months to a year waiting too get it back either.
 
The 34mm tube is going to cause problems with finding mounts, but the optical clarity will be superior on the S&B 34mm tube!

If finding the rings/bases is not a problem for you, the bigger 34mm tube gets my vote.
 
I have a couple of US Optics SN3's 3.2-17X with lit reticles and 35mm tubes sitting in my gun safe right now. I like them so much that I am about to order an SN3 3.8-22X to keep them company.
US Optics is nice because you can customize your scope.
 
just about all the good manufacturer of rings makes a 34mm set. bases are standard.
you just can't walk away from the S&B once you've looked through one. but you might want to add $1000 to your price for one.
 
In general...

The bigger the tube the clearer the image. Light is gathered in the objective lense. To be transmitted to the viewer, the light is bent as it is transmitted through the tube. (Hyugens principle).

There is definitely some ratios at work here though. US optics site used to have a desciption of this. I'll see if i can still retrieve the link.
 
If you get a chance, look through the Nikon Monarch X/Tactical or Bushnell Elite 4200 30mm tactical or later this year, 6500series.

Sightron will also be offering a competitive product (?) after SHOT this year. There is alot of interest as the Sightron engineers have Nightforce in their 'sights'. We shall see...

All three will sell under $1000.

For best bang for the buck, the Bushnell 4200 series is very hard to beat.

The three brands you have listed are all blessed with very nice glass. I have little doubt that the S&B will be like your mega dollar Euro binos for clarity, resolution and brightness. For the money, all of these better rock.

Nikon, Bushnell, and Sightron are quickly getting into this upper end market. They source from similar/same factories so their quality will/should be very similar. We shall see as products are released and reviewed in 2008.

For this type of money, you should also consider the new March target scopes. From all the posts on this scope, the optics and mechanicals are THE BEST of any scope on the market today.

How about resolving 6mm holes at 600yds?

Retailing in the $2500US range so right up there with these other bad boys.

Jerry
 
well the S&B is actually 3400 plus change from wolverine
so thats a bunch of $$$ when from what I heard that the USO is just as good and you can get them some what custom for less $$$
 
Sightron scopes have never been a big seller with us or generally in the Canadian market. The factory rep. group has dropped the line in Canada and I don't know if anyone is bringing them in again. The scopes we used to handle were very average performance, priced in the middle of the Bushnell line. They are marketed harder in the US but there wasn't much support here in Canada so we dropped them. Phil.
 
Had a chance to compare USO and S&b side by side, for my eyes S&B all the way. In fact took the S&B home. One thing that surprises me is how well IOR Valdala compares to my S&B and Nightforces, the clarity of the IOR is amazing and the MP-8 reticule is probably among the best out there. I wonder if IOR is just not "mainstream" enough to be popular.
 
IOR doesn't have a strong enough warranty support here in North America 9as can be said for other brands). Plus there have been posts about negative experiences with those that offer/promote the product.

That has been hurting an otherwise superb product.

Please confirm, does S&B have service in NA or do you have to send back to Europe?

Jerry
 
does anyone know which scope is the best in low light?
IS nightforce really made in Japan by hokko (I think thats the name) and put together in the states?
 
I used a 8xby 32 by 56mm Benchrest modelwith double dot luminated on my long range 700
7mmwsm to hunt deer last fall at twighlight the scope is great better than any Leeupold VX111 I own, but you have to turn power to about 10x.
High power when you get to 25 minutes after sunset the high magnifcation is not good, but when you turn on light (red) dot 1/8" is very sharp
 
daniellybbert said:
I am mostly looking at these few scope and trying to decide the best bang for the buck
Im not interested in the cheapest or the most expensive but the best for the best price and why (facts only NO OPINIONS)

Nightforce 5.5-26X56 nxs
price $1530
100moa elevation 60 moa windage
I have heard that they are made in Japan and put together in USA
30mm tube


Schmidt&Bender
price $3000
made in GERMANY cant ever knock a German about the quality of their glass
34 mm tube
backwards windage and elevation knobs (I heard)
supposed to be completley awsome in low light

US Optics SN 9 3.8-22x58
base price $3100
dont know much about them still got to do some reading

any help in the FACTS would be appreciated
Click to expand...

If you can bring an S&B in direct from Europe you can save substantially on the price you pay in Canada. Prices in Canada for S&B scopes are about twice what you pay in Europe.
 
Last edited:
daniellybbert said:
does anyone know which scope is the best in low light?
IS nightforce really made in Japan by hokko (I think thats the name) and put together in the states?
Click to expand...

Hakko no longer exists but did make the first Nightforce/Lightforce products. Since then, they have likely gone to Japan One glass and chassis elsewhere.

They may be assembled in the US but are all marked made in Japan so??????

Remember that much of the Japanese makers outsource further from China, Phillipines, and possibly Vietnam.

No these are not bad places with low tech. Just the opposite. These are the newest factories with the BEST tech.

As for low light, that has more to do with coatings then lense size. Bausch&Lomb seems to have the 'best' coatings. Arguably, Pentax, Nikon and the Euros also have superb stuff but it might all be the same process/product with different product lables.

The Rainguard on Elite scopes also aids in light transmission. Right now the level of transmission is 99.5% PER SURFACE. So the best scopes are hovering in the 92/93% range depending on the number of lenses.

I have used the Nikon Monarch binos and Elite 4200 scope and have spotted deer before legal light and have taken deer right at legal light.

That is all the performance I need.

Jerry
 
I use a S&B PM-II 5 - 25 X 56 Illuminated Scope with the P4 reticle.

It is AWESOME!!!!! Glass is clear & bright with no distortion.

Plus it is a First Focal Plane Reticle which makes reticle ranging easier.For those that Aren't familiar with the FFP Reticles, the reticle changes in size when you change magnifacation............IE: power up and the reticle grows larger, power down and the reticle gets smaller........

I have shot using Leupold Mark IVs (owned several for years), U.S. Optics, B&L, and Nightforce.

In fact I was going to buy a Nightforce before I looked through the S&B...............For my eyes there was no comparison............... I went with the S&B.............They have also come down in price since I bought mine last year.The list price was around $3800.00 when I was looking to buy................:eek:

The U.S. Optics scopes are very nice and you can Custom order many different features..........I stayed away because they were infamous for ####ty customer service from the late owner...........however I understand that the Late owners son now runs the company and customer service has improved considerably.

The only other scope that I would say is close to the S&B glasswise is the discontinued B&L 10X Tactical scope (NOT the $300.00 version currently out there)..............it was a bargain at $950.00 back in 1996..............:D

Your best bet is to actually look through the different scopes in different conditions to see what your eyes like...........everyone's eyes are different..........

but really, when you hit the top line scopes in the name brands, you can't really go wrong.........

SKBY.
 
What I like about my S&B aside from the wonderful clairity, is the single revolution elevation adjustment of 130 cm (13 mils), the fact that I can see the indicators for all 3 turrets when lying prone behind the rifle, and that when I make an adjustment I get exactly that shift in my POI.
 
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