Leupold vs Nightforce

bush

bush

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I have 2 Leupold MarkIV's and have just finished an M25 clone and need glass. I've heard good things about Nightforce but never seen or looked through one. She'll be a range queen, belly gun. Is the Nightforce worth the extra few hundred$?

thanks for your words of wisdom

BUSH
 
The Nightforce is better optically. I was out shooting on my range with a buddy who has a pile of Mark 4s and 4 Nightforce scopes. I guess you could call me a Leupold guy. At 650 yards the Nightforce was a lot clearer. I won't say the difference was going to make a difference between hitting and missing, but it was there and was undeniable.
That was the same day that something black and fabulous started floating around in his Nightforce. Any thoughts of picking one up will be put on hold until we see what luck he has in getting it in and out of the country for repair. That's looking neither easy nor fast.
 
The only real flaw with the Leupold scopes are the price and the fact that the eye relief changes depending on magnification. The NF scopes and Zeiss Conquest keep the same eye relief through the entire magnification range. I definitely prefer this.

The Leupold MK4 6.5-20x has a change of: 3.6 to (4.4) inches. or 91 (112) mm.

The Sightron also has some change but it is: 3.6-3.8 inches. I consider that acceptable. I think the Leupold scopes have too much change. Also the price is fairly high on them.

Between the two, I'd go with NF. Both are good scopes but the change in eye relief makes me shy away from Leupold.
 
Both NF and S&B eye relief changes in magnification, as well as any other magnified scope, Leupy included.

NF makes a much better scope than Leupy -- its easiest to look thru inline Night Vision and see teh differcens in optic clarity
 
For the price of a NF, they would need to be better. I still think Leupold is the best all round scope. I don't see the need to spend 2k on a scope for slightly better clarity.
 
444shooter said:
For the price of a NF, they would need to be better. I still think Leupold is the best all round scope. I don't see the need to spend 2k on a scope for slightly better clarity.
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Leupold 6.5-20x50mm M1 Ill retails for about $2025
NF NXS 5.5-22x50mm (illuminated and target turrets) retails for about $2200

The prices are pretty close. The adjustments on the NF are crisper, and more repeatable. The optics are generally better. There is more elevation available. The scope is more durable. In my opinion you are getting a pretty good deal for less than 10% more in price.
 
KevinB said:
Both NF and S&B eye relief changes in magnification, as well as any other magnified scope, Leupy included.
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Nope. Going to have to respectfully disagree with you on that one.

Just double checked. My NF 5.5-22x 50mm No change in eye relief for the entire magnification range. Same with the Zeiss Conquest 6.5-20x 50mm. I didn't need to adjust for a different eye relief at all. My Leupold was a different story. Had to move my head to compensate.
 
There is no problem having NF warranty work carried out, as your dealer should take care of this. However, the chances of having problems with NF are slim.
 
Epoxy7 said:
Nope. Going to have to respectfully disagree with you on that one.

Just double checked. My NF 5.5-22x 50mm No change in eye relief for the entire magnification range. Same with the Zeiss Conquest 6.5-20x 50mm. I didn't need to adjust for a different eye relief at all. My Leupold was a different story. Had to move my head to compensate.
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Maybe for your eyes ;)

We did a bunch of testing for the Army with both the Leupold 3.5-10 SASS scope, the USMC S&B 3-12 and the SOCOM 3-15 NightForce (several of each sight with different shooters). The averages where all within 5mm of the others at min and max mag.

Maybe the higher mag scopes have less eye relief chnages than the smaller ones?
 
Dogleg said:
The scope I mentioned is being sent to you, so I guess we'll see.
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The very few times we have had any warranty issue with NF the service has been almost instant. We have sold a TON of NF scopes over the years and to date have had only 6 scopes with any issue.
NF CERTAINLY stands behind their product with service. That being said Leupold also has great service and I understand that the MK4s can finally now be serviced in Canada.
 
KevinB said:
Maybe for your eyes ;)

We did a bunch of testing for the Army with both the Leupold 3.5-10 SASS scope, the USMC S&B 3-12 and the SOCOM 3-15 NightForce (several of each sight with different shooters). The averages where all within 5mm of the others at min and max mag.

Maybe the higher mag scopes have less eye relief chnages than the smaller ones?
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That might actually make sense for the military/police models you've described. I know the eye box on a lot of the constant eye relief scopes is smaller on lower magnification compared to those with varying eye relief. For those quick shots a bigger less fussy eye box would probably be more important to a shooter than a fixed constant eye relief.

My experience is only with the higher magnification Varmint/Target models. From both the literature and my own testing the NF and Conquest have a fixed eye relief.

My eyesight is good. Used to be 20/20+ now it's just 20/20 :D
 
Dog Leg, your comment "That's looking neither easy nor fast." is an an assumption without base as the scope hasn't been returned to us, but we advised the customer we would look after it and, as in many thousands of transactions, that's exactly what we'll do.

Please refain from condesension until we don't perform.

As ABT Rick has pointed out and their reputaion confirms, Nightforce support their product.

Regards,

Peter
 
redleg said:
Leupold 6.5-20x50mm M1 Ill retails for about $2025
NF NXS 5.5-22x50mm (illuminated and target turrets) retails for about $2200

The prices are pretty close. The adjustments on the NF are crisper, and more repeatable. The optics are generally better. There is more elevation available. The scope is more durable. In my opinion you are getting a pretty good deal for less than 10% more in price.
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I am talking about a VX-II or VX-III. I don't see a reason to pay $2000 for a NF for a hunting rifle.
 
I am talking about a VX-II or VX-III. I don't see a reason to pay $2000 for a NF for a hunting rifle.
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And many people don't see the point in buying a scope as expensive as a VX2 or VX 3. I guess if you want the increase in quality you will pay for it - because there is a significant improvement in optics, general overall robustness, and quality from a Leupy 2 or a 3 to a NXS Nightforce.

Main downside on a Nightforce is size and weight.
 
peterdobson said:
Dog Leg, your comment "That's looking neither easy nor fast." is an an assumption without base as the scope hasn't been returned to us, but we advised the customer we would look after it and, as in many thousands of transactions, that's exactly what we'll do.

Please refain from condesension until we don't perform.

As ABT Rick has pointed out and their reputaion confirms, Nightforce support their product.

Regards,

Peter
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It's not condesending to say "we'll see". That's just a statement of fact.The scope probably won't even be sent in until after the hunting season since it is functional, after that service may fast, slow or anything else. I'm hoping for fast, but whatever it is "we'll see". Nobody is questioning your dedication.
 
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