Nightforce vs Schmidt and Bender

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logan1080

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Nightforce is amazing and I love the zero stop feature you can get. But these S&B optics look pretty nice but are very expensive. In particular, the S&B 5-25 x 56 Police Marksman II LP is looking pretty good. I have read that their glass and durability is amazing. Nightforce is no slouch either, so what do you guys think? We all know which one costs more so leave that out for your comparison.
 
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Don't own either, but would like to and have shot both, optically both were phenomenal, smoking leupold phenomenal, and I have a leupold VX3 and an LPS, the schmidt seemed easier to use than the night force, had a more flexible eye relief and was easier to get on target. Best to try them out if you can.
 
Yeah I haven't look through either of them. I currently use a Leupold VX-3 6.5-20x50 LR T on my .300wsm and it is pretty good. Only downside I find is the Varmint reticle I have. The notches are 2.33 MOA apart which can be confusing for a quick hold over, I would prefer notches to be 1 moa apart. I also have a leupold 4.5-14x50 with a basic fine duplex reticle sitting on top of my 22-250. I like it too.
 
Price them out. A basic Nightforce is much cheaper, but tack on all the goodies, and you're within a couple hundred of a S&B... And at that price, a couple hundred bills shouldn't be an issue. ;)
 
what iv found, while both have very good glass, the night force specs seem to be a bit looser then the S&B. while one NF may have perfect glass, the next might be a tiny bit fuzzy around the edges, but both pass NF standards, the S&B have the tightest of tollerances and you KNOW that if you buy 1 or 50 every one will have the best of glass!

i personally went with the SB for my long range boomer, and i dont think i will ever be able to mount any thing else on a rifle again with out dissapointment
 
haha yeah they are not cheap. But my next gun will be a no compromise .338 lapua. first on the list before that is some reloading gear so I can learn and get my current rifles shooting tight groups. Anyway, that S&B with the cera????? coat looks pretty awesome, and their warranty is amazing. I am not sure in the vertical elevation differences though. Correct me if I am wrong but I think a nxs 5.5-22 has 95 moa? the S&B similar to that spec has less elevation I think?
 
I recently bought a 3.5-15 NXS and a S&B 4-16 PMII. As expected both are superb, however the edge is clearly held by the S&B. The Schmidt-Bender is truly an impressive optic that exudes quality in every regard. The Nightforce NXS however is probably the best scope available at its price point and has great glass, solid precise adj. and terrific build quality. Nightforce has recently added it's "high speed turret" which allows far greater adjustment in a single rev. than previously available.

I'd say if cost doesn't enter the equation go for S&B, if like the rest of us it does buy an NXS and remain a "g" note richer.
 
the SB pmII 5-25 has 52moa in 1/4" clicks OR 93MOA if you choose to go with 1cm clicks.

the NF has 100MOA adjustment

the differance in adjustment can be made neglagable by useing a MOA base, IMO a 338lm is pointless to shoot under 1000yds, so do you ever plan to have 100yd zero?
 
ultimate_monkey said:
the SB pmII 5-25 has 52moa in 1/4" clicks OR 93MOA if you choose to go with 1cm clicks.

the NF has 100MOA adjustment

the differance in adjustment can be made neglagable by useing a MOA base, IMO a 338lm is pointless to shoot under 1000yds, so do you ever plan to have 100yd zero?
Click to expand...

No I would probably zero it at 300 yards which is still not very far. I was thinking I would throw something like a 20moa base under what ever I get. with that base and the reticle that is a lot of elevation.
 
I used to shoot Leupold MK4s.....................made the mistake of trying out a buddys S&B 5 - 25 X 56 PMII..............ditched the MK4 and went with the S&B

No comparison. The S&B licks the MK4's a$$. ;)

I have shot with a NightForce, and that was good glass as well. Although I would rank it below the S&B......but above the Leupold MK4s.
 
I've shot through both and have found three reasons I prefer the Nightforce personally.

The adjustment on the Nightforce is a lot more coarse (non rapid turn) than the S&B. I prefer the coarse adjustment for the possibility of a quick follow up shot. If you want to go up a quick few clicks etc. on the NXS, you can do it without watching the turret. The S&B is so fine you can pass them fast enough that you can't hear how many clicks you have moved. To be fair I'm looking at this from a hunting perspective as opposed to shooting off a bench. If I was off a bench I don't see this being the least bit bothersome.

The second thing I found was that while shooting toward a shaded side hill with the sun above it, glare is ridiculous on the S&B. I was constantly having to move my cheek off the stock to the side in order to acquire my target without being blinded. The NXS sitting right beside it didn't seem to have the same issues. We even found that a Mark IV from Leupold handled glare better which was surprising to say the least. I will say that with the sun above or behind you the clarity of the S&B is superior to the NXS but isn't immediately noticeable.

Lastly I find that at long distances the PM II has a thick reticle. I believe the reticle I used is their L7 model but on the website it doesn't show it as an option in the 5-25x56. I never did shoot with the scope at less than 25x so being FFP I completely understand the reticle will increase in size. If you are mounting on a .338 LM I can't see you shooting anything close enough to use less magnification than max.

In any event, until I find a scope that makes the NXS look like a VX-III by comparison, I'll equip everything I can with Nightforce.
 
I have a couple of NXS scopes ( 8-32x56 and 5.5-22x50 ) and am very impressed with them but when it came to make another expensive scope purchase I ordered a S+B PMii as to my eyes I found the overall quality of the glass to be superior. Really though, you cannot go wrong with either as both are very good brands of scope. BTW, to those who say that Sightron is as good but for half the price I say 'No, they are good scopes - I have one, a 10-50x60 - but NF or S+B they are not'.
 
S&B is overall a better scope, I can not deny that. Glass is marginally better and when reaching out to loooong distance, you will likely notice the difference (especially if compared side by side).

However, in my circumstance, I do not use one gun much more than another. I also do not have an unlimited budget. Therefore, I have compromised and put a NF on several of the rifles I own and regularly use. The glass is excellent, adjustments excellent, reticle choice excellent, value for money excellent. If I only owned or shot one or two rifles, I would likely splurge for a few S&B (especially if money is were no object) but as it stands right now, I can not afford to put S&B on everything.
 
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