Rifle Scopes Kahles K525i 5-25x56 and Nightforce 5-25 x 56 F1 Comparison

[Fire4EffectCA]

Are there any side by side comparisons of the Kahles K525i 5-25x56 and Nightforce 5-25 x 56 F1? In general they both appear to be excellent scopes for long range shooting.

From what I have been able to find in discussions the Nightforce has more robust construction and may have slightly better glass. I also saw lots of complaints about the windage knob on the Kahles.

 

[kthomas]

I don't have a K525 but have 3 K624's and love them. Not sure what the complaints of the windage knob are, but I never dial windage anyways.

All the top tier scopes are great these days. Pick the one that has the reticle and features you want and run with it.

Glass comparisons are subjective based on eyes and at this level nit picking.

Both great scopes, both would serve your purpose.

 

[CSTactical]

Are there any side by side comparisons of the Kahles K525i 5-25x56 and Nightforce 5-25 x 56 F1? In general they both appear to be excellent scopes for long range shooting.

From what I have been able to find in discussions the Nightforce has more robust construction and may have slightly better glass. I also saw lots of complaints about the windage knob on the Kahles.

I'd be happy to discuss the pros and cons of each in detail at 916-670-1103

 

[kthomas]

I'd be happy to discuss the pros and cons of each in detail at 916-670-1103

I would highly advise doing this. CS Tactical will take care of you. My go to for buying optics these days.

 

[codym]

I’ve had a few ATACR’s and currently have a 624i. IMO the ATACR glass may have been slightly better but like above that’s nit picking. The Kahles had better turrets, better illumination control(much prefer the dial to the push button), zero stop was way easier to adjust and a actually worked (both my zero stop clutches broke in the ATACRs) and the game changer for me was the top focus adjustment. As a lefty this is the best feature I’ve seen on scope. Just my impressions with a few scopes. Not necessarily the exact same scope but the 525 should be as good or better than the 624 in all areas except maybe fov. That being said I have no problem owning another ATACR just prefer the Kahles.

 

[DDT]

both my zero stop clutches broke in the ATACRs...

could you please explain what exactly was wrong with them? If it was an operators error or you got 2 lemons...?

 

[CSTactical]

I would highly advise doing this. CS Tactical will take care of you. My go to for buying optics these days.

Thank you Sir!

And I'd also look at Zero Compromise Optic's 5-27x56 this conversation

Zero Compromise Optic Products - CS Tactical

www.cstactical.com

 

[Fire4EffectCA]

Richard, thank you. Good talking with you. I will get back with you after I do my research.

 

[Fire4EffectCA]

Richard, thank you. Good talking with you. I will get back with you after I do my research.

I'd be happy to discuss the pros and cons of each in detail at 916-670-1103

 

[codym]

The clutch froze and wouldn’t move on either one. There’s a few others on here that had the same thing happen. Not sure what caused it.

 

[longgunJR]

It comes down to reticle choice they're both excellent, I love the Mil-XT on the NF. can't go wrong with either

 

[mahlv]

The zoom on the NF irritated the shit out of me, specifically the whole ocular turning. With the flip cap cover it was always a PIA if/when magnification needed to be changed on the clock.

 

[Healy]

After using both Nightforce and Khales I’ve grown to like the controls, eyebox, glass better on the khales. Never had problems with Nightforce they just aren’t the best option for me.

 

[Terry of illinois]

It’s all what you like in your own mind. I like ford my neighbor likes chevys both will get job done. One is a couple dollars more than the other .

 

[Fire4EffectCA]

The Kahles K525i is 3,299.00. Who is selling them new for 2,500.00?

Ergonomics and layout, size, weight, illumination, turrets, setting the zero stop are all better on the Kahles.
Not going to get into glass but CA is present in the Kahles when off centre and it has compromises optically.
Price is what it comes down to with the Kahles. It’s a $2500 optic and if you pay that you’ll probably be happy. If you pay more than that good chance you’ll be disappointed.

 

[CSTactical]

The Kahles K525i is 3,299.00. Who is selling them new for 2,500.00?

That is incorrect, dealers cost is more than $2,500.00. High end optics don’t have as much margin as people think since certain manufacturers may have inflated MSRP numbers which are used to make .gov discounts look ridiculously high.

 

[Glassaholic]

Thank you Sir!

And I'd also look at Zero Compromise Optic's 5-27x56 this conversation

Zero Compromise Optic Products - CS Tactical

www.cstactical.com

If you are going to pay anything close to $3000 for an optic you would do yourself a favor by looking into ZCO, at $3600 the ZC527 is a much better optic than most others in its class, I think rydah's point with the $2500 remark is that the K525i doesn't really compete against other scopes in the $3k class (see ILya's video review below), doesn't mean it's not a good scope, it just has some surprising compromises they made that detract from its cost. IMO, the ZC527 is what the Kahles K525i should have been, not sure what Kahles was thinking when their engineers decided that sacrificing FOV and optical clarity at high magnifications over the already excellent K624i was a good idea in order to get a 5x erector. My only complaint with the K624i was the CA, outside of that it was an outstanding scope. Regarding the ATACR 5-25, it has a lot of love lust just because of the Nightforce name and it is a well built scope but is bested optically by other scopes in its class. Again, I'm not saying the ATACR or the K525i are not "good" scopes, but I do believe there are "better" scopes for the money, unless, as rydah mentions, you can find one in the $2500 range (which you can easily in the Hide classifieds) but if you're going to pay full price or close to it, I'd recommend looking into the ZCO, the Minox ZP5 and even "ol' reliable' the Schmidt PMII 5-25.

 

[Fire4EffectCA]

If you are going to pay anything close to $3000 for an optic you would do yourself a favor by looking into ZCO, at $3600 the ZC527 is a much better optic than most others in its class, I think rydah's point with the $2500 remark is that the K525i doesn't really compete against other scopes in the $3k class (see ILya's video review below), doesn't mean it's not a good scope, it just has some surprising compromises they made that detract from its cost. IMO, the ZC527 is what the Kahles K525i should have been, not sure what Kahles was thinking when their engineers decided that sacrificing FOV and optical clarity at high magnifications over the already excellent K624i was a good idea in order to get a 5x erector. My only complaint with the K624i was the CA, outside of that it was an outstanding scope. Regarding the ATACR 5-25, it has a lot of love lust just because of the Nightforce name and it is a well built scope but is bested optically by other scopes in its class. Again, I'm not saying the ATACR or the K525i are not "good" scopes, but I do believe there are "better" scopes for the money, unless, as rydah mentions, you can find one in the $2500 range (which you can easily in the Hide classifieds) but if you're going to pay full price or close to it, I'd recommend looking into the ZCO, the Minox ZP5 and even "ol' reliable' the Schmidt PMII 5-25.

Thaks so much for your input. Besides the ZC527, Richard has suggested I look at the Nightforce ATACR 7-35x56 F1 in place of the ATACR 5-25x56 F1. That is why I started a new thread comparing them. It is my understanding that there is room for the dealer to discount the ATACR 7-35x56 F1, but not the ZC527.

 

[Glassaholic]

Thaks so much for your input. Besides the ZC527, Richard has suggested I look at the Nightforce ATACR 7-35x56 F1 in place of the ATACR 5-25x56 F1. That is why I started a new thread comparing them. It is my understanding that there is room for the dealer to discount the ATACR 7-35x56 F1, but not the ZC527.

There are many who prefer the 7-35 over the 5-25 though I do not believe it is because of the greater magnification as most competitors don't go much above 20x unless they are shooting close range paper where mirage isn't going to be as big an issue. Richard is definitely the one to help out with pricing on both, it may be that the margins of the ZCO are thinner than with NF, I do not know.

 

[CSTactical]

The general consensus from a dozen or more friends and customers is that the IQ is improved overall on the 7-35 over the 5-25 ATACR.

 

[DOA]

If you are going to pay anything close to $3000 for an optic you would do yourself a favor by looking into ZCO, at $3600 the ZC527 is a much better optic than most others in its class, I think rydah's point with the $2500 remark is that the K525i doesn't really compete against other scopes in the $3k class (see ILya's video review below), doesn't mean it's not a good scope, it just has some surprising compromises they made that detract from its cost. IMO, the ZC527 is what the Kahles K525i should have been, not sure what Kahles was thinking when their engineers decided that sacrificing FOV and optical clarity at high magnifications over the already excellent K624i was a good idea in order to get a 5x erector. My only complaint with the K624i was the CA, outside of that it was an outstanding scope. Regarding the ATACR 5-25, it has a lot of love lust just because of the Nightforce name and it is a well built scope but is bested optically by other scopes in its class. Again, I'm not saying the ATACR or the K525i are not "good" scopes, but I do believe there are "better" scopes for the money, unless, as rydah mentions, you can find one in the $2500 range (which you can easily in the Hide classifieds) but if you're going to pay full price or close to it, I'd recommend looking into the ZCO, the Minox ZP5 and even "ol' reliable' the Schmidt PMII 5-25.

If you had $2500 and no more, what would you recommend over the NF 5-25 F1 ?

 

[Glassaholic]

If you had $2500 and no more, what would you recommend over the NF 5-25 F1 ?

A lot depends on what type of shooting you will be doing. If this is strictly for a competition style rifle and you want to pay less, the Vortex Gen II Razor 4.5-27x56 can be had for around $1700 if you shop around. This scope used to sell at the $2500 price point but can now be found at great deals. For about the same price as the Gen II Razor you can find the new Burris XTR III 5.5-30x56 which has incredible FOV and great glass for the price. If you act fast you can still buy a Mauser M18 rifle for < $400 and get a 50% off cert for a Minox ZP5 (deal ends on 12/31). As most have mentioned, find the reticle you like the most (it is what you'll be looking at all the time) and choose the scope based off the reticle. My favorite reticles are the Minox MR4 and TT Gen 3XR; however, at over $4500 for the TT it's out of most shooters budgets, but the half off ZP5 5-25 with MR4 is a deal that cannot be beat right now. The NF ATACR F1 5-25 with Mil-C or Mil-XT is a fine scope, a bit limited in FOV at the low end but great scope and reticle albeit with a few quirks.

If you're trying to save weight the Burris XTR III, Kahles, Minox ZP5 and Leupold Mark 5 will round out the lighter end of these scopes and the new Steiner M7Xi seems to be an odd duck, it's light as well and has an impressive mag range but heavy CA and falloff of IQ at higher mags really limit its effectiveness.

The good news is that almost any scope at the $2k and above price point is going to serve you well, they all have their compromises but are all capable of getting your bullets on target, the bad news is that there are so many today to choose from and deciding on which to choose can be brutal... then once you buy one you'll be second guessing yourself wondering if something else would have been "better", then you'll sell the scope to buy that something else and regret selling your old scope and the cycle will continue. UNLESS, you decide to enjoy whatever you choose and don't look back and regardless of what anyone says online, if you're successful with it who cares if everyone else hates it. That's my advice

 

[Dthomas3523]

I’ve owned all the optics mentioned. Zco, k525, atacr.

Going forward the zco (and theta) are the only optics I am willing to spend over $3k for.

I agree the k525i is a $2500 optic and I would never pay more for it than that. I feel about the same with atacr. I wouldn’t pay more than $2300 for a 5-25 and no more than 25-2700 for a 7-35.

Anymore than that and you might as well spend the extra for a zco or theta.