Hi. I'm currently in the market for a new scope. I haven't had a chance to mess with any nightforce scopes. I've always had leupold mk4's. Ffp and sfp. Now. I have access to USO and leupold at wholesale prices. Almost dealer on USO and almost Leo prices on leupold. So I can get mk6 and the sl-17 for about $200 more than the nxs 5.5-22(or whatever th exact number is) with zero stop. Now here's the question. Are the nightforce that great that I should still be looking at them with the cost differences. Or. Go for the mk6 or USO for the couple hundred more. (Never really had a chance to look through one of these either).
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Rifle Scopes Nightforce vs leupold
- Thread starter thetonk
- Start date
I've got Nightforce NXS and a ATACR scope. I love them, but they are not for everyone in reading many of the scope discussion threads on here. I'd go to a Cabelas or Bass Pro or anywhere that has scopes that you can hold and look through and check them out and see for yourself. If you are going to sink that kind of coin into something you should get exactly what works for you.
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The most direct comparisons would be Nightforce F1, USO 3.2-17x, and Mk 6. Not a bad scope among them.
The Mk6 now has the M5C2 compact turrets available, they look very nice and low profile and have a zero lock feature.
It'd be a tough call between those 3 scopes, they all are excellent, with the Leupold being noticeably more compact and light weight. Leupy has really (finally) stepped up their game, as long as they don't go price-hike crazy, they can gain back some ground. The durability and track record of the Nightforces can't be ignored though. USO brings some very cool and unique features to the table. Pick your poison!
The Mk6 now has the M5C2 compact turrets available, they look very nice and low profile and have a zero lock feature.
It'd be a tough call between those 3 scopes, they all are excellent, with the Leupold being noticeably more compact and light weight. Leupy has really (finally) stepped up their game, as long as they don't go price-hike crazy, they can gain back some ground. The durability and track record of the Nightforces can't be ignored though. USO brings some very cool and unique features to the table. Pick your poison!
I would not buy a Leupold scope. I carried an SR-25 (MK 11 MOD 0) for 3 years in the sandbox. I knew a lot of other men who carried rifles with these scopes as well. I also taught at sniper school where Leupold was the scope used. Issues all the time with the turrets not indexing properly. They wear out extremely fast. If you plan to never make elevation and windage changes to your scope, you might get by. I would never spend money on one. Spend the extra cash and get a Nightforce. Schmidt and Bender is a good scope but my personal opinion is they are over-priced.
I found a nightforce f1 on gunbroker. It's $1475 buy it now. Which seems very cheap. The guy won't take credit cards or paypal Kind of suspicious to me. He has like 115 feedback. Still doesn't seem right to me. Like. $1000 off. He has two. Mone come with a set of nightforce rings. I know gunbroker has some sort of guarantee or something but Is this thing fake it's got all the paperwork and all. Has a made in USA sticker on the box.
I just recently bought a Nightforce NSX 5.5 to 22 X 56. I was pretty excited to get it back to the house and get it mounted. Living in Montana and the Nightforce shop is in Idaho, i thought this would be a perfect fit. First thing I noticed was it was stamped "made in Japan". I immediatly sold the scope ate 150 buck and am going with leupold or german optics. I have just not made up my mind. I refuse to put jap or China glass on my sticks. Many of the leupold tactical scopes bought on ebay are China Fakes. Buyer beware!
Light Optical in Japan is one of the best sources in the world for glass. Pretty sure at least some Leupold scopes have glass from Japan also.
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I respect Crosshairs6 experiance but must admit my experiences have been "the other side of the coin..." I used a M14SSR with Standard USMC Mil Dot for two deployments and never had an issue. We then went with NF to replace the Leupolds but I must admit they werent my favorite (i.e. someone thought buying SFP to save $200 a scope was a great idea....) Am I saying they are the end all be all? No, but they work when needed and get the job done. Owning a Mk8 3.5-25 I must say they are a great piece as is the M5Xi Stiener. YMMV.
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The question is what are you looking for? Two of the scopes you listed are FFP the NF is SFP. SFP would be a no go for me so it would have to be the F1.
I have the Leupold mark 6 and a USO SN-3 3.2-17x44mm Here's a little comparison/review i had of the mark 6. http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...4mm-tube-w-tmr-pics-review-3.html#post2937909
With USO you can have it your way, reticle, illumination, knobs, etc. Though they don't make the ERGO anymore which is very disappointing. I'm hoping John announces it's reintroduction because i love mine. The leupy your stuck with set features less your willing to pay another grand for illumination or more money for more complex reticles. The glass on both is pretty much equal IMO, the SN-3/LR-17 has a wider FOV and mine at least higher resolution at higher magnification. The leupy is light and tiny though i personally love the FFP TMR reticle. Didn't think i would but i really like it. The M5B2 turrets have a bit of mush in them that might steer some away but again if you have wholesale pricing just get the M5C2 turrets. Both (USO & Leupold) are solid options one is 8oz less than the other.
If you can get the NF F1 around the same price i would say go for it. All are solid choices though i'm not a fan of how the entire eyepiece turns to increase magnification on the NF, because i use scope caps to block my left eye and shoot both eyes open. I still want an F1 to try out and I would liked to have had it on my 18" .308. I got a great deal on the Mark 6 though.
Crosshair is kind of right, it's a toss up pick your poison they're all great options. If it were me i would probably go USO, i love my SN-3. All three have great products, CS, and reliability though.
I have the Leupold mark 6 and a USO SN-3 3.2-17x44mm Here's a little comparison/review i had of the mark 6. http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...4mm-tube-w-tmr-pics-review-3.html#post2937909
With USO you can have it your way, reticle, illumination, knobs, etc. Though they don't make the ERGO anymore which is very disappointing. I'm hoping John announces it's reintroduction because i love mine. The leupy your stuck with set features less your willing to pay another grand for illumination or more money for more complex reticles. The glass on both is pretty much equal IMO, the SN-3/LR-17 has a wider FOV and mine at least higher resolution at higher magnification. The leupy is light and tiny though i personally love the FFP TMR reticle. Didn't think i would but i really like it. The M5B2 turrets have a bit of mush in them that might steer some away but again if you have wholesale pricing just get the M5C2 turrets. Both (USO & Leupold) are solid options one is 8oz less than the other.
If you can get the NF F1 around the same price i would say go for it. All are solid choices though i'm not a fan of how the entire eyepiece turns to increase magnification on the NF, because i use scope caps to block my left eye and shoot both eyes open. I still want an F1 to try out and I would liked to have had it on my 18" .308. I got a great deal on the Mark 6 though.
Crosshair is kind of right, it's a toss up pick your poison they're all great options. If it were me i would probably go USO, i love my SN-3. All three have great products, CS, and reliability though.
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Did you have mark 6s and mark 8s though? This isn't like an NXS vs a mark 4 the mark 6 is up there in quality.
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I handle and make use of M110s mounted up with the old Leupy Mark 4 LRT 3.5-10 TMR scopes at least three times a week. To put it quite simply, those scopes are old tech. They don't track reliably and the glass is subpar, they're best feature is the TMR. Poor mans horus gets me by without having to dial. Our Mark 4 ERT 6.5-20 H58 scopes mounted up to our M2010s on the other hand, are extremely nice. Excellent glass, excellent tracking, locking elevation turret, covered windage turret, and they're first focal plane. I can live without the H58, but I did a lot of shooting with them in school, so I can also live with them. Fast forward to me deciding I needed a Mark 6 3-18 TMR without ever having looked through one. This thing is heads and tails above any of the Mark 4 lineup. There are plenty of good reviews around so I won't bore you with another, but bottom line, it's smaller and lighter than anything else comparable out there. If you can live the available features, and can get it for around mil/fed prices, I'd say go for it. It's a damn good deal for top tier glass.
He must not be setup to take cards or doesn't want to take the 3-4% cc fee hit. Gaypal are commies, let them find a firearm related buy/sell on your account and it will be locked, you will have to beg a board to get your account unlocked which is full retard. In that time, any money in your gaypal account will be locked also.
As for which one? No way in hell I'd spend $1500+ on a lupy, not even $1000. I choose NF, hard to beat for the costs and they hold their value.
Nightforce vs leupold
Have you ever used the Leupold in question? A similarly speced NF is just as much.
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Have you ever used the Leupold in question? A similarly speced NF is just as much.
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I've never seen a leupold mark6 or a USO or a nightforce at a bass pro or cabelas
Don't compare a Nightforce to a MK4, its not a fair comparison. I have a NF 5.5-22x50 on my 338L and it is big and bulky but is built like a tank. I also have a MK8 1.1-8 and 2 MK6 3-18's. I put the first MK6 on my 6.5-47L and like it so much that I put the newer MK6 w/ M5C2 turrets on my GAP NT 6.5 SAUM 4S hunting rifle. To my eye, again I emphasize my eye the MK6 glass is superior to the NF not to mention the size / weight benefits.
I've used the mk4s, not even close to a NXS. My post was saying I would not spend that much on any lupy scope, just don't see the value. Maybe they have some new stuff out that is worthy but I don't see it being worth the price over a NF.
That's my point the Mark 6s and Mark 8s are up there with the top competitors: USO, Premier, Vortex, NF etc. Leupold is back IMO their new scopes are great. Hell i got my mark 6 at 1750$ that's about equal to some SFP NXS. The Mark 6 & 8 are far above a MK4.
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Interesting perception you have on Japanese glass. The Chinese stuff I can understand, quality control and quality in general isn't up to scratch. In Australia at least, anything coming out of Japan is viewed highly in terms of quality. The NF gear that is coming out of Japan is VERY well made, certainly no worse than anything assembled stateside for you guys.
As for buying scopes of EBay, well that's asking for trouble.
I've seen the very Nightforce ATACR that is mounted on my Sako Trg 42 at Cabelas in Highland, IN 3 weeks ago. I know for a fact that at least Cabelas carries Nightforce.
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Went with a nxs5.5-22 x56 with the zero stop moar reticle. There was a nightforce dealer who extended me some courtesy on that and some rings at what I believe to be a hell of a price. I was always a leupy man. Let's see what this does for me. Thanks for the input guys
I think you'll like it. I have the same scope w/ the Mildot reticle and it's a great scope!
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shot NF for a long time, when i first got into shooting in the NSX line my mind was blown that you could get a scope, with better glass, matching rectical and turrets for not much more than a leupold. then NF adds larger turrets and and a zero stop for a couple hundred extra dollars, and for a long time NF was my go to optic, less than 1500 for a great quality optic when you find it used. cant beat that.
well fast forward a few years, and other manufactures suchs as bushnell, vortex, and SWFA are putting out scopes that offer better performance than NF's current 2000 dollar plus flagship, the F1(since the BEAST is still not really availible).
while NF had me blown away, in the mid 2000's, now they are just another SFP scope with average glass and great tracking.
well fast forward a few years, and other manufactures suchs as bushnell, vortex, and SWFA are putting out scopes that offer better performance than NF's current 2000 dollar plus flagship, the F1(since the BEAST is still not really availible).
while NF had me blown away, in the mid 2000's, now they are just another SFP scope with average glass and great tracking.
Of course, the NF is just as good as it was when it blew you (and most of the rest of us) away in the mid 2000s. As shooters, we tend to be a fickle lot and chase the latest incremental advances at great expense. A lot of targets, game and enemy soldiers have fallen to yesterday's "substandard" technology.
From what I understand the tube comes from japan, and maybe the glass too IDK about that, then its gets to ID and is built. Some NF are 100% USA made.
Hey I'm with ya on buying USA products, I do as much as possible. THanks for doing the same, I do have about 5 NF's though and was once worried about the japan marking. And yes, the japs are better than the china stuff and at least the money stays here in the USA and work is done here on them.
This is straight from Leupold website: America's Optics Authority | Leupold Optics
"Incidentally, all major optics producers worldwide acquire some or all of their glass from the same sources as Leupold. Some of these sources are located domestically, some are European, and some are Asian."
And U.S. Optics John Williams III: Behind the Reticle: U.S. Optics - YouTube
Start the video and grab some popcorn at about 15 mins...
As someone who enjoys occasional birding I prefer high quality glass (Swaro spotter + binos) so my views on rifle scopes are similarly skewed towards image quality. Looking through my friend's $400 Millet LRS 6-24x56 makes me want to vomit.
I started off with two Leupold MK4s 4.5-14x50 & 6.5-20x50. Pretty good scopes, tracking was a bit suspect on the 4.5. It also had one corner which seemed a bit less clear than the rest. The eyepiece on the MK4s I felt was a letdown, it almost caused the image to appear smaller than the stated magnification. It also had quite a difference, upwards of an inch, in eye relief between minimum and maximum magnification.
Next I got a Nightforce. I loved my NXS 5.5-22x56, it had wonderfully reliable tracking and build quality, however the glass was a touch disappointing for the size of the objective. Dull, not much contrast, moderate chromatic aberration and had some of the longest minimum focal distances I've seen in a scope. Turrets were a pleasure to operate.
Today I own two Leupold MK6 3-18x44 (had 3, sold one) for their size they perform exceedingly well. For all of its positives, there are areas which I do not like. The glass is crisp and clear all the way upto about 16x. After that CA creeps in somewhat and the image gets noticeably, but not significantly dimmer. The CA is induced by location of the pupil away from the center thus CA can be reduced with perfect eye placement. Although close, I wouldn't consider it on par with Alpha glass. The parallax turret is stiff, coupled with its low profile makes for more difficult operation than I like. The knob is fast, only 180 degree turn. I prefer those which offer a bit more sensitive adjustment.
Anyway, those are my opinions about the NF and Leupold scopes I've owned. If you want any more details on glass quality feel free to send me a private msg.
I started off with two Leupold MK4s 4.5-14x50 & 6.5-20x50. Pretty good scopes, tracking was a bit suspect on the 4.5. It also had one corner which seemed a bit less clear than the rest. The eyepiece on the MK4s I felt was a letdown, it almost caused the image to appear smaller than the stated magnification. It also had quite a difference, upwards of an inch, in eye relief between minimum and maximum magnification.
Next I got a Nightforce. I loved my NXS 5.5-22x56, it had wonderfully reliable tracking and build quality, however the glass was a touch disappointing for the size of the objective. Dull, not much contrast, moderate chromatic aberration and had some of the longest minimum focal distances I've seen in a scope. Turrets were a pleasure to operate.
Today I own two Leupold MK6 3-18x44 (had 3, sold one) for their size they perform exceedingly well. For all of its positives, there are areas which I do not like. The glass is crisp and clear all the way upto about 16x. After that CA creeps in somewhat and the image gets noticeably, but not significantly dimmer. The CA is induced by location of the pupil away from the center thus CA can be reduced with perfect eye placement. Although close, I wouldn't consider it on par with Alpha glass. The parallax turret is stiff, coupled with its low profile makes for more difficult operation than I like. The knob is fast, only 180 degree turn. I prefer those which offer a bit more sensitive adjustment.
Anyway, those are my opinions about the NF and Leupold scopes I've owned. If you want any more details on glass quality feel free to send me a private msg.
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+1 I also carried an AR25 during one deployment and never had any issues with the leupolds at all, and we were very rugged with them!
IMO, most of your Nightforces are 2FP and that is not preferable for me. the glass is very simular between the two. I haven't looked through any higher end Nightforces so not sure how they would compare.
The only fault for me when it comes to NF is i would just have hard time paying around 1800$ for a SFP optic. I know they're great scopes and all i just couldn't justify it. So naturally i would be looking at the F1 by then though we're in the 2500$ range in which i'll be looking at another USO. I'd like to have one eventually though if i could catch a deal on it.
The Mk6 puts all nightforce I've owned to shame.
ETA: Plus the whole 2nd focal plane problem... After moving to FFP, I'll never go back.
How do you like your Mark 8 1.8-8 CQBSS? Which reticle does it have and what are you using it on?
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