Low Priced Long Range Scopes by Ian McMurchy

[nicka]

I am new here but have some experience with long range scopes.
I have tried many and concluded that up to 500 yds the are many that can be used. Burris is good. Leupold better.
After that we go to more expensive. Under $2500., the Leupold is best. Better glass than Nightforce.
Reticle selection is important. Do not use mildot. Scopes are calibrated at 12 -14 power. No good.
I currently use Leupolds VX III and going to MK4 for longer than 600 yds.
Reticles are FD and dialing.
Hope this helps

[James H]

Originally Posted by nicka

I am new here but have some experience with long range scopes.
I have tried many and concluded that up to 500 yds the are many that can be used. Burris is good. Leupold better.
After that we go to more expensive. Under $2500., the Leupold is best. Better glass than Nightforce.
Reticle selection is important. Do not use mildot. Scopes are calibrated at 12 -14 power. No good.
I currently use Leupolds VX III and going to MK4 for longer than 600 yds.
Reticles are FD and dialing.
Hope this helps

FYI
Weaver and Sightron mildot scopes are calibrated at the highest power setting. a 4x16 is calibrated at 16 (I know Weaver doesn't make a 4x16 MD)and a 6x24 is calibrated at 24.
James

[ceylonc]

Originally Posted by nicka

I am new here but have some experience with long range scopes.
I have tried many and concluded that up to 500 yds the are many that can be used. Burris is good. Leupold better.
After that we go to more expensive. Under $2500., the Leupold is best. Better glass than Nightforce.
Reticle selection is important. Do not use mildot. Scopes are calibrated at 12 -14 power. No good.
I currently use Leupolds VX III and going to MK4 for longer than 600 yds.
Reticles are FD and dialing.
Hope this helps

I'm going to have to respectively disagree on this one. I don't know what other scopes you've compared to Leupold VX III and MK 4 but, optically, most will agree that there are other marques that are superior at a better price. For starters, yours is the first opinion that I've read in a LONG TIME who believes that Nightforce NXS is bettered by Leupold VX III or MK 4 from both optical and reliability standpoints. From a "under $2,500" rating scale, all of these scopes are considered in hunting, benchrest and tactical circles, at least as good or superior to your aforementioned Leupold models:
--Zeiss Victory/Diavari;
--USO;
--Schmidt & Bender Zenith, Professional;
--IOR 30mm & 35MM;
--Zeiss Conquest;
--Kahles CL, KX, C;
--Swarovski Z6, Professional and American;
--Burris Black Diamond and Xtreme Tactical;

I'll grant that one's opinion of "what is better" is subjective. At one time is was very hard to beat anything in Leupold's lineup from a quality, reliability and value standpoint. This is sadly no longer the case and the competition has in pretty much any catagory bettered Loopy's offering both glass-quality wise and price-wise. Pardon the pun but you might be well served to "open your eyes" and take an unbiased look at the VX III and MK 4's competition.

Just my $.02...

p.s.--there is an excellent optics website: Optics talk, that is dedicated to scope discussion. It is definitely worth a look...

[nicka]

I put a VXIII and a Nightforce side by side looking at object 500 yds away. The VxIII was better in every way at 25X.
I had a Zeis with a fine plex that was as thick as telephne poles.
Burris calibrates at a max 16X.
If your shots are under 500 yds then there are lots that can do the job. Reticle choice becomes the issue. Many are too thick.
I have actually put my eye on the competition instead of reading the advertising and reports from paid mag writers.
When it comes to optics, buyer beware.

[ceylonc]

Originally Posted by nicka

I put a VXIII and a Nightforce side by side looking at object 500 yds away. The VxIII was better in every way at 25X.
I had a Zeis with a fine plex that was as thick as telephne poles.
Burris calibrates at a max 16X.
If your shots are under 500 yds then there are lots that can do the job. Reticle choice becomes the issue. Many are too thick.
I have actually put my eye on the competition instead of reading the advertising and reports from paid mag writers.
When it comes to optics, buyer beware.

I'm right there with you on your last sentence. There are definitely a LOT of convincing marketing strategies for every scope under the sun. What is written and what is fact usually doesn't jive...

I, too, am fortunate enough to look through and actually shoot using many of the scopes discussed here at length. My eyes tell me things that are perhaps not shared by other shooters. With this being said, here's what I've used/owned/field tested in the last 2 years:
--Nightforce NXS;
--Zeiss Diavari and Conquest;
--Swarovski Z6;
--Meopta Meostar;
--IOR 30mm and 35mm;
--Leupold MK4, VX III, VX II, VX L;
--Burris Black Diamond, Fullfield II;
--Sightron SII;
--Nikon Buckmasters, Monarch (old & new models);
--USO;
--Kahles CL;
--Super Sniper (from SWFA.com);
--S&B PM II;
--Millett Tactical;
--Bushnell Elite 3200 & 4200;
--Barska (absolutely terrible);
--Weaver Grand Slam & T36

I don't make my living shooting (unfortunately) but I do spend a LOT of time behind a scope. I certainly don't consider myself all knowing but I do have a bit of experience looking through a large variety of glass. I can't help but think that you were/are extremely fortunate to have received a VX III that could outperform a Nightforce NXS. I'd say you are certainly in the minority of VX III owners who own a model that resolves and provides a field of view superior to that of the Nightforce. My advice is to hold onto that scope! I think it's a bit naive to say that a VX III, on the whole, is on par with a Nightforce NXS.

Leupold does provide a nice selection of reticles and it is indeed important to match reticle with your intended application(s). Just because one manufacturer's fine plex reticle is "finer" that that of another doesn't necessarily mean that the scope with the finer reticle is superior. It just means that it has a reticle that better suits YOUR needs.

Best of luck...

[sscoyote]

A lot of guys use the 2nd FP mil-dot reticle at the calibrated power, but it certainly doesn't need to be so, assuming the optic is calibrated at 10 or 12X and goes higher to maybe 14, 16, 20 and 24X's. The rangefinding features will be more accurate at the scope's highest power most of the time anyway, and r just great applied as a ballistic reticle at the higher powers. Look at the optics companies catalogs (especially Nikon), most of them provide the reticle subtensions at the lowest, calibrated, and highest powers. A lot of guys r critical of the mil-dot size relative to a pr. dog--this is another advantage to a 2FP mil-dot reticle that goes to 16, 20 or 24X--the dot size gets smaller relative to the tgt.

[demarpaint]

Anyone using Mulller Scopes?

Frank D