First precision optic shv or lrp

I have the Nightforce shv 4-14x56 and love it. For the range you are planning on it would work fine. I went with the lower power range, as I do hunt in timbers from time to time. I would make one suggestion with the shv. Get the lighted reticle! It's the only thing I wish mine had.

4-14x50F1 is the better SHV option but if you planning to take shots at 850 yards on game, in my opinion you need to step up to a NF NXS 5.5-22x56. You need quality glass plus exposed repeatable turrets to be able to dial up you elevation.

JIsbell40 said:

I have a sako 75 with 27" 1:8 Krieger #5 in 7mm WSM, and a McMillian stock scheduled to be delivered in about a month. My next choice will be an optic. This is primarily a hunting rifle and based on my calculations I'll be able to get good expansion out to 850 +/- yards on deer sized game (175 ELDx or 180 Berger) The two scope makes I am looking at are 1. Nightforce SHV either the 4-14x50 or 5-20x56 2. Leupold LRP 4.5-14x50 or 6.5-20x50. with moa adjustment and moa reticle. I have narrowed my search down to these two makes. Please don't recommend anything that starts with V and ends with ortex. Any info on those two make and model scopes would be great!

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I have no field experience with them other than side-by-side comparison at my LGS but know a few that are happy with them. Both will serve you well in accordance with your intended purpose; between your two choices, I am leaning on the Leupold. However, it boils down to your personal preference and eyesight to assess the actual clarity of each scope. We all have varying needs and personal experiences and you need to sort them out as applicable in your decision-making process. Stay on the course of your initial decision options and you'll be much happier, this is not going to be the last time you are faced with this dilemma (not really but some people make it to be ).

I considered the SHV twice but went with the Burris Veracity 4-20 FFP on my .270 AI and the SWFA 5-20 HD FFP on my .300 WSM and very pleased with my decision choices.

My latest scope purchase were 4-14 30MM and 3-18 34 MM IOR Valdada, awesome scopes for the money.

Good luck on your choice and happy safe shooting/hunting. Cheers!

Ed

I appreciate all the replies. I got a chance to look through a 3-15x44 vx5 with firedot and a 5-20x56 SHV. The vx5 looked clearer to me. Unfortunately they didn't have any LRP Leupolds to look at. While clarity is a great thing I am more interested in the internals of the scope. All it takes to screw up clear glass is cleaning it in the field one time with setting you shouldnt. I could see the potentially happening when there is a 160" buck in front of me. The vx5 has conplicated this choice for me as I really like it but don't know if it's nightforce quality internally?

LongBomber said:

How about instead of the lrp going to a vx5hd? Not much price difference, and optically the vx5 appears a touch better to me. I picked one up a couple months ago and have been very happy with it.
I have several shv and a couple vx3's, to my eyes the shv has better resolution than the vx3's do and I prefer the moar retical that nightforce has to any leupold offering, which if using the retical for holdovers seals the deal for me.

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Many years ago when I began the accurate rifle game I decided quantity was better than quality and in a period of a decade I threw a lot of good money into sub par gun and optics. In my old age I have now learned what I wish someone had told me years ago. Quality over quantity. Buy the best scope you can and hold off on a lower quality optic and save for a better one. I am not saying your two choices are bad I am just saying I think the NXS or even better the ATacR are much better options. As your eyes age with you, you need more light and these scopes offer bigger tubes, better glass and will withstand some abuse. They also hold their value much better than the scopes you are looking into. While I am certainly not saying you are making a bad choice, I am just giving you the advice of an old guy that has learned that buy the absolute best optics you can afford... unless you don't care about seeing or hitting what you are shooting at.

I have shot through both and the tracking and reliability favor Nightforce I have consistently shot to 1000 yards and called my shots with the Nightforce SHV 5x20x56 the glass is decent not the best but then again entry-level price point. The LRP model has excellent glass but the tracking was off on the tracking test and I had to resend it in waiting for a replacement to come in. Both are good I just trust the toughness and reliability of Nightforce while hunting and not to mention the return to zero has never been off so far on the Nightforce.

I love my SHV 5-20x56 with lighted reticle in MOA. I looked at the leupold but the reticle was too cluttered for my taste.
The lighted ret is amazing at first light under heavy timber.

Sealesniper said:

I am just giving you the advice of an old guy that has learned that buy the absolute best optics you can afford...

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Believe me, I understand what you're saying but budget is always the driver; the phrase "Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget" comes to mind.

We all have varying socioeconomic status and priorities in life and not all of us can afford the top tier scopes, so we start at what we can afford and progress from there. I remember at one time that the Leupold RX-II was my most expensive scope. I slowly changed them to better quality scopes as funds become more readily available.

Cheers!

FEENIX,

I know what you're saying here. I think I was in my fifties before I moved away from Tasco World Class. There were some Burrises along the way, but they didn't make it.

I would say Nightforce. I have two SHV, one NXS, and two ATACR. Both the options you mentioned have exposed elevation and capped windage. I have the 4-14x50F1 and it's a great scope for the money to get you into a front focal plane. Biggest difference is if you want first or second focal as the 5-20 is a second.

I am rapidly approaching the same decision as you are, and I would like to throw out another choice you may or may not have considered: the Zeiss V6 Conquest, in either 3-18 or 5-30 x 50. With reticle choices and weight aimed at hunting over tactical use, I have pretty well decided on the 5x30 on my LR 300 WM build.

Just throwing it out there.
Brad

FEENIX said:

Believe me, I understand what you're saying but budget is always the driver; the phrase "Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget" comes to mind.

We all have varying socioeconomic status and priorities in life and not all of us can afford the top tier scopes, so we start at what we can afford and progress from there. I remember at one time that the Leupold RX-II was my most expensive scope. I slowly changed them to better quality scopes as funds become more readily available.

Cheers!

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Gotta agree with you Ed. The "best" often should be the best you can afford, and not always a put yourself in the poorhouse scenario, just to have a $3,000 scope on a $5,000 rifle. While this game to some is a proverbial "mine's bigger or better than yours" contest, it should not always be. The older I got, the more rifles I had acquired, and the more I realized exactly what ****** glass is...And ashamedly how much of it I used to have sitting on my rifles. Nothing wrong with a Tasco if that's all you can afford, and for many years, it was. But as the years went by, the pay raises got better, and so I was able to afford better glass. Still nowhere near what I want to be able to buy, but that takes time. At least the scopes I have on there now are 100x better than what used to be on there.

So, that being said, The more rifles I own, the more scopes I had to upgrade to better ones. And while some might call the Vortex HS-T scopes "junk" (comparatively speaking), when you're trying to upgrade as many rifles as I had to, you find something good that works, that you can afford, and then buy one at a time here and there. I'd much rather buy 8+ Vortex HS-T scopes than try to figure out how to sell my soul to be able to afford 8+ Nightforce NXS or ATACR scopes.

Sergeant82d said:

I am rapidly approaching the same decision as you are, and I would like to throw out another choice you may or may not have considered: the Zeiss V6 Conquest, in either 3-18 or 5-30 x 50. With reticle choices and weight aimed at hunting over tactical use, I have pretty well decided on the 5x30 on my LR 300 WM build.

Just throwing it out there.
Brad

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In his price range, I had suggested the Zeiss V4 6-24x50, but I think he ignored it. The V6 5-30x50 has me intrigued as well. I hope to have one someday, as I have had several older Conquest scopes (6-20x50 SFP & 3-12x56 FFP) and they have been phenomenal optics in both direct and low light situations.

Sergeant82d said:

I am rapidly approaching the same decision as you are, and I would like to throw out another choice you may or may not have considered: the Zeiss V6 Conquest, in either 3-18 or 5-30 x 50. With reticle choices and weight aimed at hunting over tactical use, I have pretty well decided on the 5x30 on my LR 300 WM build.

Just throwing it out there.
Brad

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Brad keep in mind that they don't offer an illuminated reticle (ZMOAi) yet in the V6 and to me the extra 6x (24 vs 30) isn't worth the increased in $700 (and still not getting illumination). If you are on AD shoot me a PM.