akmtnhnt
Well-Known Member
I also struggle with the weight of the NF optics. Idk if you've been moose hunting much, but shots at 600+ are quite uncommon, honestly, idk why you would. Shots at 60-100 are more the norm. The whole fun part of moose hunting is calling them in like they're on a rope. If someone asked me what NF to put on a (any caliber) moose gun I'd tell them go with the NXS 2.5-10. I think it's one of the best hunting scopes on the market for shots where people can actually hit things, which is generally inside 300 for the average hunter. 500 if we're being quite generous. 10x is more than enough to shoot a moose at 500y.Been at the office all day working on reports. You guys had about 5 pages worth of fun today!Let me lay out an example that may help some people understand the friction here. Since there is a group on here that claims that if you don't hunt out west you don't understand the problem, let me formulate an example by comparing two scopes that will either cut through the manure or stir the crap out of it.
You are going on a hunt in Canada. You need a rifle and scope combination to hunt everything from wolves to Moose & Browns. Because the big boys are on the menu and your in bear country I would say a 30 cal or larger is in the mix. Let go with a 300 Win Mag. You are backpacking into camp 3 days over mountainous terrain. You need a durable rifle and scope combination. However, you want to trim as much weight as you can. A moose ain't easy to tote out. Shots could be 600-700 yards. The guides don't allow muzzle breaks, so you are either suppressed or bare. A 300 win mag unsuppressed will need to weigh about 8lbs to be manageable for most. Suppressed you can go a lot lighter but the suppressor will make up the difference. So know you need a scope that is durable but won't make your rifle weigh more than 10 lbs total. Because it is a hunting scope and dangerous game are a possibility you need a wide field of view and a forgiving eye box 3 inches or more is recommended. Your low power will need to be 3.5 or less and you really won't need more than 15/20 on the upper end, anything more is over kill. You aren't going to shoot anything beyond 1K with a 300. So your criteria for your scope is a <3-<20 power range, with at least 3" eye relief that weighs less than 26 oz (allowing 8 oz for mount and rings).
My hope here is to illustrate how need drives choice and how one manufacturer may be a better choice in one scenario and another in a different situation. Since a lot off you want to make this a NF vs Leupold comparison. Let me give you your two choices, which interestingly enough the tester did not test either model that I am about to mention. However, I bet if all things were equal they would fare fairly equal, as they are very similar optics. NF only makes one model that will fit the criteria and it exceeds the weight limit by 2 oz. It is the NX8 2.5-20. Leupold makes several but we will go with the VX6. 3-18 because it matches the features and price of the NF. These scopes are really apples to apples and cost around $1850. The NF offers the Mil-C reticle and the Leupold the HTMR. The Leupold is 8 oz lighter and has more eye relief. The field of view is almost Identical. The NF offers a lower end power and is a shorter tube which actually should translate into less light transmission, however the lower power might make up the difference. Both are 30 mm tubes. These two scope are constructed very similarly. In this scenario I would opt for the Leupold. Because I want the weight savings and eye relief. What are you choosing?
If the scenario had no weight requirement and we were shooting steel or terrorist at 2K and the choice were between a Mark 5 5-25 vs an Atacr 5-25 I would choose the Atacr even though the NF cost 500-1K more.
I hope you all get my point. Different situations and criteria call for different equipment. Your criteria ranked by priority drive your choices. In one situation one manufacturer may be the best choice and may offer the most durable platform in another the other company may offer the best choice for that mission or hunt.
Both Leupold and NF build great products. Leupold started out building quality hunting optics and is known the world over as such. NF began building competition optics for benchrest shooters and is known the world over as such. Both build military grade optics as to which is the best it all depends on the mission parameters. You probably don't want a 3 lbs scope on your DMR.
I will say what I have been saying all along. Choose the best scope you can afford that meets your mission criteria, buy a quality set of rings and go hunt or shoot. You'll be glad you did.
That said, I did pick up a trijicon credo hx 2.5-15 for a lot less than a comparable NF. I'm impressed so far, and it did happen to do well in the drop tests to.
You really are thick headed and stubborn as hell and I am starting to think you don't dog turds from twinkies. Again, you miss the point. I was just drawing an illustration. I could have just as easily made it Alaska and I was feeding the suppressor crowd a bone. Because if I hadn't someone would have said you can suppress it and the gun could be lighter, which is not true once you ad the suppressor. You can't win for losing with you clowns. So I'll see your insult and raise you two!
