What to buy? NX8 or MK5HD

[Jester560]

(Cough cough...Tangent Theta TT315M)

or a ZCO

 

[wildfire120]

Out of those two, NF.

Without a budget, I can't give you my true recommendation for fear of scaring you away.

(Cough cough...Tangent Theta TT315M)

Definitely out of my range!

 

[AVT00]

Some serious glass for a truck gun! I've got a few Mark 5's with the first two having the TMR reticle, but the last (5-25x56) having the recent offering in the PR-2MIL. I really like the lack of clutter for what it gives you in a Christmas tree reticle but not sure it is offered in the 3.6x18s at this point, FWIW. The Mark 5 line is great on many levels (like the Mark 6, VX6, Mark 4) and the warranty is strong these days.

As for Nightforce, nothing bad to say about them either, but not much experience either. Good luck!

 

[Gpkhill2]

Have both lines
NX8 4-23 and 2.5-20 MilXT
Mk5HD 5-25 and 7-35 PR2-Mil (Had 3.6-18 but sold that one)

I'd choose the NX8 over the Mk5HD for durability, slimmer form factor, and better glass with less chromatic aberration. Both are great crossover hunting scopes with competitive pricing in the area they live in.

Here's the 3.6-18 side by side with one of my NX8s and a Kahles.

View attachment 526982

This is great. And all 3 are great glass but to me it just proves that everyone's eyes are different. I always try to look through all my options in person because of this. Personally of those 3 photos the MK5HD looks the best. But that just my eyes. The next guy will prefer something else

 

[NickW]

I just put a Mk5 3-18 with the Gunwerks RH1 hunting reticle on a 7PRC (Origin action, proof bbl, Manners Pro Hunter) and I like it quite a bit. Weight is perfect, tracks true to 1020y, RH1 reticle is visible to my eye at low magnification and is easy to use at higher magnification. Glass is clear, image seems bright, and has a descent FOV . I usually run a NF ATACR, but a buddy had this scope and wasn't using it. He offered to let me try it. I've got plenty of time to thoroughly test it out before 2024 Elk season. So far so good. I didn't care for the NF NX8 4-32x I had for a short while. I thought the parallax was finicky. Good luck.

 

[tobyscreams]

I just put a Mk5 3-18 with the Gunwerks RH1 hunting reticle on a 7PRC (Origin action, proof bbl, Manners Pro Hunter)

I'm building a similar rifle. Watching this thread because those two scopes are on the short list. How's the balance with that light of a stock?

 

[waveslayer]

I have both and use my NF a lot more, use it on AR's because of the 2.5 power. I use it on a muzzleloader for hunting, my PCP , etc... it gets used a lot and moved around a lot. My Mark 5, sits on one rifle... so that kind of tells you which way I lean, NX8 because tough and works. Eye relief is not as good, but mount it to good rings our unimount like ARC or SPUHR and eye relief isn't an issue if set up right.

I prefer the Tremor 3 Reticle, but personal preference. Learn to use it what it's intended for and you'll love it.

 

[NickW]

I'm building a similar rifle. Watching this thread because those two scopes are on the short list. How's the balance with that light of a stock?

It's great. 24" proof carbon. Harris bipod. Wouldn't change anything.

 

[BigPrince]

This is great. And all 3 are great glass but to me it just proves that everyone's eyes are different. I always try to look through all my options in person because of this. Personally of those 3 photos the MK5HD looks the best. But that just my eyes. The next guy will prefer something else

The Mk5HD has a huge amount of chromatic aberration(when a lens is not able to properly refract all the wavelengths of color in the same point) comparatively. You can see the blurry blues and greens that don't exist in the overhang of shingles and the lines of the vinyl siding. If you like a blurry flawed picture save some money and buy something even cheaper.

 

[BPollard]

I love nightforce scopes, hands-down, one of my favorites however, that new mark5 is impressive. I have it on one of my guns. But haven't taken it out west for real long distance yet so it hasn't been through all the tests. Nightforce is a no-brainer. I love Kahles. My favorite scope to date. I'm also really liking the Zeiss LRP, impressive glass.

 

[SPAD]

I was in the same boat last spring. I ended up going with the NF (My first NF scope) because of the reticle. These old eyes could see the + better than just a dot in the center of the reticle.

 

[woodnut]

NF ! They will keep going and glass is first rate. Adjustments are exact! What you dial is exactly what you get. I've bought a lot of them right here on this web site. They say used; but all I get is like brand new for less than new. You just won't go wrong with a NF. I've had Leupolds and even Redfields; they are not in the same league as NF. You gotta pay a lot more for a Leupold to get close to the quality of a NF. Go to the NF web site to find out all about the reticles and types of scopes. There you can find the right one for your needs. Then come to this site to buy it!

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

I don't think there could be a better answer to the OP than this photo. Props to BigPrince

Maybe adding the Trijicon sure would have helped me to decide. lol

 

[JustMe2]

Have both lines
NX8 4-23 and 2.5-20 MilXT
Mk5HD 5-25 and 7-35 PR2-Mil (Had 3.6-18 but sold that one)

I'd choose the NX8 over the Mk5HD for durability, slimmer form factor, and better glass with less chromatic aberration. Both are great crossover hunting scopes with competitive pricing in the area they live in.

Here's the 3.6-18 side by side with one of my NX8s and a Kahles.

View attachment 526982

I like the Kahles reticle the best of those three. The other 2 are way too busy for me to use in a hunting scenario. Leupold has a Varmint reticle very similar to the Kahles. Both the Leupold and NF are great scopes, so I agree with "pick the scope that has the reticle you like the best." With a FFP scope, make sure you get an illuminated reticle for those low power scope shots in low lighting conditions.