What to buy? NX8 or MK5HD

[Wedgy]

Just going to say this.
I think I had a brand new (39 shots under it) Leupold Mk5HD 5-25 go down today. Was shooting fine, then all of a sudden, shots went 3" high right @ 100 yds. Adjusted to correct and next shot was center. Then following shot was 3" low. Readjusted, center, then 3" low again and 3 ahot group went from 1/2" to 3"+ and scattered.
I will pull it and check all screws in the morning, but I was very frustrated today, hoping to finish load verification today.

Respectfully, how much coffee did you have prior ? LOL
I am running two Mark 5's and have yet to have any issues, I do like the glass, parallax, size, weight, and turrets. Have been dialing my GF's out to ~50 MOA regularly and it is doing great, just range trips with no rough handling. I always save a couple shots to check return to zero. Time will tell but I keep several backup scopes on deck just in case.

 

[DEE09]

Mark 5 all the way the glass is better to my eye.

 

[randy181421]

I love my 4-32 NX8

 

[Highcountrybucks]

I wouldn't touch another NX8 in my lifetime. Sales by specifications on that product line. Sounds really great on paper, imo horrible in the hand. The FOV and Eye Box make it nearly useless outside of bench shooting. I've tried all three versions.

I don't quite get what you're saying. I have NF & leupolds, and when looming at comment #9s side by side comparisons. Just curious what I'm not seeing?

 

[Longrange13]

Mark 5 was my favorite all around scope when it came out but I'm dumping them all now. My 5-25 shifted zero about 3.5 moa just riding in the truck on bumpy roads for 5 days. It never took an impact. MDT just did a YouTube video and they could change the zero by 3+ inches on the mark 5 by carrying the rifle by the scope or by putting pressure on it while shooting like a lot of people do.

My 3.6-18 is still on my 7 prc, I baby the crap out of that gun and periodically it will shift 1-2moa left in zero wind conditions and after 5-10 shots shift back. Gun was built with no expense spared and everything is properly installed.

My buddy has a vx5 on his truck gun and he drives a lot of bumpy roads with it riding supported between his seat, the floor, and the center console. Everything is properly installed and he has to re-zero every time we go shoot. Its alway around 3-5 moa off in any direction. I have a 4-16 atacr on my truck gun that faces the same abuse and it is always dead on. The mark 5 isn't as bad as the vx5, but sill has issues. Leupold has thin tubes to cut weight and they also used aluminum internall components instead of brass, steel, and titanium to save weight. They also don't bed their lenses. All this saves weight but they don't hold zero.

Military guys won't notice 3-5moa shifts because they never get the same lot of ammo so they are constantly re-zeroing. Combat is also a shooting gallery, not a set play like hunting. They are trained to spot impacts and adjust accordingly in a dynamic situation. That usually won't work in a hunting situation. Often you only have one opportunity to make the shot.

Leupold did get the reticles right. They are far superior to Nightforce. I have also noticed that a lot of times when I make small adjustments with Nightforce scopes (1.5ish moa or less) it takes a couple shots for the zero to move into the place I adjusted it. This can be fixed by always dialing a few moa past where I want to be and coming back. Other than that Nightforce has it nailed.

 

[TxHeartShot]

Good evening,
Having a rifle built and trying to stay light but not sacrifice any quality. I've been looking at the nightforce nx8 2.5-20x50 and the leupold mk5hd 3.6-18x44. Any feedback for these scopes? Pros and cons?

Also open to suggestions for a good lightweight scope.

Thanks

Think about a Trijicon 3-18x44 FFP MOA...excellent Japanese glass, pretty bulletproof, great hunting reticle. Have one I'm about to put on the STW for sheepie huntin'

 

[glide71]

I have both and I find the Leupold easier to use. The NF parallex drives me crazy and the reticle is to fine for hunting for me. Go to a shop where you can look outside at distance and that will help your choice.

 

[floyd kittrell]

Just my opinion , take the weight out of the rifle build and I am a straight Nightforce user, I own from the SHV which is their least expensive , up to my favorite , the ATAC line which is my favorite , all are or have suffered more than normal abuse and so far remain repeatable which is my requirement. I now buy nothing but the ATAC line for all my weapons, JMHO , F.K.

 

[Dloh2o1]

Good evening,
Having a rifle built and trying to stay light but not sacrifice any quality. I've been looking at the nightforce nx8 2.5-20x50 and the leupold mk5hd 3.6-18x44. Any feedback for these scopes? Pros and cons?

Also open to suggestions for a good lightweight scope.

Thanks

Your eyes will tell you which one once you look through them outside. For years people would "coach" me on what optic is right for me, sometimes they were correct but more often not. Let "your" eye's tell you.

 

[Justice1327]

Take a look at Tract scopes

 

[lowdowndirtybugger]

I have the mk5. 5-25 my brother has the nx8 4-32.
Honestly both have great glass.
The mk is a little easier to get behind at mid to high powers.
The nx8 at 4 power seems to be easier for getting on target at really close ranges for hunt scenarios.
The mk locking turrets are bomb.
I've had my mk for a couple of years. I've carried stage to stage by the objective, I've stabilized the stot by holding the scope. I've never had a 0 shift.
Alot of shift can come from the way the scope is mounted. For example are you rings and rail bedded?
A .01" shift at the scope can be 1" at the target. That's an unseeable amount.
I sent a high end scope in for warranty because It kept shifting 0. I got a new one same thing. I was ****ed. Everything seemed tight.
I was oiling it after a frustrating shooting season where my gun got wet and noticed a bead of oil would push out from under the rail when I put pressure on the scope. *** so small you couldn't feel it or see it otherwise.
I bedded the rail and rings and the 0 shift went away. Now I feel bad for sending a scope back for my misgivings.
Both of these two scopes you are asking about are high quality and would serve you well.

 

[sika64]

My choice would be the NX8 .I have both along with a couple of VX6HD and a Zeiss 4x16. On my western long range gun (28nos) is the NX8 4X32 and its the only one that has riden in a scabbard weeks at a time and never lost zero. And I don't have the eyebox or parallax problem that others talk about. This past season it was on the horse for 4 days and in a vehicle for 3 (forest roads)because of weather. We spotted some muleys on another mountain side, so we drove as close as we could get hiked in 3 miles and the guy hunting with us shot at the best buck 5 times with his rifle (leupold VX6HD) and was off 3ft between 511-589 yards. I finally convinced him to use my rifle, I then ranged him at 713 yards ,dialed the scope for him and 1 shot dropped him where he stood. The only other scopes I'm considering is a March or TT for even better glass

 

[Will.284]

Short action. Mac bros element.

Have you looked at Athlon I run lots of their stuff from hunting to prs , good choice of reticles , weight ratios, power ratios and cost good glass etc etc could be a consideration

 

[blvette75]

The leupold mk5hd 3.6-18x44, meets my needs as a light weight optic, it is mounted on a Bergara HMR, after performing the track test it tracks well, was able to the hit the lines of my target as I adjusted it horizontally and vertically. The Nightforce NX8 was also on my radar, along with a couple of other scopes that were recommended to me, the Vortex Razor LHT FFP 4.5-22 x50(which I purchased and like so far mounted on the CA Modern Precision). The other scopes were recommended were the Zeiss LRP series a bit on the heavier side. Between the two scopes Mk5 or the Nx8 Nightforce I don't believe you an go wrong with either scope. In my humble opinion I consider Nightforce to be the standard at this time based upon my experience. This opinion is from shooting a buddies rifle with a Nightforce ATACR optic on it, just seems to be a solid robust scope the glass was exceptional and how tactile the clicks were, it was a very nice optic. I have not been able to use a Tangent Theta and some of the other high end scopes mentioned here. I was able to shoot with a Kahles before and liked that as well. Being an older guy with some long range hunting and bucket list hunting coming up, it may make sense for me to upgrade in the future. In other words, I am not a professional LE or a competition long range shooter.