Nightforce - is it worth the bucks

I had a benchrest model and the glass is up there with zeiss,swaroski top quailty optics. The night force tracks great i do really like the etched ret in the NP-1 but with that said i now have zeiss scopes and love them. The hignt force was just so dang heavy thats the main problem i had with them other then that they are great scopes. Mine was the 56mm which im sure had something to do with its weight 50mm might not be so bad. For glass quailty i dont belive nor think they are a any bit better then zeiss or swaroski. nor do i think they are worse.
 
Burris states, "most parts are made in the USA..."

Just like Leupold, not enough for them to be a product of the USA or Made in the USA!!!!
 
lyotehunter said:
i would get the burris extreme tactial 30mm tube,i think they are better they will withstand a 50cal.and they are made in the U.S.A. [/quote


I like burris dont get me wrong, but their glass is no match to Nikon or other mid level stuff!
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Great thread.

Va Ken: Nightforce, like many other high end manufacturers, uses MAP pricing. Stands for "Minimum Advertised Price". You may find someone offering some freebies to go with the scope but NF locks their retailers in on pricing. Leupold does the same. Makes it difficult to find a "deal" but it also puts all the retailers on a level playing field. Mom and Pop shops can compete with the big chains that way. Not all bad.

Looking forward to test driving the NF in the future. Clarity and tracking are paramount in a varmint rifle. The potential for extra abuse in a calling rifle also makes the durability of a NF attractive. Be sure and give us a review if you purchase one, Ken.
 
tt35, I have heard of the MAP pricing and figured that was the deal. I hoped I could find a NF dealer that was heavy on inventory and willing to cut a deal for some cash flow. Some of the big dealers I have called advertise all the models but dont have them in stock. They say they have a good relationship with NF and can get anything rather quick, so no need to stock all models with all reticles. Still looking, but the high end Leupolds are looking good when I tell myself, it's just a varmint scope.
 
For those of you that have been following this thread - my Nightforce NSX is on the way... I will do a review with pics if there is interest. It took a lot of soul searching and selling stuff to pull this off and I can say the scope cost more than the gun it will sit on.
 
VA Ken

I am right there with you and very interested to hear your review. I too have some good scopes but contemplating the big bucks$$ for the BEST??

I have Leupold VXIII 6.5-20X50 on a couple of my rigs
A Swaro Z6 2-12X50 on one gun and a Leupold M4 8.5-25X50 on another.

Last month I got the opportunity to shoot on a range owned by David Tubb up in the Tx Panhandle. Targets up to 2500yds.

The Military guys there had mostly NF, David Tubb had S&B, saw a Sightron on one rig and USO on another.Lots of long range hardware.

I could hang with them out to 1000-1100yds which is all i generally have any experience (1000 is my max laser range finder and rifle dope). Beyond that they walked off and left me. They could hit 18" x 24" LaRue Metal targets out to 2000yds.

I did get to shoot a few of their rigs and compare optics. In my comparison, I rate the S&B, #1, then NF. The Swaro was 3rd and my Leupold M4 4th. Keep in mind my eyes got very tired over the course of 2 days of shooting and these were the only 4 brands of scopes i got to compare. Interstingly enough the quality order followed the price order also.

The S&B carried a $3000+ price tag, and i am just not there, but a $1800 NF is being considered??. But in all honesty, I rarely take hunting shots beyond 500yds which is where the dilema comes in. I am sure the extra money is largely wasted until you get beyond 500yds or so?

I want really do want to hear your thoughts once you get that bad boy set up.Congrates on the new glass!
 
Juanjo and SaltyDog - thanks for the interest. I guess it did look like a "hustle" but I like nice stuff and search hard to get things at a price I know I can always get back. I will do a review of the NSX and compare it to my Zeiss and Leupold scopes. S&B, March and USO are surly worthy of the price of admission but I never had a varmint shoot back... I am glad you saw military with NF because I would rather believe Uncle Sam is using my tax money for protecting the troops than giving it to a food stamp candidate. I believe the NF should be right there below the top guys. It will be a while getting it together and getting the weather to cooperate.
 
I personally dont see the need for one. Whats it do that a MK4 or VX3 LR really wont do??

There heavy as hel, and have busy reticles which I dont like, thats my only beef with them.

There glass is excellent and they are damm tough I give them that, but really there not worth $400 more then a MK4 or VX3 LR IMO anyways. How much more crisp and bright do you need?? Within legal shooting light, its not a night/day difference... You could buy a quality 20 MOA base and rings and still have money left for powder, bullets, etc... from the money you'd save.

I think its more of the "cool" factor of owning one.

Learn to dial in MOA and you dont need a busy reticle.

I'll stick with high end Leupolds. They've yet to fail me and "if" and "when" they do, I know Leupold will stand behind there product and make it right, and get it back to me within a week at no charge 99% of the time.
 
Yah BTW, forgot to mention I've been shooting LR with vx3's and I had a MK4 for a while, and I've have had exactly ZERO problems with tracking on everythting from a braked 7 RM, to an unbraked 300 RUM, to a braked 338 EDGE with thousands of rounds on them. I zero them all at 200 and shoot out to 1200 and everything in between that. They do what I want everytime. They have plenty of MOA adjustment to get to 1200 yards on most popular LR calibers w/out needing a 20 MOA base.

For the money, you cant beat a VX3 LR or Mk4 from Leupold.

I'm sure its very possible that IOR, USO, S & B, NF, have better glass, but really how much better do you really need??? Ya cant shoot in the dark...

I can put spikes on an elk at 1K at first legal shooting light with my vx3 20x leupold. I dont need to pay an extra $400-1000 to see no different...
 
Originally Posted By: kyotekiller25I personally dont see the need for one. Whats it do that a MK4 or VX3 LR really wont do??

There heavy as hel, and have busy reticles which I dont like, thats my only beef with them.

There glass is excellent and they are damm tough I give them that, but really there not worth $400 more then a MK4 or VX3 LR IMO anyways. How much more crisp and bright do you need?? Within legal shooting light, its not a night/day difference... You could buy a quality 20 MOA base and rings and still have money left for powder, bullets, etc... from the money you'd save.

I think its more of the "cool" factor of owning one.

Learn to dial in MOA and you dont need a busy reticle.

I'll stick with high end Leupolds. They've yet to fail me and "if" and "when" they do, I know Leupold will stand behind there product and make it right, and get it back to me within a week at no charge 99% of the time.

KyoteKiller25,

While I was on the same playing field as you, I thought this was all about the cool factor, but indeed it isn't its kind of saying a Nikon Protaff can hang with a Mk IV, I owned a mark IV and for the life of me I thought it was as good as it gets.. until recently I had the opportunity to exchange it for a Schmidt & Bender and let me tell you that you can easily see, Day or Night You know where your money goes.. I really like my scope, it does have some sort of busy reticle, For me it's just another excuse to go out and shoot and learn the reticle, dialing should be easy.. there are ballistic charts etc.. but I just don't find any fun in that. Leupold does have a great warranty but as the transmission in my 08 pick up truck the only guaranty is that they will break, I'd hate for that to happen on a hunt of a lifetime and miss your trophy game animal,.. ... just my .02

-Juan
 
Burris? Really?? Have you ever had to use there customer service??? What a joke.....USA made or not, burris is junk and dont stand behind there product woth a crap. NF is USA made as well as Leupold and both of them are hands down better scopes and have top notch customer service, if and when you need to use it...

Sorry but if it was me, I'd rather use iron sights then get another Burris scope...
 
Originally Posted By: kyotekiller25Burris? Really?? Have you ever had to use there customer service??? What a joke.....USA made or not, burris is junk and dont stand behind there product woth a crap. NF is USA made as well as Leupold and both of them are hands down better scopes and have top notch customer service, if and when you need to use it...

Sorry but if it was me, I'd rather use iron sights then get another Burris scope...


Burris?? DId I miss something??
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I doubt I'll ever be rich enough to own a schmidt and bender lol, but I dont doubt what your saying about them. I've never had the opportunity to look through one. I'll take your word for it [beeep]!!
 
Originally Posted By: kyotekiller25I doubt I'll ever be rich enough to own a schmidt and bender lol, but I dont doubt what your saying about them. I've never had the opportunity to look through one. I'll take your word for it [beeep]!!

Found it..
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, I am not by any means rich.. i am like a many centuries away.. it's one of those things opportunity knocked and I answered.. I ended up shelling out 1500.00 after the trade.. but I don't think it was a bad deal.. S&B PMII 5x25x56 Ill P4, they are really nice, I miss my first generation contender though, serial # 4xxx, but every time I look through my scope pain suddenly goes away..


-Juan
 
I agree with Kyotekiller25 as far as high end Leupolds go and I have a few as well as several Zeiss scopes. I wanted the NF for a dedicated varmint (off a rest) gun. I am by no means rich either as Juanjo points out, but if we survey our "stuff" and cull things that we thought we would use but dont, then as the $$$ add up you dont feel the pain when you finally buy something thought you would never be able to afford. I have gone from a gun safe full of Remington to half a safe of Cooper, Sako and Kimber. Now I will eleveate to a Nightforce from Burris, Nikon and low end Leupold. Will my setups shoot better? Yeah, a little -will I have more fun with them? Yeah - a lot! More importantly, they will also hold value. You can put a used gun or scope on classifieds here or any of the auctions and find true value - which is what someone is willing to pay.
 
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The last thing anybody wants to hear is that the equiptment they love is considered garbage to another. Evaluate what your needs are and make your purchase on this critera. You will love your Nightforce! I always laugh to myself when people complain about the weight of these scopes. It reminds me of the 400 pound guy I saw at the knife counter wanting the lightest knife he could get because he did not want it to weigh him down. I myself will put up with an extra pound to see what I want to shoot. Take these scopes out on a cloudy moonlit night and compare. Worth the cash? No question!
 
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