March Scopes, Tough Enough?
- Thread starter idcwby
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
I just purchased my second March 2.5x25x52 through Europtics. They told me 60 to 90 days. No big deal compared to waiting 6 plus months for a stock. If you call them they will explain the process and even take a bit of money off if you have used them in the past. 20 percent down and the rest when they ship.
Last edited:
I don't know if I'm the one that you are referring to, but I was also deleted in that thread. That thread didn't wash with me...
I was deleted as well... All but one post I believe. That thread sticks in My craw. Lost a lot of faith in said forum that day.
Kahles & March scopes rank at the very top of the industry both in toughness and quality. this has been proven.
codyadams
Well-Known Member
My March has been on my light large mag 5 years,horseback hunting,rides in my jeep alot of back road pounding.Fell with it many times.Its holdining up. Interesting info I concure. I think that you can look at specs and many of the NF ,etc type are built of thicker wall material.The cost being weight,but it probably is tougher.You have to look at how your going to use rifle.I could never afford higher end when I was younger, i ran alot of vari 2-3's.Shot many game with them,did alot of horse hunting then broke guns in half,dented many tubes,etc.The scopes usually survived.One that was on 300 wby for 20 years,cross hairs broke loose,another fogged.I was bit worried 5 years ago going with the March,not many using then.But for a light build the ergos are spot on.
Last edited:
Westernhuntr
Well-Known Member
Yep I'd take what that guy says with a grain of salt, I've read some really biased posts..
When I challenged his opinion about bullet performance on other forum I was deleted by the moderator shortly after.
Claimed it was for name calling or some BS
March 2.5-25. 5 years hunting on 300WM, 6.5SAUM.....absolutely perfect. Have not dropped it off a cliff or crushed it under an ATV. But it functions as new. Love the feel of the turrets, great glass. Hard to beat weight vs. mag range.
FTRshooter
Well-Known Member
My apologies for the delay in the response. As explanation, I was at SHOT show all week last week, in the Marchscopes booth, and when I got back home, I had a lot of work to catch up on; I don't work for March, I'm an old IT guy in real life.
For the last 3 years, March has been inviting me to be in their booth at SHOT to talk about optics, March scopes and long range competition shooting. As I explained on this and other threads, I bought my March-X 5-50X56 scope 6 years ago, upgrading from my Nightforce NXS 12-42X56. I'm a long time photographer and I have always had a thing for optics so I think I understand a lot about what makes scopes tick and that's why March invites me to be in their booth. When people come up and want to discuss long range shooting, I can talk with them. I speak long range.
One of the things that struck me about my March-X was the fact it was 30 ounces, compared to 38 ounces for my NXS. I appreciated the half pound weight saving, as F-TR rifles have a weight limit which includes the scope and the bipod. (Yes, I have a JOYpod, one of the lightest bipods around.) So saving a half pound on the scope meant that it could put that in my barrel.
But why was the March-X lighter than the NXS, with similar dimensions and specs? The obvious first though is that the Nighforce is built tougher that the March-X, that it has thicker wall material and so on. Closer examination shows this to be incorrect, grossly so. The March-X has a 34mm tube to the 30mm tube of the NXS. Well, people immediately think that the wall thickness is the same and that the March-X has a wider adjustment range because the tube is 4mm wider. The reality is that the March-X has a tube with walls that are 4mm thick compared to the 2mm walls of the NXS, or indeed, every Nightforce scope as far as I know. The March-X has 4mm thick walls which accounts for the difference in the tube size (34mm, 2mm extra per side). This makes the March-X immensely strong. Stronger than any other scope out there.
I spent quite a bit of time talking optics and the mechanics of a March scope with the chief engineer at SHOT, after hours as we were deluged with visitors. I found out quite a bit more about the scopes and I must say, I am super impressed with March. I think I already mentioned that each and every scope body starts as an ingot of aluminum bar stock and it is machined completely. There is not extrusion or forming or molding of any kind, unlike most other scopes. The 30mm March scopes have 2mm walls like the Nightforces, the 34mm tubes have 4mm tubes, unlike anyone else; but both the 30s and the 34s are completely machine from a billet.
So I asked the chief engineer how is it that my March-X is 8 ounces lighter than my NXS and yet has walls that are twice as thick? How is that even possible? That led to a great discussion which involved drawings on the back of numerous napkins. The gist of it is that it's all down to engineering. The guy who had done the design was in his element here; I had asked the exact right question, right up his alley and he was proud of his design. (Yes, he picked up and kept all the napkins he had drawn on.)
He had designed each and every part that goes in a March riflescope and over-engineered them to make them as strong as possible without unnecessary weight and bulk. So the weight savings were not because of one part, it was the accumulation of weight savings for a multitude of parts. In a riflescope, there are 150 parts and then were all designed to be as strong as possible and yet light.
To my mind, having light but strong parts on the inside actually enhances the overall strength of the design, where the goal is to keep the zero on the scope. If you understand how a scope works, there is an inner tube that goes up and down and side to side, as you turn the knobs. Opposite of the knobs there are springs or some form of flexible yet firm resistance that pushes the inner tube against the knob, but that can yield to allow the inner tube to be adjusted. A heavier inner tube will exert more force against the knobs and "springs" during recoil or a fall or some type of impact. This helps explain why March scopes are legendary in their holding zero.
Yes, I asked about the "springs", and he was a little reluctant to discuss them in detail and I understand why; the design is genius. Suffice to say, they don't take a set. There's a reason I use scare quotes around the word "spring".
So, in answer to the OP question, March Scopes, Tough Enough?, let me just say that they are tougher than anything out there, especially the 34mm tubed ones.
FTRshooter
Well-Known Member
I see a number of posts asking where to get March scopes.
Currently in the US, EuroOptics.com, and longrangesupply.com. In Canada, https://marchscopes.ca/ , tell Douglass I sent you and say hello for me. He's a really nice guy.
The stocking situation is about to change drastically in the US, along with warranty service. Plus March introduced several new models at SHOT.
Currently in the US, EuroOptics.com, and longrangesupply.com. In Canada, https://marchscopes.ca/ , tell Douglass I sent you and say hello for me. He's a really nice guy.
The stocking situation is about to change drastically in the US, along with warranty service. Plus March introduced several new models at SHOT.
Because if the March's light weight and compact size with a 2.5-25X52 magnification range, I mounted mine on my recently built 6.5x284 chassis. I was able to off-set the added weight of the chassis with the weight savings of the March. It performed superbly in its maiden voyage to Wyoming this past October. I haven't touched my zero since the initial zeroing during the summer. It's still dead in as of last week. Lots of travel and rough riding.
Elk Hunter 338
Official LRH Sponsor
March are tough enough!! 2.5-25x42 on 6 pound 300 rum 230gr@3100 not one problem in over 3 years using it
Gunslinger1
Well-Known Member
[QUOTE="FTRshooter, post: 1821974, member: 112707"
The stocking situation is about to change drastically in the US, along with warranty service.
[/QUOTE]
what does warranty service in US look like?
a few weeks ago I was told if There was a problem it had to go back to Japan
The stocking situation is about to change drastically in the US, along with warranty service.
[/QUOTE]
what does warranty service in US look like?
a few weeks ago I was told if There was a problem it had to go back to Japan
