NF Scope or Leupold

[bast0573]

Any chance your looking to adopt a son in his mid 50s?

Lmao this literally made me laugh so hard that my wife woke up and gave me the "a what the **** are you doing" look!

I think everyone can agree they want to see their kids succeed and do well. My daughter has been having a rough go in life. She's Been depressed and lost people who she thought were her best friends because girls at her age are shallow and mean. Her mother is drug addict and walked out of her life years ago and pops in from time to time just long enough to screw her head up and then pops smoke again. I Know she likes this and hopefully she can meet some new friends and help build her character and confidence along the way.

 

[bast0573]

It may help to know what type of competition your daughter will be using the scope for.

Mainly local 22 matches. Some of the matches they're shooting match heads at 25-50yards. She already enjoys shooting and shoots great but she's been shooting a stock savage and i think she's limited by the equipment she has. We have a custom vudoo being currently built. We're looking for mil scopes because she doesn't like moa. she said its too much counting. i was in the military and used mils so I'm comfortable with that And can teach her that very easily.
Secondly, I'd like a scope that I can swap onto my 338LM for my comps as well.

 

[Left Hand Dave]

All the good people in her life spending time with her and talking through the hard parts of life will do wonders. Sometimes it's hard to remember parents are people too. Some do a better job than others but their issues are no fault of yours.

 

[Doc88]

if money is not a factor, have you looked at the tangent theta scopes

THIS^^^ Great glass, good reticles and perfect tracking

 

[Big Eddie]

Is nightforce not a top end brand Compared to the others? I thought they were one of the best If not, the best. im clearly a victim of their excellent marketing lol

Ask 5 different shooters and get 5 different answers. Myself I prefer Nightforce. Great glass and tough to abuse.

 

[dkhnt]

Of the two that you list ... hands-down, NIGHTFORCE! I have no experience with the other high-end brands. In fact, I wouldn't own a Leupold right now simply because of their business practices and their reticle seem to have gotten much thicker since the 3i was introduced.

 

[bchamba]

All the scope brands that folks have listed on here are fantastic and have models that can outperform the shooter every day. It really boils down to the need and additional bells and whistles you want. NF, Tangent, high end Leupold, SB, Swaro, Kahles.... they all have excellent optics and could fill the need for your daughter's rifle. To get the best response from the group, I would really want to know what kind of competition shooting is she doing, and a little more detail around the firearm she is shooting. Does she have a preference in reticle?

 

[epoletna]

Well I got into bench rest shooting .22 RF at 100 about 5 years ago. Started with a Kimber 82, then went to an Anschutz. A Vudoo is an excellent rifle, but I never figured I needed to put out the extra bucks for one.

I put a T36 on the Kimber and won all my matches after the first year. Put a Sightron Siii on the Anschutz and my scores improved. In all cases, I spent more than I was comfortable with on the glass and trigger, and found out I could shoot moderately well with what I had.

Point is, I'm not convinced you need to put untold numbers of bucks into glass. Yes, it gets clearer, the field of view gets larger, and the tracking is better. But the guys with more expensive glass are still making excuses for missing the bulls eye.

What you can't buy with an unlimited budget is experience. You've gotta shoot, shoot, shoot, to improve. Buy good equipment, good glass and reliable ammo, then get out to the range.

 

[TexasSportsman]

Looking for the best scope I can get my hands on. Money is not a factor. I've been looking at NF and Leupold In MILs.

The NF scope i as looking at was mainly was the ATACR 7-35. But is it actually better than the benchrest, competition, NX8, and the BEAST? or should I go with the Leupold Mark 5HD 7-35?

ive never owned a NF but have an older leupold that is really great! This is being bought for my daughters competition rifle. mainly target with quick corrections.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Stick with what you know. All of my scopes were Leupold then I started working at a gun store and got $4000 worth of optics free aa part of their sales incentive program.

I'd never spend that kind of money on optics and if it weren't for the incentive programs I'd still have Leupolds on my rifles.

 

[jshepherd61]

Looking for the best scope I can get my hands on. Money is not a factor. I've been looking at NF and Leupold In MILs.

The NF scope i as looking at was mainly was the ATACR 7-35. But is it actually better than the benchrest, competition, NX8, and the BEAST? or should I go with the Leupold Mark 5HD 7-35?

ive never owned a NF but have an older leupold that is really great! This is being bought for my daughters competition rifle. mainly target with quick corrections.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I have both and can give you an honest personal assessment. My personal opinion is not with the Nightforce! The Leopold is a good choice, great glass ease of use, excellent customer service! My personal preference since I have retired two Nightforce scopes to my gun safe and moved my Leopold from one of my primary arms to a backup weapon! I prefer either the Vortex Razor HD (which is extremely too heavy but more functional) or my go to is the Khals! Just my experience with all four scopes. I swallowed the bait and have two Nightforce scopes in mothballs now!

 

[jshepherd61]

I have both and can give you an honest personal assessment. My personal opinion is not with the Nightforce! The Leopold is a good choice, great glass ease of use, excellent customer service! My personal preference since I have retired two Nightforce scopes to my gun safe and moved my Leopold from one of my primary arms to a backup weapon! I prefer either the Vortex Razor HD (which is extremely too heavy but more functional) or my go to is the Khals! Just my experience with all four scopes. I swallowed the bait and have two Nightforce scopes in mothballs now!

Sorry Kahles

 

[codym]

Leupold mk5 is a good scope, the NF ATACR is a better scope. Like others have said there's one more tier that is usually Schmidt and Bender, Kahles, Theta Tangent and ZCO. Maybe a few others. Some will argue the NF is up there with the others and the Kahles is less than or vice versa. I've had all but theta and ZCO. My favorite is the Kahles due to me being left handed and the focus ring on top so I don't have to break my position to focus. All but the leupold are close to as good as it gets (then your splitting hairs). The mark 5 is a very good scope just not quite the level as the others. In all honesty if weight isn't a factor I would take a gen 2 razor over the mk5.

 

[jshepherd61]

Leupold mk5 is a good scope, the NF ATACR is a better scope. Like others have said there's one more tier that is usually Schmidt and Bender, Kahles, Theta Tangent and ZCO. Maybe a few others. Some will argue the NF is up there with the others and the Kahles is less than or vice versa. I've had all but theta and ZCO. My favorite is the Kahles due to me being left handed and the focus ring on top so I don't have to break my position to focus. All but the leupold are close to as good as it gets (then your splitting hairs). The mark 5 is a very good scope just not quite the level as the others. In all honesty if weight isn't a factor I would take a gen 2 razor over the mk5.

I'm with you on the Kahles except the parallax adjustment on both of mine are extremely tight hard to adjust with gloves but still my go too!

 

[Pro2A]

Looking for the best scope I can get my hands on. Money is not a factor. I've been looking at NF and Leupold In MILs.

The NF scope i as looking at was mainly was the ATACR 7-35. But is it actually better than the benchrest, competition, NX8, and the BEAST? or should I go with the Leupold Mark 5HD 7-35?

ive never owned a NF but have an older leupold that is really great! This is being bought for my daughters competition rifle. mainly target with quick corrections.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

As in every "What scope is best or should I use" post, everyone has their own twist on what is best. The glass/visuals portion of selection is highly dependent upon what the user's eyes tell them. The precision, repeatability, and durability/robustness of tracking is more important than the glass/visuals.......beyond basically can you see the target through the scope, and are you happy with what you see. I'll point you to the PrecisionRifleBlog.com. There are excellent articles and research available on most all topics of precision shooting. Check out the "What the Pros Use - Wyoming shoot" for an excellent review of which scopes top contenders use. Other articles address the technical details of scopes in whatever detail you desire. Take your daughter to the site with you. Share the learning experience together. What your daughter needs shooting .22LR at 25-50yds......probably never over 300yds; maybe down to 10yds.......roughly equivalent to a 308Win at 1000yds.....and what your 338 requires are two different worlds. Be sure the scope parallax adjusts down to ranges she will shoot or she will not be successful. If cost really is not an issue, buy a scope for each application and don't mess with switching between two worlds with one scope. Let her scope be hers alone.....builds pride and ownership values.......probably really critical in her world right now. Consider the Leupold Mark 5HD or NF ATACR in the power and first/second plane needed for each application. You won't be wrong starting out and for a long time. If and when the scope becomes the limiting factor, you will know what you and she really need to move to the next level. Sounds like you and she are a long way from that at this time. There are a boat load of more kids screwed up and struggling with life in "cost is no issue" worlds than where cost is very limiting but time spent together is "the no issue." Being involved, spending time together, and providing good parenting is way more critical than dumping a load of cash on equipment right now. Be sure to take her with you to look at scopes.....even if you must make a road trip/s to find a good assortment to evaluate. Go to ranges and shoots and talk with more knowledgeable actual shooters in person.......the experience is as valuable as the knowledge gained. Make connections. Show/lead the way. Be a role model. Make her involved in the choice. Let her eyes vote. If she is involved....rather than making the choice for her and dumping it on her......there will be no wrong choice. And, if cost really is no issue, you can spend time together moving up in scopes as you both gain knowledge through shared experiences. Best of luck in developing this young lady as a knowledgeable shooter and as a productive, effective person. Spending heartbeats rather than cash is the best investment you can make. Just a really, really old guy's perspective.