Nightforce or Leupold
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Rich Coyle
Well-Known Member
I have over a hundred pages of comparisons. Without side by side I would say the Mark 5 is going to smoke the NSX in low light due to its larger objective lens.
1894C
Well-Known Member
Doesn't seem too apples to oranges to me. Similar weight. Similar power range. I have a NXS 5.5-22x56 and I love it. It's been on multiple rifles. Dialed out over 1400 yards regularly. It's taken a lot of abuse. With that being said I also have a 3-18x44 Mark 5HD and it's also one heck of a scope I just don't have as many hours behind it as my pair of NXS. I would say they are close enough that it doesn't matter between the two. If one is priced lower than the other I would go that direction and buy more components.
Having owned a NF 5.5-22x50 &
Leupold MK5 3.6-18x44, (not a 5-25)
I'd say it'd be good for you to see if you can
Look thru both your choices to compare
glass quality, reticle, and compare quality & features.
A better comparison would be the nxs & vx
Or the Mk5 & NX8.
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brcfo_outdoors
Well-Known Member
The Nightforce NXS line is more or less being replaced by the NX8 line up. The glass is the same, but its built around the different erector so you get a more compact scope with the newer/improved reticles. FFP on the NX8 would eliminate the NXS as a long range contender for me all together. If I was looking at a Nightforce in that price range, I would look at the NX8 first.
Leupold gets hyped up more on this forum than any other place I have seen. Not to say they are bad, but I have never been impressed by their offerings for the money. If you are looking at a straight comparison here, the Leupold is FFP with a bigger tube and bigger objective lens. Those three things in combination would make it preferable to me over the NXS but not the NX8.
Ultimately, I was looking at scopes in that same price range and went with a Vortex Razor HD II. While heavy, value for features they are hard to beat. I looked very closely at the NX8, but my research indicated it wasn't any better (in fact in some ways inferior) to the less expensive Vortex. I have been happy with my decision.
Leupold gets hyped up more on this forum than any other place I have seen. Not to say they are bad, but I have never been impressed by their offerings for the money. If you are looking at a straight comparison here, the Leupold is FFP with a bigger tube and bigger objective lens. Those three things in combination would make it preferable to me over the NXS but not the NX8.
Ultimately, I was looking at scopes in that same price range and went with a Vortex Razor HD II. While heavy, value for features they are hard to beat. I looked very closely at the NX8, but my research indicated it wasn't any better (in fact in some ways inferior) to the less expensive Vortex. I have been happy with my decision.
MySlow2002GT
Well-Known Member
To preface, I have never used a Mark 5 but a lot of that has to do with the poor quality I have experienced with other Leupold products. I have never had an issue with Nightforce and trust anything they bring out, so it would be my recomendation. Maybe someday I'll give the Mark 5 and opportunity to change my mind about Leopold.
For LR hunting, the scales would tip in favor of the NF, not so much due to any differences in optical quality, but very high confidence in the mechanical reliability. As with others, my past experiences with both brands can leave a lasting impression.
bullfrog
Well-Known Member
The glass in my 5-25 MK5 is much better than my NXS 5-22x56. Not even close in low light. So far the Leupold has been spot on with dialing and maintaining zero. The NXS has always held zero and dialed perfect, but the glass isn't that great in mine.
Buzzsaw
Well-Known Member
NXS is very heavy, The Leupold is not
3 oz difference in the NXS vs the Mark 5
Buzzsaw
Well-Known Member
hummmm. I must be thinking of the HD6 4-24, its 25 oz
ronstone09
Well-Known Member
Both are excellent scopes ! Leupold comes with a no questions asked life time warranty
The tracking on the Leupolds has historically been an issue if you dial. It's the luck of the draw if you get one that tracks true. I used to have several Mk 4's. Always had issues when dialing past 500. Even sent a few back for repair a few times but still had issues.
Leupold customer service is really good and I've never had a problem with them.
I ended up selling all my Leupold scopes and went to Nightforce. They have all tracked true and are mechanically sound. Very happy with the change.
I needed more precision because of my job and being ocd about it.
With that being said, if you don't dial and just use hold overs, you can look at other options at that point to compare both or any scope for that matter. You will eventually take most or all of the features of each scope into account when searching for the optic that best fits you.
I decided on my best option based on the criteria I set for myself and what I was looking for. What is good for me may not necessarily be good for another person.
in terms of clarity, that is subjective because no 2 persons eyes are the same. What I may consider a crystal clear scope with color that just jumps out at you the next person may pick it up and say it is ok at best. So it's really hard to take a persons word for what is best when looking through a scope. A younger set of eyes can adjust to a scope that may not be perfectly focused where my older eyes may have to tweak it more before I see the same result. One person may see aberration in the scope because they are an optics guru and have spent yrs studying glass where the good ole country boy make look through it and think it's the best thing he has ever seen. So I think clarity is one of the hardest things to measure based on a persons input.
Leupold customer service is really good and I've never had a problem with them.
I ended up selling all my Leupold scopes and went to Nightforce. They have all tracked true and are mechanically sound. Very happy with the change.
I needed more precision because of my job and being ocd about it.
With that being said, if you don't dial and just use hold overs, you can look at other options at that point to compare both or any scope for that matter. You will eventually take most or all of the features of each scope into account when searching for the optic that best fits you.
I decided on my best option based on the criteria I set for myself and what I was looking for. What is good for me may not necessarily be good for another person.
in terms of clarity, that is subjective because no 2 persons eyes are the same. What I may consider a crystal clear scope with color that just jumps out at you the next person may pick it up and say it is ok at best. So it's really hard to take a persons word for what is best when looking through a scope. A younger set of eyes can adjust to a scope that may not be perfectly focused where my older eyes may have to tweak it more before I see the same result. One person may see aberration in the scope because they are an optics guru and have spent yrs studying glass where the good ole country boy make look through it and think it's the best thing he has ever seen. So I think clarity is one of the hardest things to measure based on a persons input.
