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Leupold does not do me any bit of good where I hunt late in January..better off using iron sights if that is the only brand I could use.

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Hyperbole.

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Supposedly, Nikon has improved there eye relief this year. Whether we are openminded enough to see for ourselves and give it a fair test, is another question.

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If you are referring to a certain poster here who has from what I can gather used just Leupold's I doubt that horse will change colors. Nikon eye relief is no problem to me and their resolution and lowlight capability is exceptional..if there is anything i don't like about them it is the tunnel effect(too much black). If the new models don't have this "feature" I will definitely buy 1 or 2 of them.

I've only played with one. Everything I can learn about them indicates they are an excellent glass. From what I gather, you can get a really strong target or PD scope which will do anything you need doing at a better price than the big "L".
As far as to who is brighter, that's a much more complicated thing to determine than just buying a new scope and comparing it to a similar one you already have. E

It isn't just eye relief that makes them less desirable for a general hunting scope. They insist on using the fixed eye relief design which means the eye boxes of them are much smaller at the lower magnifications.
If you are in a hurry, trying to catch that running buck in your scope, many think it's field of view that's important. Actually you don't need much FOV. What you really need is to catch the image the minute you cheek the rifle. That's where a large eye box earns it's keep. Yes, you can practice alot and experiment until you get just the right position for that scope on the rifle, but you are still better off with a non critical eye relief that a large eye box provides. E

The one thing I hope Leupold never changes is there locking reticle focus. I absolutely hate the "Euro" style ring on the back the takes itself out of focus during the day while hunting. To me, reticle focus is something that is done one time, then you never dick with it again. Therefore, it should be locked and forgotten about.

Also, like was said prior, I think Nikon has very bright, crisp optics, but I hate the black donut you see when you look through them.

I have owned 4 Nikon Monarchs in the last 10 years and the black donut is the one thing that keeps me from buying more. Other then that they are a superb scope.

I had a 5.5x16.5 Monarch I felt like I was looking through a pipe. Now I have a Sightron S11. I think its ok so far.