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I want to get into LR shooting nothing formal.
I am looking at the NF 5.5x22x50 NXS and the LEUPOLD Mark 4 Tactical 8.5-25X50LR I can get the leo for 1300 and the NF for 1700.
What are the differences in tracking, clarity, reliability etc.
Any input would be great.
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To me the biggest differences are weight (NF wieghs a lot more), choice of useful reticals (NF has them), cost (NF costs more.) The differences you question are very comparable to me. The NF has a reputation for reliable tracking better than Leupold. My scopes are Leupold and they track fine. I have no use for the Mark 4 line. VX3 works for most of my needs. I do like the M-1 dials though.
Last edited by HiredGun; 04/24/12.
"Hired Gun" Quickest and fastest all motor sand car on the planet. 3.008 at 104.8 300' of sand.
NRA Patron Life Member, Gunsmith, Instructor, Chief RSO
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Campfire Tracker
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I want to get into LR shooting nothing formal.
I am looking at the NF 5.5x22x50 NXS and the LEUPOLD Mark 4 Tactical 8.5-25X50LR I can get the leo for 1300 and the NF for 1700.
What are the differences in tracking, clarity, reliability etc.
Any input would be great. Absolute perfect tracking, reliability, consistency, and durability with the Nightforce. This is not theoretical statements or fanboy'ism. We see upwards of 100,000 rounds a year shot. I have never seen a NF have issues. The Leupold is a decent scope however spin those turrets enough and it will develop problems. Again, I'm not guessing. You can pick up used Nightforce's for around $1,000-$1,200. That's what I would do. There are no worries with buying a used NF. It will work perfectly.
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Campfire Outfitter
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You have two very different scopes. The NF is truly a hard-use, tactical scope...literally bullet-proof. It will maintain its reliability unless you take a 5 lb sledge hammer to it and pound it flat against your barrel. The Leupold, while a decent scope, is in no way the equal of the NF for tactical rifle use.
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Pop,
Nightforce - professional use,serious competition,high round count.
Leupold - casual use,serious competition with frozen or modified erector,low round count.
dave
Only accurate rifles are interesting.
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Pop,
Nightforce - professional use,serious competition,high round count.
Leupold - casual use,serious competition with frozen or modified erector,low round count.
dave Dave about covered it perfectly. The only way these two are close in my opinion is the glass and that is debateable. If you want tops in glass you have to go with one of the european manufacturers.
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NXS hand down! you can save $300 by installing your own "zero stop" in the NXS drill and tap the scope cap and put in a threaded allen head screw just like the "zero adjust". works perfect
is that extra 25fps worth detonation? NRA life member
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Campfire Ranger
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Is there any way to get a duplex style reticle in a NF scope?
It is irrelevant what you think. What matters is the TRUTH.
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Yes, the NP-1
"Hired Gun" Quickest and fastest all motor sand car on the planet. 3.008 at 104.8 300' of sand.
NRA Patron Life Member, Gunsmith, Instructor, Chief RSO
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Yes, the NP-1 Only accurate rifles are interesting. Dude, nice sig. dave
Only accurate rifles are interesting.
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What do military snipers use ?
Schmidt and Bender
Nightforce
?s
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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What do military snipers use ?
Schmidt and Bender
Nightforce
?s Hey Larry how come you changed your avatar on your interthem username?
Liberalism is a mental disorder that leads to social disease.
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What do military snipers use ?
Schmidt and Bender
Nightforce
?s Whiteeyes / Larry Root! While we have your attention, please start a new thread and regal us with you heroic exploits during your 3 tours in 'Nam as a THUD / F-105 "Fighter Pilot"... Remember, loosing your friends over Red River....bunking with "Marine Snipers"... expert Marksman Badges with four different weapons... 600 and 1000 yard matches that you won while in the Air Force... your much claimed and touted combat service... Absolutely riveting and fascinating tales!
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He (yellow eyes) did three tours in California.
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Excuse me ? Nightforce gets a military contract every year for about 50 scopes from what I've seen. The US Army has long used Leupolds in several forms on their sniper and other tactical rifles. The USMC does use S&B's. That's because they wrote specs that fit the S&B scope they adopted back when Leupold didn't make anything that close the specs the USMC insisted on. I'd also point out that it's hardly fair comparing NF scopes to Leupolds in general. Afterall, Leupold makes everything from cheap $200 scopes all the way the the $4000 Mk.8's. Speaking of the Mk.8, the military asked the major scope companies to develop a scope with those specs. Apparently only Leupold could make one that actually worked. As to reliability, how come NF has such a huge backlog on repairs for their scopes ? Last I heard, it was over six months. Owners with "minor" problems were encouraged not to send their scopes in at all. In contrast, when I last talked to Leupold, which was last week, their response was " I'm not sure, send it in and we'll look at it." E
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E, stop. Please. You know nothing of military sniping or sniper equipment.
These are the Leupolds issued in the military.
Ultra M3A (or MK4) 10x40 MK4 LR M3 3.5-10x40 MK4 4.5-14x50 M1 TS-30 A2 3�9�36 MK8 1.1-8x24 CQBSS MK4 34mm 6.5-20x50
There are/were a few others in limited numbers.
The only ones that don't have consistent problems are the fixed 10x, the MK8 CQBSS, and the new 34mm 6.5-20x50.
The rest fail at an unacceptable rate for military sniper use.
Your statement about Nightforce's military contracts and repair backlog is false. They have, and have had, several contracts within USSOCOM, NAVSPECWAR, and USASOC. They currently have one worth 25.8 million dollars.
They do have a huge backlog across the board with their optics because they are selling every single scope they can make. It has nothing to do with repairs.
I have spent 7 years as a military duty slotted sniper. I have been issued, used, and shot every scope mentioned in this thread. I have seen the variable Leupolds fail at around 25-30% rate. That is- it is not uncommon to have 2 or 3 variable power Leupolds out of 10 develop issues when used hard. I have seen both S&B and Premier scopes have issues (granted there have been very few). I have never seen a NF fail (including the one with the bullet through it). I'm sure they break like all things made, but I would bet they have the lowest failure rate of any US issued sniper scope.
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Refreshing to hear comments from those that don't need to guess or fabricate bad information. I've given up hope long ago on E.
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Thanks for the great inside info, Formidilosus
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