Just picked up a monarch 4x40 ucc for cheap and wondered what your experiences have been with them and how they stack up against the competition. It will probably take up residence on my stevens 200 308 which I bought as a loaner /beater but has turned out to be a very capable hunting rifle. Still it was bought as sort of a best rifle at low cost project hence a good $ 90 ebay scope is just what the dr ordered. The specs on it show it a bit larger/ heavier than say a leupold M8 but how does it stack up in the performance/durability department than other 4x's. Thanks in advance.

I've used several of them and really like them. One of my favorite scopes. Good glass, the nikoplex is a nice size, fairly light, decent FOV, decent eye relief...but the best thing is the huge exit pupil. I guess it's the exit pupil...some folks refer to the "eye box" and I guess the extra large exit pupil adds to that...but game is just easy to find in the scope. Mount it right, throw up the rifle and there is the target...no need to move your head around hunting for the sweet spot, it's just right there.

JCM

JC is right. This scope provides a large field of view, excellent light transmission with an exit pupil of 10 mm and quick and easy target acquisition. I had one on a 44Mag carbine that when I sold it the guy wanted the optic as well. I never should have sold either one. Nikon does have a new P-223 3x Carbine length scope that a few guys have asked me about putting on their Cowboy lever action rifles. Bang, I think you have a good scope there. With that .308 you may want to swap out for a 3-9 sometime to really reach out there.
Here's a little blerb about your scope bang.

Nikon Monarch UCC Scope 4x40 all purpose hunting riflescope with fully multicoated lenses for unsurpassed light transmission/contrast and 1/4-minute click reticle handturn adjustments 95% light transmission Fully multicoated lenses for unsurpassed light transmission/contrast Nikon's famous super-high resolution lenses One-piece main-body tube construction 100% Waterproof/Fogproof/Shockproof 1/4-minute click reticle handturn adjustments Lifetime Full Warranty Quick Focus Eyepiece

Hope this info helps?

I had one on a 700 in .308, and just loved that set-up for hunting. Last year I changed scopes on the rifle to a 3-9x40 when I started using that rifle for 600 yd. prone shooting only, but I will change the scopes back if I ever start hunting with that rifle again.

I have a half dozen of them, most of them being pre-monarch. I like them for the reasons stated above with emphasis on the brightness and clarity. My main use of them is on short action bolt guns and break open rifles such as Encores or H&Rs. The only thing I fault them for is short tubes that can cause mounting problems on long action bolt rifles.

I've had Leupold 4x33s and sold them in favor of the Nikons. Two are in the spare scope drawer as we speak.

Thanks Fellows. Sounds good.

I used to run a 6x40 on a Kimber 308. It was my whitetail rifle for a number of years and I really liked the Nikon scope.

I had a 6x40. sold it here on the fire and have regretted it ever since.