You have my full attention on advising me on boosting my 6.5-20x50 LR. My question is how well does the Leupold compare to the Nightforce. Is there an edge to own one over the other. At this point with my investment I won`t try and go 2nd class on optics, If the choice was yours to own a Nightforce 12-42 or a boosted Leupold, which would you want on your match rifle?? Thanks for your honest reply and for bringing the option to my attention. Tim.
Tim,
Both Premier Reticles and an experienced 1000 yd shooter told me the Leu 6.5x20 boosts very well. They say the Leu 8.5x25 gets grainy at the higher end of it's power range where the 6.5x20 does not. I don't know how the doubled 8.5x25 compares with the doubled 6.5x20 when both are set at 40X, but they both recommend the 6.5x20 for boosting.
Now I haven't compared these boosted scopes to my Nighforce--the 8-32 x 56 BR model--but my Nighforce seems as clear on 32X as my 4.5x14x50 Leu is on 14X. In fact, my Nighforce at 32X is almost as good as my Leica 77mm Televid.
If I were doing this again and money was no object, I would use either a std 8.5x20x50 Leu OR a doubled 6.5x20x50 for the Light Gun 1000 yd rifle. The Nightforce weighs 36 oz, where the Leus weigh 20 oz. I'd rather have that extra pound in the barrel. I'd use the NF on a heavy class rifle.
Though the optics are great on the Nighforce, it's not like we shoot in the dark. Also, I have dialed my NF down to 25X and lower to reduce mirage, as well as make the dot bigger so it fills the X ring better. I'd also get the corsshair with dot reticle.
Realize I have only shot 4 matches, and my view might change in 6 months or a year. Some guys have told me the HV barrel doesn't shoot any better than the LV barrel in 1000 yd BR.
You could probably get some more informed answers on BR Central.
Of course, my final word on this is there is no way I'm giving up my NF scope!
Regardless, good luck!
One other thing that might influence your decision would be the adjustments on the 2 scopes. NF BR's have 1/8" adjustments and the Leupold have 1/4". One click at 1000 yards with a 1/4" adjustment is two and a half inches. The NF BR was designed for LR from the get go. The NF scopes can be bought right, just have to look around a bit.