Question for those who have used one:

I am planning to get a March 2 1/2-25X52. Which reticle do you suggest for woods and open sage hunting?

They are bitchin scopes. Interested to hear feedback on how they compare to NF with respect to optics and reticle availability

Illuminated or not?
dave

I don't think I need illuminated. Do you suggest it?

Looking forward to your review.

I have never had a chance to handle and test one, but friends in Australia swear by them.

I've tested several over the years. They have their strengths and weaknesses. Overall, I have always liked them and their build quality is absolutely superb.

I am testing their new precision scope now and I will be looking at a couple more models later this year.

ILya

What are the strengths and weaknesses?

As a second optical plane scope.I think there reticles run on the thin side.
A lighted one will insure that you never loose it in twilight.....
Trust uncle Koshkin....The build quality is absolutely superb.
I think there tactical knobs have the best "feel" of any I have tried. And I own like one of everything....
I have two March scopes not the models your asking about... on 1000 yard BR guns,
They track and click as good or better than anything else I have. And I cant kill them.
Cant say what sending one in would be like as i have not needed to.
dave

Thanks. I will Trust uncle Koshkin.... I can hardly wait to read what he says about them.

It will be about thirty days before I can get one. I'm waiting for three acres to sell.

I couldn’t take it anymore and have a 2.5-25x42 SFP arriving Tuesday......

Where did you order from Daveh?

These are effectively hand built scope by a small team of very dedicated people, so the build quality is very high. Historically, their designs were aimed at making scopes shorter and lighter than competition with a larger magnification range. They were way ahead of the game in that regard.

One side effect is that the depth of field at the same magnification is a little shallower and parallax setting is a little finicky on high power.

It didn't bother me very much because I mostly use moderate magnifications and dial up to high power when the conditions are good or when I want to read the mirage, etc. Their 3-24x42 was my primary scope for quite some time. At the moment, with high end scopes, I mostly use Tangent Theta and March. They kinda fill different niches for me at the moment.

Optical quality with March is generally superb, with a little more emphasis on resolution that contrast, but that is changing. The prototype 5-42x56 I am testing has excellent contrast.

ILya

Uncle Koshkin? That's a first, but thank you.

I looked over my noted to see which March scopes I have tested over the years and here is the list: 3-24x42FFP, 2.5-25x42, 3-24x52FFP, 2.5-25x52, 1-10x24, 1-8x24FFP, 5-40x56, 1-8x24 Shorty and currently testing a prototype 5-42x56FFP. I also plan to revisit 3-24x52FFP and 1-8x24 Shorty with different reticles this year.

Their SFP reticle are fairly thin. Their FFP reticles are a little on a thick side. Both work for their intended purposes.

In terms of turret feel, I think TT is better. March definitely has the best feel with compact turrets that I have ever experienced and, after TT, the second easiest Zero Stop I have ever seen.

Basically, in my opinion, TT currently has the best turret feel overall. March has the best compact turret. ZCO has the best locking turret.

ILya

koshkin,

Thank you, sir.

I bought a used one. 2017 model. I rarely buy new unless heavily discounted....😎 you don’t see March at a discount....

koshkin
Tangent Theta is one I do not have.
So I will defer to you on them.
Appreciate your response thank you.

dave

I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
After you have the chance to play with it awhile...

dave

Just got it but already can tell it’s gonna be a keeper...
Optically it’s very sharp and turrets are very tactical!
I don’t see the parallax as being overly sensitive either...

More to come....

Did you get a 42 or 52?

42mm

This scope sure has my interest and checks most of the boxes, parallax adjustments has held me back, looking forward to more of your thoughts on this one!

Are you happy with the size of the reticle?

The parallax adjustment is not a big deal to me. The reticle subtensions are similar to the Zeiss Z plex which is fine. I suppose at O’dark thirty you may lose it but lots of times I use a separate gun/scope combo for the late afternoon/evening hunt....

I just looked at their web site. All of the sustentions are 2MOA or larger. That is too much for my liking. Maybe I'm missing something.

Anyone with experience with one let me know what they think, please.

Hmmm?
MTR-3
https://marchscopes.com/second-focal-plane-reticles/

It looks like I will get a Di-Plex.

I have seen all sorts of rumors persisting of March going out of business, so I decided to put together a summary of sorts on where they are as of now:

http://opticsthoughts.com/?p=2597

I am also testing a couple of their scopes and since they have some new stuff coming up at SHOT, I will be looking at a couple more next year as well.

ILya

My hunting partner has pretty much all March scopes these days, originally starting out with a 5-50X. I love looking through them and they seem to dial great- I have never done a proper tracking test with them but will this winter. I know Form and the other operators don't like them but I am not sure why. I have carried those March scopes hundreds of hard miles, put thousands of rounds through them- mostly magnums and they never even lose zero. Longest kills have been in the 1000-1050 yard range.
The resolution is phenomenal compared to standard scopes (those costing less than $3000). I am amazed every time I get behind one and see how sharp the target or the quarry is. They are smaller than comparable scopes but the NX8 line is changing that. All in all they have been great scopes.