Has anyone here got experience with the latest generation of Nikon pro staff and monarch scopes? My wife picked one up at Cabela's to put on her new deer rifle and it legitimately out performed the same size Leupold by a substantial margin, and at half the price. That pains me to say as a log time leupold man. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Or do you have some horror stories or known problems with Nikon glass we should be looking for? Whatever scope she decides on, it will go on a model 70 featherweight in .270 with talley 1 piece mounts on it. Thanks for your insight guys.

Define "outperformed"???? I'm just curious.

Don

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Laus Deo! <><

Well, my wife's exact quote was "it's like going from regular to HD tv"

I've got both the Nikon and a Leupold and both were purchased within the last 15 month. The Leupold is a better scope and as soon as you look through the glass it's quite evident. The Leupold gathers a noticeable amount more light and is simply brighter - especially at dusk.

That said, the Leupold cost me $400 + and the Nikon was a drop over $100 IIRC so the Leupold SHOULD and BETER BE a superior scope. The reason I bought a $100 scope is that it's going on my childhood first gun which my Dad paid a whopping $29 Bucks for ( a bolt action Marlin - Glenfield M25) and the Leupold is on a beautiful CZ 453 American.

If all you want to spend is $100 Bucks I can not think of a better scope than the Nikon Prostaff! For the money they simply can not be beat. Still if you have the coin to drop and have a high end rifle, a Leupold is top notch!

By the way, one of my shooting Bud's just bought a Annie and mounted a very expensive Leupold on it- a VX-3 I believe. There is something wrong with it as it simply can not be brought into proper focus and is on its way back home to be fixed or repaired. We tried for about an hour or so and no dice! That was the first time I saw something so defective come out of Leupold's Factory - unless it was damaged in transit. hey it happens to the best of Companies but they will gladly make it right.

I have the Nikon Pro Staff 3-9x40 on my Remington 700 and absolutely love it. I understand the quality differences between it and the higher end scopes out there but, for hardly ever going hunting and not wanting to shoot 30-06 at the range very often, I still hit 4" groups at 200 yards without issue. That being said, if you're a once in a great while type hunter like me and don't expect to shoot competition for rifles then I think the Nikon is the better choice financially. Shoot one box of 30-06 at the range and your shoulder is purple so just ask yourself how much you really plan on using the rifle

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S&W 686-6 Plus Pro Series

I've learned that it doesn't pay to dis Leupold scopes on this forum 'cause people won't listen to what you say.
I remarked that a Weaver 2-7 scope was better than the 2-7 Leupold RIMFIRE SCOPE. Next thing you know I had apparently badmouthed the entire Leupold line, including some very expensive scopes used for benchrest. Some of these guys just don't want to listen to bad critiques of their favorite brands.

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Regards, Ron
USASA 1965/69

And MANY here don't read posts carefully!

I really like Zeiss and Swarovski 'scopes, but also admire the Leupold III 2.5-8X. It's an excellent value.

But it's true that a Nikon can also be pretty bright and a friend knows a pal who loves his Nikon 'scopes. Someone who hunts seldom will probably be quite satisfied with a better grade Nikon or a Weaver.

Nikon has several quality levels. Choose carefully. You usually get what you pay for in optics. I have a very modest income, but managed to get good binoculars and 'scopes. I don't go to movies, concerts, etc. and limit eating out. My car was paid off some time ago, which helped. And I buy very few guns.

I do not have a Prostaff, but I have a 3 -9x Monarch that gives very good service on my Remington mountain rifle in .270. As to clarity, it is equal to or slightly better than my 2 Leupold VX II scopes, not as good as a III, but less expensive.

I have some of all of the scopes mentioned and for the money the Nikon's get the job done . That said I still think that you get what you pay for with optics.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

I am a big Nikon fan and have many of their products. Their scopes represent a great value. IMHO, They are perhaps the best bang for the buck out there (along with Redfield). I think they perform as well if not better than anything else in their respective price ranges.

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paws for friendship

I've got some Nikon binoculars that I really like. And I've tried their scopes in the past. But all my rifles are "now" topped with Leupold Vari-X III scopes simply because they are bright/clear, and very rugged and reliable. I've dragged them over rocks, up trees, banged, scraped and dropped them with never a malfunction. They have kept their zero and never fogged. I've used Weaver, Redfield, Burris and Nikon scopes in the past and for the money I'll stay with Leupold until something comes along I think is a better value.

I do think some of the European scopes are better but not enough for me to pay what they would cost......I'll keep what has worked for me.

Don

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Laus Deo! <><

Well, we were doing a side by side comparison at the Cabela's with the various $500-600 Leupold vari-x scopes and even I remarked how much brighter it was than the Leupold. The high dollar $650+ Leupolds were slightly better, but not at double the price of the pro staff 5 or monarch 3 we had tried. Has anyone had any dealings with Nikon service and repair etc?

Took a pre mounted and sighted in ,top of the line Nikon 4X in Talleys to RSA several years back. It was a backup to the 2.5-8X on my rifle. Both rode in an americase 2 rifle case, which is padded, the items secured, etc.

When we arrived the reticle in the Nikon was out of square, and when I shook the scope the reticle position shnged ever so slightly.

When I got home I sent it back to Nikon and it turned out to be a three phone call and a letter deal , before they fixed it for me. And if I recall correctly I was charged RETURN shipping too.

Sorry folks....I'll stick with Leupold.

That's what I was hoping to learn more about. I bounced my leupold off the bed of a truck and they fixed it no questions asked. Accidents do happen, and in the hunting world, they happen at the most inopportune moments I've noticed. So Nikon's service department got horsy with you about some repairs? What did you need done? I've noticed they have a "limited lifetime warranty" but I'm curious as to how limited they take that to be. Thanks for all your insight and tips guys. It's like having a local gun store that goes coast to coast instead of a 1/4 block or so lol.

I clicked on this thread expecting to see some discussion on the Nikon BDC reticle with the Spot On Mobile Technology system.

I have been trying some custom loads for my Savage 111 LRH .338 Lapua magnum. Last time I had it at the range I found the Nikon Monark 8-32X50 scope was sliding in the rings. I replaced the rings with the 6 screw mounts but have not been back to the range since last summer. The Savage is as advertised, with out of the box accuracy.

When the weather improves I'll fine tune the scope again and go to the 500 yard range.

This Spot On tech is just that. The program is in my Ipad. All that needs to be done is input the weather, the factory ammo or custom load info and scope magnification to get the BDC distance markings. Then get the distance reading with my Nikon RifleHunter 1000 meter, and align the reticle with the target and pull the trigger. I'm anxious to try it but don't know when that will be.

Anybody had any experience with this system? I'd be glad to hear from you.

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I have a Nikon Monarch 6.5-20 and a Leupold VXIII 6-18, both on varmint rifles. While my personal opinion is the Leupold seems to be just slightly "crisper" in definition, the Nikon is noticeably brighter. I actually tend to use the rifle with the Nikon more often as I think it is a better image. I have had the "Buckmaster" from Nikon also, and it runs in the $300 range and for the money is an outstanding value.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Blackpowder, Sounds like fun working up your rifle loads. It will definitely pay dividends with accuracy. A couple of things, when entering data, if you can chrono to get the exact mv for your rifle you will be way ahead. Second, measure the sight height, mid bore to mid scope and enter that number as well, it really does matter when you are shooting longrange. Let meknow if you have any question's when you get back tot he range.

I have no experience with Nikon, always been a Leupold man. But I can add this. I work for the DoD as a quality assurance specialist. When I worked I Korea I went to Seoul to inspect some lenses being made for USA binoculars.

I don't recall the exact number of lenses per each side of the binos but it was probably close to 10 or 12 including prisms. The program office had provided a set of standards. This was a set of lenses with different sized "defects" numbered from 1 to 10 with 1 being the best (smallest). The contract called for a quality level of 2, no lens could have a defect larger than the 2 on the standard. This contractor no only surpassed level 2 but it smashed level 1! It was insanely monotanous quality the likes of which I have never seen in 40 years. There quality made the provided standards superfluous. The only "defects" I found were dust motes, either blown off or wiped off.

Oh, BTW, they make lenses for Leupold.

bman940, Thanks. I started using factory Hornady 250 gr BTHP Match. Entered that and the 0.670 bullet co-efficient with mv of 2900fps that Hornady says for 26" barrel. Ordered 5 different loads from Custom Reloads of Dallas with Hornady 250gr BTHP Match, but never thought of checking the custom load mv. Yes, I did enter the bore to scope centerline measurment. Yes, I need to get the actual mv.

Very satisfied with Custom Loads of Dallas for both loads and a great price. They will reload my casings to my specs for half to a third of the price of factory ammo.

Thanks again. Richard

ZZZipper, pardon my mental density but what company in Korea? Are we still speaking of Nikon. I know Nikon Japan has outsourced some camera lenses. I guess binoc and scope lenses too?

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Regards, Ron
USASA 1965/69

Last year I bought a Marlin 336SS with a Nikon Scope on it. I will never shoot it much over 100yds so I do not need to put a scope on it that costs more than the gun. Since I do not shoot competitively or at long ranges, I have found that Simmons scopes serve me well and I do not need to pay that much more for the higher priced scopes.

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Corripe Cervisiam

I have two of them -

An older Monarch with the adjustable objective 4-12x40AO, mounted on a Sako Finnbear .30-06. I would prefer the newer side focus models but, this is an outstanding scope and, I believe a better value than the Leupolds.

A fairly new Buckmaster 6-18x40SF, mounted on a CZ527 Varmint .223. This is one of my favorite scopes - with the side focus & target dot reticle, very clear & bright. I think the Buckmaster line is one of the best deals on scopes.

My better scopes are older Leupold VX-III's, but for moderately priced quality on bang around guns I don't expect to hunt with as dusk approaches I chose Nikon Buckmasters.

Clear and bright, more so than you'd expect for the price.