NightForce scope are without doubt great scopes. Is there less expensive alternative to their 12-42x56 scope? Trying F Class on a budget.

Thanks in advance!

Good luck in that mag range Rusty. You can find pretty good glass in the 20x range for a reasonable price but Bushnell makes the Elite 6500 series that goes up to 4.5-30x50. Can't say anything about the quality of the optics and consistence of the tracking as I haven't taken the time to give them a look.

Ken....

I have a 12-42 X 56 NF and love it.

I also have Leupold Mark 4 and VX-III Long Range scopes on other rifles, not bad choices.

Have been thinking about the March scopes, have not checked the prices yet.
@ Kelby's
Kelbly's Inc.
7222 Dalton Fox Lake Road.
North Lawrence, Ohio 44666 U.S.A.
Tel: 330-683-4674
Email: jim@kelbly.com
http://www.kelbly.com/

The one March scope price I saw was almost twice the NF. Needless to say, I'll just be oogling for a while!

Rusty

Any of the Leupold scopes with target Knobs will work just fine.

You do not need a 30mm tube scope for Target shooting.

The 3.5-10, 4.5-14, or the 6.5-20 is a good choice.

I used a 3.5-10, with Target Knobs on my Any/Any 1000 yard rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
The one March scope price I saw was almost twice the NF. Needless to say, I'll just be oogling for a while!

With that update that makes two of us

Swarovski has lent me their latest to test, the Z6i 5-30x50P, which I installed on my AICS Rem. With illuminated reticle (day/night position with 10 settings each) and side turret for parallax adjustment, it's the very best scope I ever aimed through. Optics are fantastic and light gathering unbelievable. The only fly in the ointment is price :.... 2.800 € (3.920 USD)

Rusty,

I'm also trying to get started in F class on a budget. I'm going to start with my Burris black diamond 8-32x, which I already had. It will get me started hopefully, but, I've resigned myself to the harsh reality that I'm really not going to be happy with "less" than the Nightforce.

So far Optic Zone seems to have the best consistent price on them, with the 12-42x BR going around $1300.

Bummer.

I also briefly (VERY BRIEFLY) looked at the March. My interest waned instantly when I saw the price tag. I don't need that one...

I've heard about the Bushnell 6500's but I've not had the chance to look through one myself.

I've been very underwhelmed by the Leupold target scopes I've looked through. They seem too dark, and the "eye box" seems far too limited to me, my "lowly" Buckmaster 6-18x seems brighter and better... I know you can get a leupold "boosted" in power, but I've not looked through one that's been done, and I can't imagine that it makes it any brighter.

The problem I have is there really aren't very many shops around here that sell much variety of "target" scopes. I'm not really interested in buying a scope I haven't looked through first.

Thank y'all once again for your considered opinions.

Look at some 10-60X thing Legacy Sports or Legacy Arms has. They are in Reno, NV. They sell Howa rifles. The big scope was about $750 in 2005. Made by Nikko-Sterling. Just threw away the catalog a week ago after it set around my digs for three years. It was called "Diamond" or "Sportsman" something...

www.legacysports.com
(775) 828-0555

Download their zipped .pdf catalog, look at it on Page 69 of the 84-page catalog. It's a 10-50X by 60mm objective; has a big thumbwheel for parallax correction. Search "Nikko-Stirling Diamond Sportsman 10-50X60 scope" and you ought to find it. I have looked through one of these. Pretty damned impressive, I thought...

Better yet, just go here: http://www.midwayusa.com/viewp...productnumber=829707

Well, on a huge budget cut I'd check out a 20x Super Sniper. Mine has 140 moa of "up", tracks perfectly, and has totally exceeded my expectations. Glass is a bit dark, but is plenty clear.

Then, maybe look at boosted Leupold Mark 4 16x's, to 32x or 36x.

Then, maybe just Leupold BR line scopes.