what grade of Leupold would you guys compare the new Nikon Monarchs with?

None, I would stick w/the Nikon Monarch!

The VX-II.

quote:

The VX-II.

I must vehemently, but politely, disagree with this assessment. I consider Nikon Monarch glass markedly better than VXIII glass much less the II.

LWD

Have several vari-xIII's and 1 VXII. Please send new in the box Monarch and within six months or so will give you a devoted, in depth, and probably very biased opinion. Sending two, in different magnifications would greatly improve the assessment! jp

In most critical optical categories, the Monarchs grade out somewhat ahead of the VX-III and certainly above the VX-II.

quote:

Please send new in the box Monarch and within six months or so will give you a devoted, in depth, and probably very biased opinion. Sending two, in different magnifications would greatly improve the assessment!

Will do. Please post your Visa card number, and I'll get them heading your way!

LWD

ordered a 3-12 monarch yesterday. thanks for all the info guys.

quote:

Originally posted by RVL III:
None, I would stick w/the Nikon Monarch!

None, I would stick with Leupold VX III series.

until you have an issue with it, the Nikon might, might be as good a scope. If something goes wrong...

What's the warranty?
Leupold: made in USA and forever.
Nikon:

Rich

Never regretted bying a Leupold Can't say the same about some other brands, including some of the high-priced Euro brands

Nikons have a tremendous warranty --as good as you'll find anywhere.

As to Leupolds, you might want to amend the statement to "assembled in the US."

I can assure you that all parts are not US-made.

Have Nikons, U.S.Optics, Weavers, Lyman, Unertl, and yes, Leupolds, but one undisputed fact is that attend a gun show and the Leupolds seem to sell while the others don't do so well.
I like the Nikons I use, but they and the others sure don't have that "residual value" of the Leupold. JMO

I'll take performance at a reasonable price over "residual value" any day. I buy optics to use, not to re-sell.

Therefore, Nikons are pretty common in my gun safe.

I agree that scopes I buy are not for re sell either, but if and when you want to do so, you are better off with the Leupold brand or at least that has been my observation. Performance is "in the eye of the beholder..." and glad you like your Nikons, so do I. Have one of their 1.75x4 shotgun scopes on a 458Lott and has taken a lot of punishment and still holding together.

The "free market" is an imperfect yardstick of quality and value, but it is the best one we generally have available. The market's judgement is that the Leupold is the more desirable scope.

So why, then, does anyone buy a Dodge truck when the market tells you it will cost you big bucks in terms of excessive depreciation? Well, it just tells you that opinions vary, that style may trump substance with some buyers, and that, again, the market is an imperfect mechanism by which to judge a product.

All of that said, one company in question here is in mainly the business of building optical instruments especially designed as gunsights, and the other company is mainly in the business of building optical instruments designed as cameras. I find the features of the scopes built by the gunsight company to better fulfill the demands of an optical gunsight than the scopes built by the camera company.

But Nikon advocates can take solice in the fact that I'll probably never want to buy a Leupold camera.

quote:

The market's judgement is that the Leupold is the more desirable scope.

That's certainly true. I've been amazed at what I've sold used Leupolds for. The name Leupold seems to mean more than the age or condition of the scope. They are surely well-built and well-warrantied, but the prices seem out-of-whack to the value to me anyway.

LWD

LWD
Then you should sell yours.

Sold all of them!

Buying a used rifle with a Leupold on it is a great way to acquire a rifle for much less cost. Buy the combo and split the Leupold off and replace it with what I want.

LWD

Bobby:

I just looked at the Nikon site. It still doesn't say "forever" like Leupold does. More like a year. Oh yeah, they don't even have a repair station phone #. I was at the Boise Gun Show a couple weeks ago, and you could buy comparable Nikons new in the box for less than a comparable used Leupold. Twenty year old Leupolds selling for more than they cost new.
The Nikon seems to lose its alleged superiority after it is removed from the box.

You three seem to be in disagreement with the market. It's okay, nobody wants to take your Nikons away, quite the opposite.
Check back with me in five years and tell how they work/look then.

Rich

I have VXIII's and VXL's on all my rifles, I can't afford cheap optics that don't work.

For what Doug at Camera Land sells those demo Zeiss Conquests with full lifetime warranties it is a no brainer to me. Buy the Zeiss!!!

my nikon came back from whereever i sent it for repair --box unopened--no way on earth to get hold of them, they are good scopes

Idaho Sharpshooter wrote:

quote:

I just looked at the Nikon site. It still doesn't say "forever" like Leupold does. More like a year. Oh yeah, they don't even have a repair station phone #.

Leupold doesn't state "forever" in its legal definition of its warranty. It says lifetime and for defects in workmanship or materials, just to clarify.

As to Nikon, do you need me to help you navigate the site? It's pretty simple to find, and HERE is what Nikon says:

"...This Nikon product is warranted by Nikon Inc. to be free from defects in material and workmanship for the lifetime of the product. If this product is found
to have defects in material or workmanship, Nikon Inc. will at its option and without charge, either repair or replace this product, even if you are not the original
owner. No warranty card is required to obtain warranty service."

So, Idaho Sharpshooter, your "more like a year" statement is nothing but a bunch of horse hockey and hereby stands corrected.

Also, ISS, you stated you could not find a phone number, right???

Well, let me be so kind post it right here for all the world to see along with that equally-elusive address:


"For warranty service, the consumer should return this Nikon product to the Warranty Department of Nikon Inc. either in person or addressed to:
Nikon Inc. Warranty Department
841 Apollo Street, Suite 100
El Segundo, CA 90245-4721
Phone: 1-800-645-6687"

It never ceases to amaze me when someone tries to trash a product by spreading falsehoods. Eventually, the facts are going to catch up to you...and they just did