Any of you guys have a Night Force scope? I really have read alot of good things about them and I was wondering if they are really worth the extra over and above a Leupold Vari X III Long Range.

I have had a few Night force scopes and optically they are excellent,the only draw backs are the weight which can unbalance a light weight rifle and the Benchrest models do not have as much eye relief as a Leupold.
I have had a Leupold 8.5 25 LRT and thought it was excellent but not quite the equal of the Nightforces for clarity.

Regards,
Charlie

Depends on your needs. I've got two of the Benchrest model 12-42X56's, and they are excellent scopes. I bought them for my 1,000 yard BR rifles because no one else makes a quality scope with that power range(Don't even wanna hear about the 8-40 & 12-60 Tasco's). Some will argue about not being able to use the power when the mirage is really strong, which is true. However, the matches I shoot are with a bunch of old guys who get up at the butt-crack of dawn and there's no mirage at that hour, 0800 when we start shooting. So, I'm usually at 42X for the match, if I need to turn down the power, I can. If I'm using a 6.5-20X or 8.5-25, I can't turn up the power to 42X if I wanted.
All that said, PERSONALLY, I wouldn't buy any of the other lesser magnification models because there are cheaper alternatives. I've got a Pentax LS 30 8.5-32X, a Burris Black Diamond 8-32X and a Bushnell Elite 4200 8-32X which are all really nice scopes as well. Notice I did not mention any Leupold's , I don't own any. I've looked through plenty, they're fine scopes but, they don't have enough power (for me) and I try
to not pay extra just for a name. With the Nightforce, I'm paying for the high-quality magnification range that I can't get elsewhere. I have used the NF at 12X, the Leupold/Premier 18-40X is too high on the lower end of power and the 14.5-35X doesn't have enough on the high end. Again, for my needs (trying to keep the flames to a minimum).
Anyway, if you can use the power, "yes" the Nighforce scopes are worth the extra money. The optics are very clear, the adjustments are crisp and track well. The scopes are heavy, relatively speaking, and they don't have a lot of elevation adjustment compared to some of the Leupold LR scopes, if that's an issue for you. I use tapered bases to get more elevation.
Good luck, feel free to PM if you have any questions.

-Rick

Thanks Guys, I really dont need one but will probly end up with one. I do like the fact of the high end magnification. You basically answered all my ?s. Thanks Again.

This is just a link to another thread, but if you click on 'complete thread', the three posters are famous:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=64lr5c%24203%40xring.cs.umd.edu

Here is who is making Nightforce now:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=4l641h%24dj0%40xring.cs.umd.edu

[ 05-03-2003, 00:53: Message edited by: Clark ]