Which Scope

BenHuntn · Jan 10, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Jan-10-17 AT 06:55PM (MST)[p]I am having a rifle built from a Remington 700 7mm mag. I am putting a Bartlein barrel on it and using a Mcmillan thumbhole stock. I have narrowed down my choices for a scope. Either a NightForce NXS 5.5-22x50mm Moar reticle or Leupold VX-6 HD 4-24x52mm CDS TMOA reticle side focus illuminated reticle. Both are about the same price. What would you do?

Togwotee · Jan 10, 2017

Nightforce. only because the Nightforce has better tracking than Leupold. as far as optics I think the VX-6 is better.

Stay Thirsty My Friends

BenHuntn · Jan 10, 2017

Yeah. also the leupold is a little lighter than the Nightforce.

SLIVER · Jan 11, 2017

I was in your shoes and went with the NXS primarily for its durability, and the 100 moa vertical adjustment. That for me meant that I could use a 0 degree base and still dial up to 1000 yds.

}}-SLIVER-->

El_Matador · Jan 23, 2017

If this is a hunting rifle I would go with a 3-18x Leupold. NF scopes are good if you're sitting at a bench dialing turrets all day long but they are heavy and the glass is surprisingly not that great. The Leupolds have better glass and weigh significantly less. The turrets are plenty repeatable. And for shooting inside 600 yards the CDS turret is the way to go. Just range, dial, and shoot.

10x is enough power to make 1000 yard shots on big game. 24x is handy when you're at the range and trying for groups on paper at 200 yards but it sucks in the field. I don't want any more than 16-18x for a hunting scope because its too hard to acquire and reacquire your target, which frequently is moving. For me its even harder to find a target when shooting prone.

I have used NF NXS, Vortex PST, Leupold VX-3 and VX-6. The VX-6 is without question my favorite hunting scope. The HD has some new features that make it even better such as the built-in level and illuminated reticle (TMOA is a great reticle). They say the glass is better too but the regular VX-6 has amazing glass already.

El_Matador · Jan 23, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Jan-23-17 AT 10:48AM (MST)[p]A couple more observations: The 4-24x Leupold uses a 34mm tube which will narrow down your choices for scope rings. The VX-6s in general have a very short piece of tube in front of the turrets so mounting can be tricky. With a picatinny rail its not a big deal but regular mounts, especially on a long action, may not line up where you want them. I'd recommend a 20 MOA rail and good rings like TPS, Seekins, Leupold Mark IV, etc. if you choose the VX-6.

Here's a pic to show the VX-6 mounting situation. The rifle on the left is a Cooper long action with Talley mounts/rings and a NF NXS. The one on the right is a short action Rem 700 with 3-18 VX-6, Talley rail, and TPS TSR rings. Notice where the front ring would end up on the Leupold if you tried mounting in on the long action with regular mounts.

65x47 · Jan 25, 2017

I bought a Leupold V-6 6-18 last fall for a 7mm, sent it back to Leupold for there 2 revolution dial to be installed.
Mounted to my rifle and went shooting, the scope was not taking adjustments very well for sighting in. Finely got zeroed at 200 yards. Rotated my up one revolution and back for four shots and not one returned to zero. Some shoots were 4" off zero. Had to return to Leupold to be repaired. Has not been warm enough to test. I have heard that people are having similar problems with V6's.
I also purchased it for light weight, but if I am dialing up for long shots, you have to trust your scope, that is were Nightforce shines.
Hope Leupold has got the problem corrected.

El_Matador · Jan 25, 2017

Until you are certain the problem lies with the scope its probably best not to speculate. You may have loose action screws, scope base screws too long or not torqued correctly, etc. etc. There are about a dozen things that could cause what you're seeing and only one of them is the scope's fault. I had a similar problem with my muzzleloader, which had always shot MOA or better. One year it just wouldn't hold zero and I figured it must be the scope (cheap T/C 1x). Well, it turned out to be plastic fouling. Its possible Leupold has turned out a few faulty scopes but I've yet to hear about any proven cases...just people speculating. I have a VX-6 that's been dialed all over the place and always returns to zero. My rifle holds 1/3 MOA. My hunting buddy has one too and we shoot steel quite often. No issues with dialing or zeroing. He recently made a head shot on a cow elk at 450 yards and she was DRT. Last year I shot a muley at 560 yards using my VX-6 and it worked flawlessly. I have great confidence in my Leupolds. I also have confidence that my NF scope will weigh 32 ounces...every time I carry it!

65x47 · Jan 25, 2017

I agree with checking ever thing, but this is a very accrute 7MM and would group .25 moa. If I did not move scope it would shoot 2 shots touching. They replaced over 6 items but they never say if or what the problem is (as always). I have quite of few leupolds and had 2 new ones I had to send back, the other I could not get the Paralex corrected. As good as they are some problems slip by.
I like Leopold's if they track correctly. Something you need to check with any scope if you are going to be dialing up.
Good shooting!

BenHuntn · Feb 1, 2017

Nice input. I think I am going with the Leupold VX-6HD. I plan on gathering a lot of data on where the point of impact is after I zero it in. I will shoot 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 yards and record where the bullet hits and then have them build a custom turret based on that info including all the other data they need. Have any of you done this with Leupold?

Thanks guy's

Willametteriveroutlaw · Feb 1, 2017

>Nice input. I think I am
>going with the Leupold VX-6HD.
>I plan on gathering a
>lot of data on where
>the point of impact is
>after I zero it in.
>I will shoot 200, 300,
>400, 500 and 600 yards
>and record where the bullet
>hits and then have them
>build a custom turret based
>on that info including all
>the other data they need.
>Have any of you done
>this with Leupold?
>
>Thanks guy's

Get an MOA dial, you're hamstrung by atmospheric conditions if you don't. Google VX-6 turret failures, there are tons and tons of issues noted. Great warranties don't matter when your on a mountain top with a broken scope.

BenHuntn · Feb 1, 2017

Willametteriveroutlaw. I don't follow you. Is the cds dial what you are talking about? Do I have a choice of what the dial comes with the scope? Is the Leupold scope in the above picture what you are talking about with the heavy nurling. Does Leupold sell the MOA dial?

Thanks

BenHuntn · Feb 1, 2017

El_Matador where did that top knob(the elevation knob) on the leupold scope come from? I thought the original knob had tiny slits for traction when turning the knob?

Julius

BenHuntn · Feb 13, 2017

Help.

Chacoblue777 · Feb 20, 2017

Of the two you mentioned, I would probably go with the Leopold.....I was darn close to buying a fancy nightforce, but backed out last minute. Just too big and bulky for me. I am also considering a fancy Swarovski scope weigh turrets and the works? Anyone like their scopes? They seem sot have some good lightweight options, and I have always enjoyed all of my Other Swarovski investments